Commonwealth Division: Preseason Records, Breakdowns, MVP and More
It’s already time to preview the 2024 fall sports season and perhaps the best place to start is the football division that houses some of the state’s top talent and PIAA championship contenders. It’s the revamped Mid-Penn Commonwealth division, hit with two additions from the Mid-Penn Conference realignment, with additions of Cedar Cliff and state powerhouse Bishop McDevitt.
Preseason Commonwealth MVP: Stone Saunders, McDevitt
The McDevitt phenom quarterback is finally in his senior season after years of amazing play as the pocket presence for the Crusaders. He committed to Kentucky before the 2023 season, and went on to pass for 3,522 yards on 213 completions through the 14 game junior season. Saunders is in need of 3,420 passing yards to break the PIAA career passing yards record, set last season by Steel-High QB Alex Erby. Saunders also needs just 20 passing touchdowns to break the career passing touchdowns record, also set last season by Erby. Saunders starts the year with Mount Saint Joseph from Baltimore in the York Rose Bowl on August 24.
Team by Team Record Predictions
1. Harrisburg Cougars (10-0)
Harrisburg brings a really complete team to the table across the board. After a 24-12 loss to North Allegheny in the PIAA semifinals, Harrisburg added two new transfers in Messiah Mickens, the Penn State commit from Trinity, and D’Ante Sheffy, a future Syracuse running back from State College. The two will join Nehemiah Ewell, who enters his senior season after a 1,203 rushing yard season in 2023. Despite the three running backs, perhaps the Cougars’ most prominent rusher is their starting quarterback, Shawn Lee Jr., who enters the season as the Mid-Penn’s second top rusher behind CD East’s Jared Porter. Lee Jr. will target a plethora of talented wide receivers, headlined by Elias Coke, coming off a 45 reception, 843 yard and 12 TD year in 2023. Not to mention Kevin Brown at offensive tackle and defensive end for the Cougars, who’s offered by some of the nation’s top teams, including Georgia and Michigan. The Cougars lead off their schedule with Philadelphia powerhouse La Salle College HS. Despite the longstanding tradition of La Salle football, the Explorers have struggled in recent years, with a 5-6 record in 2022, 6-5 in 2023, which included 56-7 and 47-21 to Bishop McDevitt. Speaking of the Crusaders, that’s the week two opponent for McDevitt, as the Harrisburg city rivals face off in a much anticipated return to the rematch. It’s expected to be the Mid-Penn’s top regular season game, and the well-rounded talent that Harrisburg has should be enough to top a McDevitt team that comes in with a lot to prove.
2. McDevitt Crusaders (9-1)
It’s a McDevitt squad with a lot to prove because of a shocking upset in last year’s PIAA 4A semifinal against Dallas. The Crusaders took a 26-23 in overtime against the Mountaineers, who went on to lose the 4A PIAA final 60-14 against Pittsburgh area powerhouse Aliquippa. McDevitt lost a lot of seniors in 2023-24, including Rico Scott, who’s now a freshman wide receiver at Alabama. They’ll also need to replace three other wide receivers, Jaire Rawlison, Nevan Hopkins and Chase Regan. Ty Kephart is another large loss for McDevitt at the linebacker spot. There’s three key pieces coming back to McDevitt this season, two at running back in Nazir Jones-Davis and Maurice Barnes, and of course there’s Kentucky commit and my Commonwealth division pre-season MVP Stone Saunders coming back for his final season. Saunders passed for five touchdowns in the 2022 PIAA 4A championship, when McDevitt beat Aliquippa 41-18 at Cumberland Valley. McDevitt opens the season up against Mount Saint Joseph on August 24 at the York Rose Bowl. It’s a rematch from last year’s opener against the Baltimore, MD school, and it was a close one that came down to the final play last season, and ended in a 20-14 win for the Crusaders.
