Mid-Penn Keystone Boys Weekly Recap via David Bray: January 14, 2024
Written by: Dell Jackson on January 14, 2024
Mid-Penn Keystone Boys Weekly Recap
By: David Bray Jr
All 8 teams in the division are back and shake-ups within the divisional standings are occurring as we enter the second half of the divisional games. Today, we take a look at each team and their performances this week as well as highlighting star players from each team.
Hershey – 10-1 Overall, 7-1 Division
Hershey continues their win streak, extending it to 7 wins with their 2 wins this week. Hershey beat Mifflin County on their rescheduled date by 16 in a 56-40 victory and Palmyra at home by 27 in a 65-38 win. In a game that was originally meant for Tuesday, but rescheduled for inclement weather, Hershey took on Mifflin County in Lewistown. Hershey and Mifflin County stayed within reach of each other, but once the Trojans had some traction, they ran away with it. Many steals and scores on the other end contributed to a big run in the third quarter with Cameron Sweeney leading the charge with 13 points on the night. Derek Guzman contributed an additional 11 points with a few steals of his own. They took their campaign back home where they faced Palmyra for the second time this year. Just like the Mifflin County game, it was extremely close heading into the second half, however a few Logan Richards threes opened the second half and the scoring barrage didn’t stop. Isaiah Danner led scoring with 18 points on the night with Cameron Sweeney contributing 12 points of his own. Hershey has a heavy game schedule in the coming week, starting with a game against Lebanon at home on Monday. Hershey then plays 2 league games heading right next door to Milton Hershey on Wednesday and back at home versus Cedar Cliff to get some revenge after Cedar Cliff brought their only loss on the year.
Mechanicsburg – 11-3 Overall, 7-1 Division
Hershey isn’t completely clear with first place as Mechanicsburg is right on their heels, securing both of their games this week with wins. Mechanicsburg beat Palmyra at home by 14 with a 53-39 victory and beat Milton Hershey by 24 with a 69-45 win. In their game versus Palmyra, it seemed fairly close within the first half as it was tied at 19 at the half with not much scoring from either side. That changed in the second half with the halftime adjustments from Coach Gaffey as the Wildcats came out hot and did not slow down until the final buzzer. Chance Yanoski led scoring for Mechanicsburg with 16 points on the night. Josh Smith finished with 14 points on the night, with 12 of those points coming in the second half of the game. Liam Owens also brought 11 points to Mechanicsburg and Justin Bardo had 9 points to his name. Against Milton Hershey, Mechanicsburg had life right from the tip with Chance Yanoski having 13 points in the first quarter including back to back three-pointers in the span of 5 seconds. With their offense finally slowing down in the final quarter, as they were up by almost 30, Mechanicsburg had an emphasis on their all around display of talent on both sides of the ball. Josh Smith and Chance Yanoski both had 24 points on the night, showcasing the junior guard duo’s talent. Mechanicsburg will take their hot streak and go on the road versus Cedar Cliff on Wednesday. Mechanicsburg will then invite Lower Dauphin to their home as they hope to go 2-0 against both teams this week to capitalize a strong divisional campaign.
Red Land – 10-4 Overall, 6-2 Division
Red Land came away with 2 wins this week that had a combined difference of only 9 points as they beat their rival, Cedar Cliff by 3 in a 58-55 win and Mifflin County on the road by 6 in a 48-42 victory. Red Land gets some needed wins in the Keystone division to lock them into their 3rd place position right behind the top 2. In a rivalry game, it always has its competitive nature to it, with the home crowd of Cedar Cliff roaring through the game and the large student section of Red Land roaring back. In a completely sold out gym, it was an instant classic. The big-men of Red Land dominated the game with Elijah Espinosa having 15 points and Anderson French adding 14 points. Tyler Kerlin had 9 points with a few threes and a free throw to secure the game away for the Patriots. In their second game versus Mifflin County, there was a big gap throughout the game until the end when Mifflin County started making a run. Tyler Kerlin was the main scoring threat with 15 points and Colton Rose had 14 points on the night. Elijah Espinosa had 9 points while Anderson French had 8 points. Red Land will take on Lower Dauphin at home on Wednesday this coming week and go on the road against Palmyra on Friday night.
