Blue Devils tripped by Township, 27-24
PROGRESS — Two solid football teams met on the gridiron Monday evening in a weather-postponed contest. Susquehanna Township got in the last lick and tagged the Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils for their first loss of the season in a 27-24 final.
Each team had its share of impressive drives in the non-divisional Mid-Penn Conference matchup. But each also had its share of turnovers. Each had an interception. Susquehanna Township fumbled four times and lost two. G-A (6-1, 3-0 MPC-Capital) fumbled five times and lost three.
Township struck first on a long pass play, but the Devils answered early in the second quarter as Denton Ensminger took a pass from Brett Meyers six yards for the score.
Late in the half the Indians scored on a short run, but G-A went on the march scoring on a Tyler Szaflarski one-yard plunge with 30 seconds left. Nathan Pool made both kicks for the Devils, while Township was blocked once, leaving G-A up by one at the half.
The Blue Devils came out strong in the third. Christian Hoover extended the lead with a 28-yard field goal with 5:15 to go and Szaflarski scored again from a yard out. Josh Short had set up the score with a fumble recovery and return to deep in Township territory. Pool inserted another extra point and the Devils were up 24-13.
Fumbles on a punt and a kickoff hurt the Devils in the pivotal fourth quarter, but an interception by Denton Cordell and a 64-yard punt from Hoover gave G-A some chances. Fresh off a stunning loss to Chambersburg, Township was out to make a comeback of their own. Ben Dupree engineered two drives for the winning measure.
Devin Schaeffer led the Devil rushing with 53 yards on 13 carries. He also threw a 28-yard pass to Chad Miller. Brandon Trefelner grabbed two passes for 44 yards. Meyers was 8-for-15 for 89 yards passing.
The Devils are still among the honorable mentions in the Pennsylvania Class AAA rankings and coming into the game were third in the District 3-AAA power ratings.
G-A will regroup to face Northern on the Polar Bears’ turf Friday at 7 p.m. in a key Mid-Penn Conference Capital Division clash.
