4th Down Magazine

09/12/2023

Where do the '23 Rollers rank in the storied legacy at Steel-High? Andy Shay gives his take.
Steelton-Highspire Jr./Sr. High School

Alex Erby has been around the block a round or two. He knows how to answer a less-than-stellar postgame question. The Steel-High record-setting quarterback had just completed an undefeated season Thursday afternoon with a commanding individual performance as part of a complete domination across the....

07/12/2023

What figured to be one final test for this talented bunch of Steel-High Rollers turned into just another day at the office in the PIAA Class 1A title game.

The District 3 champions simply outclassed WPIAL champion Fort Cherry. The Rollers were too big, too strong and too fast for the Rangers to handle Thursday afternoon at Chapman Field on the campus of Cumberland Valley High School.

Led by quarterback Alex Erby, the Rollers came out flying offensively and never let their foot off the gas the opening 24 minutes. Steel-High had its second consecutive state title wrapped up by halftime, leading by five touchdowns on its way to a commanding 42-8 triumph.

Read more:

What figured to be one final test for this talented bunch of Steel-High Rollers turned into just another day at the office in the PIAA Class 1A title game. The District 3 champions simply outclassed WPIAL champion Fort Cherry. The Rollers were too big, too strong and too fast for the Rangers to hand...

06/12/2023

For the final time this season, our gang's picks and predictions for each PIAA championship tilt are in.

Our final episode of 4th & Goal with Andy Shay and Jake Adams embedded in this post features an interview with Steel-High’s Ronald Burnette Jr. plus we break down the keys to victory for Steel-High and other PIAA state final match-ups. We’ll also looking back at what went wrong for Bishop McDevitt and Harrisburg in the PIAA semifinals.

EXPLAINING OUR PICKS: It’s championship week in Pennsylvania. Twelve teams will descend on Cumberland Valley High School for three days beginning Thursday afternoon for the 2023 PIAA football championships. One Mid-Penn team is left standing, undefeated and defending Class 1A champion Steel-High. ...

03/12/2023

Voting is now open for this week's Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Sponsored by Vertical Raise PA.

Candidates include:
Quincy Brannon, jr., WR, Harrisburg
Ronald Burnette Jr., sr., RB/LB, Steel-High:
Alex Erby, sr., QB, Steel-High:
Nazir Jones-Davis, so., RB, Bishop McDevitt
Shawn Lee Jr., jr., QB, Harrisburg:
Jaeion Perry, sr., WR/DB, Steel-High:

Steelton - HighSpire High School Harrisburg Cougar Football

Vote now for our 4th Down Magazine Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week. Our poll will remain open until Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. Voting is allowed once every 30 minutes. Editor's note: We have implemented safeguards to prevent voting which falls outside the spirit of the rules in place. We rese...

02/12/2023

For the third time in his four-year career, Steel-High quarterback Alex Erby steered his team to the PIAA Class 1A championship game while Dallas pulled off a massive upset in the PIAA Class 4A semifinal round by knocking off defending state champion Bishop McDevitt 26-23 in double overtime and bringing the Crusaders’ reign as champions and their 26-game winning streak to a halt.

For the third time in his four-year career, Steel-High quarterback Alex Erby steered his team to the PIAA Class 1A championship game. The United State Naval Academy commit and the Rollers are gunning for back-to-back championships after they easily dispatched South Williamsport 48-21 Friday night in...

01/12/2023

Follow along tonight for scoring updates and highlights as Steel-High and Bishop McDevitt aim to reach the PIAA state championships.

Twenty-four teams remain standing. Three of them are from right here in Harrisburg. Harrisburg (Class 6A), Bishop McDevitt (4A) and Steel-High (3A) are among the PIAA football state semifinalists this weekend. And all of them have recent championship pedigrees. The Cougars face WPIAL power North All...

26/11/2023

Our Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Poll Sponsored by Vertical Raise PA is now open.
https://4thdownmagazine.com/10603-2/

Candidates include:
Ronald Burnette, sr., RB, Steel-High:
Durrell Ceasar Jr., sr., WR/S, Steel-High:
Noah Doi, jr., RB/DB, Camp Hill:
Alex Erby, sr., QB, Steel-High:
Nehemiah Ewell, jr., RB, Harrisburg:
Shawn Lee Jr., jr., QB, Harrisburg:
Kobe Moore, sr., WR/LB, Camp Hill:
Jaeion Perry, sr., WR, Steel-High:
Chase Regan, sr., WR/S, Bishop McDevitt:
Stone Saunders, jr., QB, Bishop McDevitt:
Rico Scott, sr., WR, Bishop McDevitt:
Jasper Shepps, so., WR/DB, Juniata:

Vote now for our 4th Down Magazine Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week. Our poll will remain open until Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. Voting is allowed once every 30 minutes. Editor's note: We have implemented safeguards to prevent voting which falls outside the spirit of the rules in place. We rese...