3. Cumberland Valley Eagles (8-2)
Despite splitting time on the field with Deagan Rardain at quarterback last season, Grant Shepley still enters the 2024 season as statistically a top 15 passer in the conference. Shepley passed for just under 800 yards on 101 attempts last season, and as the full-time Eagles starter, he’s expected to have a huge breakout season in 2024. Ryan Hunter, the younger brother of former multi-sport stud JD Hunter, is up next for CV. Tyler Merrill continues to draw national attention on the line, with offers to go to dozens of top programs in the country will be uber impactful for the Eagles up front. On the defensive side, linebacker Nolan Buzalka comes up for Cumberland Valley, offered by a few D-1 programs since the end of last season including Bucknell and Eastern Kentucky. Buzalka shows off his athleticism as a key piece of the Cumberland Valley basketball team that won the first District III title in program history in 2024. As for the 2023 football season, it wasn’t a pretty start for CV. The Eagles started 1-4 with a sole win against CD East by a touchdown. In week five, they lost 42-7 after having the score tied 7-7 after Caiden Pines ran the second half kickoff back for a touchdown. It prompted five unanswered touchdowns for the Cougars, and that’s when things began to change for CV. They won their final five regular season games against Chambersburg, Central Dauphin, Carlisle, State College, and Altoona, earning the Eagles a spot in the District III playoffs, as a four seed and the right to host a playoff game against Wilson. The Eagles never surrendered a lead to the Bulldogs, and held on for a 20-14 win to face Manheim Township. The Eagles have formed somewhat of a rivalry with Lancaster’s Manheim Township after four meetings with the Blue Streaks in the last two seasons, one in the opening week and one in the District III playoffs. The latest meeting included a 37-27 Manheim Township win to end CV’s season. While Hayden Johnson, the now Lehigh University QB and Landon Kennel, now Monmouth receiver are no longer with the Blue Streaks, it’ll be a tough test in week one for the Eagles. From there, they’ll get an easier stretch with Carlisle and Altoona that should boost them into a winning season at Chapman field.
4. State College Little Lions (7-3)
State College starts the year with Pittsburgh’s Gateway in week one, who finished 5-6 in 2023, but had as tough of a schedule as you can find in Pittsburgh, with Woodland Hills, Mount Lebanon, Pittsburgh Central Catholic among others on the docket. For reference, these are schools that have housed Dan Marino, Rob Gronkowski, Miles Sanders and plenty of state title runs over the years. For the Little Lions, it’s a year that brings opportunity for players to break through in 2024. Eddie Corkery returns for his senior season after a Mid-Penn second team selection in 2024. Ty Salazer, a star on the football and lacrosse field for State College, also returns for a final senior season after picking up a couple D-1 offers over the offseason from Dartmouth, Lehigh and PWO from Penn State. Salazer brought in 66 receptions in 2023, adding up 1,079 receiving yards in the process. His teammate, Michael Gaul, brought in 383 yards receiving in 2023, and added a Virginia Tech offer in the offseason. State College is expected to win their week one Gateway matchup, but drop three conference games to Harrisburg, State College and McDevitt.
5. Cedar Cliff Colts (6-4)
The Colts have been a steady team in District III playoffs, especially last season, finishing 10-2 and in the District semifinals to Cocalico. Bennett Secrest returns to the Colts after going 99/170 for 1,370 yards in 2023. The only thing holding back the Colts are the four teams listed above. In addition to Bishop McDevitt, Cedar Cliff is a new add to the Commonwealth division, and they’ll see some much tougher competition in 2024. The Colts and Crusaders faced each other in the Keystone division, and it was by far Cedar Cliff’s worst game of the season with a 48-7 loss and QB Secrest faced some injury struggles throughout the matchup. The 41-point loss for the Colts creates speculation on whether they’ll be able to handle Harrisburg and State College, and the CV-Cedar Cliff matchup in week ten should be a huge West Shore battle to likely determine a lot in District III playoff standings.