Lower Dauphin – 7-5 Overall, 5-3 Division
How about Lower Dauphin! With the Falcons going on their own 4 game winning streak, Lower Dauphin extends their lead over the 4th place spot with 2 wins of their own this week. Lower Dauphin beat Milton Hershey by 17 points in a 72-55 victory and beat Cedar Cliff by 10 in a 56-46 win. In a very high scoring game led by Nick Fry with 19 points, Lower Dauphin capitalized with a victory at home versus returning Milton Hershey. Brady Hofsass was right behind Fry with 18 points of his own, with Nico DeFrank contributing 15 points and Evan Deibler having 10 points. Lower Dauphin then brought Cedar Cliff to their home where they were led by Brady Hofsass, with 23 points including a stepback, fadeaway three pointer that shocked even the home crowd. Nick Fry had 15 points himself and Landon Miller had 7 points. Lower Dauphin had a very back and forth game in the beginning, however a few turnovers turned the game around in Lower Dauphin’s favor. Lower Dauphin has the chance to compete for the top three spots, but they just need a key win in the coming weeks. The main game of focus is when Lower Dauphin goes on the road to take on Red Land on Wednesday. Lower Dauphin then takes on Mechanicsburg on the road on Friday and then participates in the LL vs Keystone games where they face Penn Manor at Doe Run Elementary on Saturday. If Lower Dauphin gains some wins this week, they will be fighting in the top spots of the division.
Cedar Cliff – 5-7 Overall, 3-4 Division
Cedar Cliff unfortunately was defeated twice this week and by only a few possessions as well. Cedar Cliff fell to their crosstown rival, Red Land by 3 in a 58-55 loss and Lower Dauphin by 10 in a 55-45 loss. Although they did lose both games, there still are a lot of positives for the Colts. Against Red Land, it was a very tight game, however Red Land started to pull away in the third quarter. Sam Grube, who ended the game with 23 points, pushed the team forward closing the gap within the final minutes of the game. Cedar Cliff had a chance to tie the game with less than 20 seconds left, however a costly turnover ended the night for them. Moe Ahmed contributed with 10 points and Talan Shultz had 8 points. In their road game versus Lower Dauphin, production from the starting lineup wasn’t the best, but Luke Rogers off the bench stepped up when the team needed it with 26 points on the night. As a fan, it almost felt as if every time the ball came down the court, it fell into Rogers’s hands for a basket. Sam Grube, although being doubled almost the whole game, had 12 points on the night. The games’ final score didn’t reflect the potential Cedar Cliff has as a team with their tenacity and aggressiveness on both sides of the ball. Cedar Cliff has a 3 game schedule this week, playing Mechanicsburg at home on Wednesday, going on the road to face Hershey on Friday, and participating in the LL vs Keystone games versus Hempfield at Doe Run Elementary on Saturday.
Mifflin County – 6-8 Overall, 2-6 Division
It’s been a rough stretch for Mifflin County in the past few weeks, with a current 5 game losing streak, but this is subject to change if a few possessions went their way. Mifflin County lost both games this week losing to Hershey at home by 16 in a 56-40 loss and to Red Land by 6 in a 48-42 loss. Mifflin County had a very close game overall against Hershey, however a couple turnovers pushed the game in Hershey’s favor late in the game and it was a gap too big to close. Jayden Bilger led the team in scoring with 13 points on the night followed by Zach Keller with 8 points and Tagg Silfies with 7 points. Against Red Land, Mifflin County was down significantly going into the final quarter, however they were able to surge back and make it an extremely competitive game going into the final minutes. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time and the comeback couldn’t be secured. Mifflin County was led by a strong shooting night from Jack Curry who had 17 for the Huskies followed by another three-point shooter in Jaylen Bowersox who had 10 points off the bench. Jayden Bilger had 8 points while battling the big-men of Red Land. Mifflin County has the chance to make an impact in the division, but these tight losses are the only difference between them being in the top 4 teams. Mifflin County faces Palmyra on the road this week on Wednesday and Milton Hershey at home, hoping to regain some ground within the division.