24/11/2023

Follow along tonight for live scoring updates and highlights!

We’re down to our final week of the District 3 football championships. So grab your leftover turkey sandwiches, pack a blanket or two and be sure to buy some hot chocolate for the Class 4A through 6A championship games. Harrisburg (6A) and Bishop McDevitt (4A) are the last remaining Mid-Penn Confe...

24/11/2023

Our Vertical Raise PA Player of the Week for the Mid-Penn Conference is Juniata's Lane Peiper!

A whole lot of love for the big man this week, as Juniata lineman Lane Peiper was voted 4th Down Magazine Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week following his team’s 21-7 PIAA Class 4A first-round victory. The junior was a menace for a defense that held Meadville to just 137 yards, all on the grou...

24/11/2023

Congratulations to this week's 4th Down Magazine Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week: Marcus Shoop!

Defense continues to win 4th Down Magazine Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week, with a linebacker winning for the third week in a row, This time it was Williams Valley’s Marcus Shoop, the second Viking in a row to claim the fan vote, after he racked up a team-high 16 tackles in a PIAA Cl...

23/11/2023

The Playoff edition Picks and Predictions are in. See who our gang tabbed to go to the PIAA semifinals!

Plus, in this edition 4th & Goal with Andy Shay and Jake Adams embedded in our picks, we chat with Harrisburg quarterback Shawn Lee Jr.

Andy and Jake also dig into the realignment of the Mid-Penn Conference and breakdown this week's playoff match ups.

EXPLAINING OUR PICKS: It’s the fourth week of the PIAA football playoffs, and District 3 will crown its final three champions in Classes 4A through 6A. And the 4th Down Magazine team is here to tell you who will win the remaining playoff games involving Mid-Penn Conference and Colonial-Schuylkill ...

21/11/2023

The honorable Eric F. Epler release his latest State High School Football rankings today. See which local squads hold positions among the state's elite.

For more content from Eric Epler, visit Pennlive. CLASS 6A Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous 1. St. Joseph’s Prep (12) -- 10-1 – 1 2. Manheim Township (3) -- 12-0 – 3 3. North Allegheny (7) -- 11-1 – 8 4. Nazareth (11) – 12-1 – 9 5.

19/11/2023

Voting is now open for our final Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week for the 2023 season.
Candidate include:
Dalton Clymer, sr., RB, Northwestern Lehigh School District
Ty Sander, sr., FS, Palmerton: Palmerton Booster Club
Marcus Shoop, sr., LB, Williams Valley: (Williams Valley Vikings Athletics

Dalton Clymer, sr., RB, Northwestern Lehigh: Clymer piled up 129 yards and two rushing touchdowns as Northwestern Lehigh dismantled Palmerton Friday night 58-8 in the District 11 Class 3A championship. He also added a fumble recovery. Ty Sander, sr., FS, Palmerton: In his final prep football game, S...

19/11/2023

Vote now for this week's Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Sponsored by Vertical Raise PA.

Candidate include:
Drew Branstetter, jr., QB, Camp Hill High School
Kevin Brown, so., DL/OL, Harrisburg Cougar Football
Eddie Corkery, jr., QB, State College Lions Football and Cheer
Wyatt Ehrenzeller, jr., QB/LB, Juniata Indians Football
Alex Erby, sr., QB, Steelton-Highspire Jr./Sr. High School
Nehemiah Ewell, jr., RB, Harrisburg:
Nazir Jones-Davis, so., RB/DB, Bishop McDevitt:
Shawn Lee Jr., jr., QB, Harrisburg:
Alex Long, jr., WR/DL, Camp Hill:
Lane Peiper, jr., OL/DL, Juniata:
Caiden Pines, sr., WR/DB, Cumberland Valley Football
Rico Scott, sr., WR/DB, Bishop McDevitt:
Bennett Secrest, jr., QB, Cedar Cliff High School Football
Bryce Staretz, sr., RB/LB, Cumberland Valley:

Drew Branstetter, jr., QB, Camp Hill: It wasn’t as efficient as some of his other showings this season, but Branstetter did what needed to be done to lead the Lions to a 32-26 win over West Catholic in the PIAA Class 2A first round, completing 20 of 44 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns

19/11/2023

Andy Shay dives into all the playoff action in the Mid-Penn Conference this week including Camp Hill's come-from-behind victory; Cumberland Valley's battle with Manheim Twp; Bishop McDevitt's prowess and much more. Plus, he delivers his initial reaction to the realignment of divisions in the Mid-Penn Conference.