6. CD East Panthers (5-5)
There’s a lot of buzz about the potential for CD East to make some waves this season, despite a tough schedule for the team this season. The Panthers house the Mid-Penn’s top returning rusher, Jared Porter, who committed to Delaware after last season. To get in-depth on that tough schedule, they will play right after commonwealth foe McDevitt in the York Rose Bowl on August 24 with a matchup against York. They’ll get a lighter opponent in week two with Chambersburg before hitting a predicted loss against Cedar Cliff in week three, then they finish up the first five with Carlisle and Altoona. That’s when things get much trickier for the Panthers, as they’re predicted to go 1-4 in the back half of the season with four losses to Cumberland Valley, State College, McDevitt and Harrisburg and a lone win against rival Central Dauphin in the battle for their shared stadium, Landis Field. The 5-5 record might be enough to earn a low seed in the District III playoffs, but the 1-4 finish to the regular season may put a dent in the Panthers’ momentum heading into the playoffs.
7. Central Dauphin (3-7)
The Rams lose a lot in 2024 including a pair of towering lineman Anthony Robsock and Evan Bushong, who both played in the Big 33 Classic and will head to D-1 schools in Maryland and James Madison. They also move on to a new quarterback after Keyrom Plummer’s final season in 2023. Gavin Kirkpatrick takes over as the Rams’ passer in 2024 after seeing action in four games last season, completing seven passes on nine attempts for 68 yards. Mateo Crummel, who’s now at East Coast Prep, headlines a group of skill positions that Central Dauphin is without this season. The list includes Miles Copper, last year’s team leading rusher, Kyle McCullough, who trails Copper in that rushing category, and Jett Franz, the tight end who also starred on the basketball court for the Rams. This season, the Rams take on Central York in week one, who, similarly to Cumberland Valley with Manheim Township, have developed somewhat of a non-league rivalry. The Rams went toe to toe with the Panthers in last year’s week one matchup at Landis Field, then saw them again in District III postseason play. It was another back and forth close game between the two “Central’s”, ending in a 42-34 win for Central York and ending CD’s season. Central Dauphin is predicted to lose that week one game against the Panthers, making it three straight losses to CY in the last two years. The three wins I see CD escaping with are Chambersburg, Carlisle and Altoona, but they’re predicted to struggle in a rebuilding year in a tough division.
8. Altoona Mountain Lions (2-8)
The Mountain Lions struggled in conference play in 2023, which is why their predicted to struggle further with nine conference games on the docket in 2024. They keep their non-conference opponent as Hollidaysburg, whom they lost to 21-13 in 2023. With a change at quarterback after the graduation of senior passer Brennan Freiwald to upcoming junior Dante LaRocco. LaRocco made the most of his three passing attempts last season, completing two passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. I’m taking Altoona to get the job done against Chambersburg and Carlisle, but finishing 2-8.
9. Carlisle Thundering Herd (1-9)
Carlisle has been rebuilding since their 2022 season, which ended up 6-5 and in the PIAA District III playoff. Following the season, Louis Shank, their starting quarterback, graduated along with some senior leaders like EZ Thomas and Theo Mazias. It also didn’t help the Herd that their star wide receiver Jeremiah Hargrove transferred out of Carlisle to try and be a part of Trinity’s 2024 season. After that 2022 season, longtime Carlisle head coach Brett Ickes announced his retirement as head coach of the team. Brandon Cook took over with the program last year and brought home one win over Mechanicsburg in the Backyard Brawl. They still open the season with Mechanicsburg, but that’s not where I see the Herd getting their win. Rather, I see it coming in week seven over Chambersburg. I believe in the development of Carlisle as a program in the rebuilding phase, but this year is as a hard as ever with only won out-of-division game, and Carlisle’s week one opponent is no slacker.
10. Chambersburg Trojans (0-10)
Chambersburg was an up and down team last year, with some curious wins including a 51-7 beatdown over a solid Northern team, but finished 4-6. It’s another case of struggling with the strength of schedule coming their way, with their non-conference opponent being Gettysburg, who’s continually tough and should be a loss for the Trojans. While I do think it’s quite possible for the Trojans to sneak in some wins here and there this season, there is no opponent that I see losing to Chambersburg.
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