Milton Hershey – 1-8 Overall, 0-6 Division
Welcome back to the divisional play Milton Hershey. Milton Hershey had a tough schedule this week facing 3 teams right off of their break, losing all 3, including their 2 divisional matchups. Milton Hershey lost by 24 to Mechanicsburg in a 69-45 loss, lost by 17 to Lower Dauphin in a 72-55 loss, and by 12 to Harrisburg in a 62-50 loss. In chronological order, Milton Hershey had to go away to Lower Dauphin to take on the Falcons in their first game back from their hiatus. The Spartans were led by Abdou Diene who had 13 points on the night, followed by Jason Burney with 7 points. This wasn’t enough to stop the offensive onslaught of Lower Dauphin as they scored 72 points. Milton Hershey then went on the road against Mechanicsburg, which was extremely close going into the 2nd half, however Mechanicsburg’s offense exploded and it was too much to handle. Mohamed Koroma led scoring for Milton Hershey with 15 points while Aryan Sandhu had 13 points behind him. Jason Burney contributed 5 of his own points, but turnovers killed Milton Hershey leading to many of Mechanicsburg’s points. I was able to go see Milton Hershey take on Harrisburg at their home. With an unofficial 34 turnovers counted by myself, Milton Hershey gave Harrisburg the opportunity to score many layups off of errand passes, which caused Harrisburg to be up by 20+ at points in the game. However, once the turnovers were cleaned up in the fourth quarter, the Spartans narrowed the lead down to 12, but there wasn’t enough time. Aryan Sandhu led the scoring with 12 points while Jason Burney followed with 11 points. Abdou Diene had 6 points with more than 10 rebounds and more than 5 blocks to his statline as well. Milton Hershey faces Hershey at home on Wednesday, Mifflin County away on Friday, and participates in the LL vs Keystone games against Susquehanna Township at Doe Run Elementary on Saturday.
Palmyra – 2-10 Overall, 0-7 Division
Palmyra had an extremely tough schedule this week, playing both teams who are tied for first in the division, away at both of the team’s home gyms. Palmyra lost both of these games, losing to Mechanicsburg by 14 in a 53-39 loss and Hershey by 27 in a 65-38 loss. Palmyra did a great job this week containing both teams in the first half of both of the games, with being tied at the half with Mechanicsburg, and only a couple of possessions off of Hershey at the half. Palmyra led in both of the games in the second half, however both teams ran away with the win after a few costly turnovers and missed shot opportunities. Against Mechanicsburg, Tyler Burgess led scoring with 16 points. Hank Roesch was welcomed back into the starting lineup for Palmyra after he was sidelined for 4 games with an ankle injury. Roesch ended with 10 points and Hunter Mayer contributed 8 points. Against Hershey, it was an extremely competitive game, with Palmyra leading in the 3rd quarter until turnovers brought Hershey some baskets and many missed shots on offense dragged the momentum in Hershey’s favor. Hunter Mayer led scoring with 11 points followed by Tyler Burgess with 9 points in a distributed scoring effort for Palmyra. Palmyra has the chance to regain some traction with key divisional games this week. Palmyra takes on Northern at home on Monday with a non-conference game. On Wednesday, Mifflin County comes to Palmyra for their divisional rematch and Palmyra takes on Red Land at home on Friday.
Games of the Week:
Northern @ Palmyra (1/15)
Lower Dauphin @ Red Land (1/17)
Cedar Cliff @ Hershey (1/19)
Lower Dauphin vs Penn Manor (1/20)
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