For the second week in a row Camp Hill quarterback Drew Branstetter guided his team to a touchdown in the dying minutes of the game to secure a victory. That’s what a junior taking his game to the next level looks like. Only difference this time around, compared to last week's win against Trinity ...

18/11/2023

Cocalico never really gave Cedar Cliff a whiff at being competitive in this District 3 Class 5A semifinal Friday night at West Shore Stadium.

The Eagles were simply dominant on both sides of the ball and kept the Colts’ offense on ice much of the night to post a commanding 31-13 victory.

Read more plus Andy Shay's Making the Grade analysis of each position group.

Cocalico never really gave Cedar Cliff a whiff at being competitive in this District 3 Class 5A semifinal Friday night at West Shore Stadium. The Eagles were simply dominant on both sides of the ball and kept the Colts’ offense on ice much of the night to post a commanding 31-13 victory. Staying t...

18/11/2023

Follow along tonight for all the scores and highlights from the playoff action.
https://4thdownmagazine.com/pennsylvania-high-school-football-playoffs-scores-highlights-from-week-3-of-piaa-and-district-tournaments/

16/11/2023

Our playoff edition picks are in!

Also embedded in the picks is our weekly podcast. Give us a watch.

This week's edition of 4th & Goal with Andy Shay and Jake Adams features an interview with Juniata's Jasper Shepps plus we dive into Camp Hill's upset victory over Trinity, Cumberland Valley's turnaround season, which Mid-Penn teams could claim District titles and previews of this week's action.

EXPLAINING OUR PICKS: It’s the third week of the PIAA football playoffs, and the state tournaments officially begin Friday night while much of District 3 continues to determine its six champions. And the 4th Down Magazine team is here to tell you who will win the District 3, 4, 6 and 11 playoff ga...

16/11/2023

Congratulations to this week's Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Sponsored by Vertical Raise PA, Trey Good!

Trey Good was good enough to earn one last 4th Down Magazine Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week honors after the second round of the District 3 playoffs. The standout East Pennsboro senior’s varsity career came to an end in the District 3 Class 4A quarterfinals, 23-20 in double-overtime to Lam...

16/11/2023

Congratulations to this week's Colonial-Schuylkill Player of the Week, Williams Valley Vikings Athletics's Trevon Bair!

For a second straight week a linebacker has earned the 4th Down Magazine Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week, this time Williams Valley’s Trevon Bair in the second week of the playoffs Bair, a dominant freshman, notched a team-high 13 tackles (three for loss) and a sack to lead the Vikin...

14/11/2023

The latest state high school football rankings by the esteemed Eric F. Epler are out. See which local squads made the cut.

For more content from Eric F. Epler, visit Pennlive. CLASS 6A Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous 1. St. Joseph’s Prep (12) -- 9-1 – 1 2. Parkland (11) -- 12-0 – 2 3. Manheim Township (3) -- 11-0 – 4 4. Central Bucks West (1) -- 12-0 – 3 5. Central York (3) -- 11-0 –

13/11/2023

Voting is now open for this week's Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week.
Candidates include:
Alex Achenbach, sr., RB, Williams Valley:
Trevon Bair, fr., LB, Williams Valley: Williams Valley Vikings Athletics
Emiolo Gonzalez, sr., LB, Palmerton: Palmerton Booster Club
Luke Stevenosky, sr., RB, Minersville Football

Vote now for your 4th Down Magazine Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week. Our poll will remain open until Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. Voting is allowed once every 30 minutes. Editor's note: We have implemented safeguards to prevent voting which falls outside the spirit of the rules in place....

12/11/2023

Cast your votes now for this week's Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Sponsored by Vertical Raise PA.
https://4thdownmagazine.com/vote-now-mid-penn-conference-player-of-the-week-for-nov-10-11-sponsored-by-vertical-raise-pa/
This week's candidates include:
Drew Branstetter, jr., QB, Camp Hill: Camp Hill High School
Ronald Burnette Jr., sr., RB, Steel-High:
Nolan Buzalka, jr., DL/TE, Cumberland Valley:
Angel Cabrera, sr., RB, Hershey: Hershey Football Family
Trey Good, sr., WR/DB, East Pennsboro: EAST PENNSBORO FOOTBALL ALUMNI
Brad Hockenberry, jr., RB, West Perry:
Shawn Lee Jr., jr., QB, Harrisburg:
Marcus Quaker, sr., QB, West Perry:
Ty Salazer, sr., WR, State College:
Stone Saunders, jr., QB, Bishop McDevitt:
Rico Scott, sr., WR, Bishop McDevitt:
Bennett Secrest, jr., QB, Cedar Cliff High School Football
Jasper Shepps, so., WR/DB, Juniata Indians Football
Dorian Smith, sr., RB/DB, Susquehanna Township:
Bryce Staretz, sr., RB/LB, Cumberland Valley Football
Kymir Williams, sr., WR, Harrisburg Cougar Football

12/11/2023

Hershey pulls off another upset this week while Andy Shay offers his Mid-Penn Conference Coach of the Year--hint he hails from a Commonwealth team still alive in the postseason. All that and more playoff action in this edition of Andy Shay's Sunday Morning QB.

We see you, Hershey Trojans. One week after an improbable and thrilling come-from-behind victory to open the Trojans’ 2023 playoff ledger, Hershey went out and took care of District 3 Class 5A No. 1-seed New Oxford 34-28. Hershey is a win away from playing for a D3 championship. The win over the C...

11/11/2023

At the most crucial time in Friday night’s District 3 Class 2A championship game, Camp Hill quarterback Drew Branstetter owned the moment and guided his Lions to their 11th district title in school history.

The junior was perfect on the game winning drive, marching the Lions 56 yards in six plays — all completed passes — and capped the impressive 81-second march with a 5-yard touchdown toss to Kobe Moore with 1:15 to play.
Read more:

Plus, Andy Shay dishes out grades. See who earned top marks from each team.

At the most crucial time in Friday night’s District 3 Class 2A championship game, Camp Hill quarterback Drew Branstetter owned the moment and guided his Lions to their 11th district title in school history. The junior was perfect on the game winning drive, marching the Lions 56 yards in six plays ...

10/11/2023

Follow along tonight for live scoring updates and highlights from around the Mid-Penn Conference. (Refresh to update the scoreboard).)

One District 3 champion has been crowned (see: Steel-High). Another will be crowned this week, and more will follow shortly. The second week of the PIAA high school football postseason brings up a fantastic rivalry game in the D3 Class 2A title game: Camp Hill at Trinity. The Lions pulled off an imp...

10/11/2023

This week's Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Sponsored by Vertical Raise PA is Hershey's Angel Cabrera!

Angel Cabrera has a knack for the big game, and that earned him 4th Down Magazine Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week honors after the first round of the District 3 playoffs. Cabrera had what we’ll gladly call his best game as a running back, carrying the rock a carry high 37 times and scoring

10/11/2023

Congratulations to this week's 4th Down Magazine Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the week: Kash Tobin

Tri-Valley’s football season ended last weekend, but Kash Tobin had a heckuva performance to earn the 4th Down Magazine Colonial-Schuylkill League Player of the Week for the first week of the playoffs The senior linebacker was flying around the ball in a defensive slugfest that Marian Catholic eke...

09/11/2023

The playoff picks and predictions are in!

Plus:
This weeks edition of 4th & Goal with Andy Shay and Jake Adams features Trinity star running back and Penn State recruit Messiah Mickens. Plus we break down what to expect in this week's playoff battles.

EXPLAINING OUR PICKS: It’s the second week of the PIAA district football playoffs, and a week before the state tournaments begin. And the 4th Down Magazine team is here to tell you who will win the District 3, 4, 6 and 11 playoff games this weekend, most of which kick off at 7 p.m. Friday.

09/11/2023

The playoff picks and predictions are in!

Plus:
This weeks edition of 4th & Goal with Andy Shay and Jake Adams features Trinity star running back and Penn State recruit Messiah Mickens. Plus we break down what to expect in this week's playoff battles.
https://4thdownmagazine.com/playoff-picks-and-predictions-for-november-10-11/