Teeing up an intriguing Week 2 slate: 3 L

Aug 20, 2023

Lampeter-Strasburg QB Trent Wagner looks for running room against Solanco during second-half action of the annual “Milk Jug” rivalry game at Solanco High School in Quarryville on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023.

Week 2 — pow! — is now on the front-burner.

And it will be a short week for six L-L League pigskin teams, with four Thursday games on tap: Cedar Crest at CD East; Annville-Cleona at Elco; Garden Spot at Lebanon; and Upper Perkiomen at Schuylkill Valley will get Week 2 started 24 hours earlier than the rest of their their compatriots.

Cedar Crest, A-C, Elco and Garden Spot are 1-0.

With Labor Day Weekend on tap, those Thursday games have become more and more en vogue over the years.

Some post-Week-1 notables, as everyone starts getting into the football routine with September quickly approaching …

1. Multiple intriguing games on tap for Week 2. Here’s a primer with some yummy matchups to circle:

* Manheim Central vs. Smyrna (Delaware) in the Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic in Wilmington — Delaware’s largest city — with a 3:30 p.m. start time. The Barons wiped out West Chester East 56-0 in Week 1; the Eagles will be playing their first game this season — one year after winning the Delaware Class 3A state title with a win over Dover. Looks like a really cool complex where this game will be contested — Abessinio Stadium at the Salesianum School in Wilmington — so if you can swing the trip, go for it.

* Muhlenberg at Reading in the Battle of the Border trophy game. This will be the 20th rendition of this rivalry with the trophy up for grabs. The Red Knights lead 10-9, including a two-TD dub last year. Both teams will come in 0-1, and looking for some offense; Muhlenberg fell 15-7 in OT to Octorara, while Reading dropped a 55-6 decision vs. CD East. Back to the drawing board for both clubs; the winner here hoists the trophy.

* Ephrata at Warwick in the George Male Trophy game between those longtime backyard rivals. The Mountaineers and the Warriors both earned hard-fought victories in Week 1; Ephrata edged Red Lion 34-32 and Warwick rallied past Cocalico 17-14 with 17 unanswered second-half points to stun the reigning D3-5A champs. Ephrata pried the Male Trophy away from Warwick for the first time since 2005 — a span of 15 games — with a 29-21 victory last year. The Warriors lead the series 47-39-6. Can the Mounts make it two straight? Get yourself to Lititz on Friday to find out.

* Solanco at Cocalico is a rematch from last year’s D3-5A semifinals, when the Eagles soared into Quarryville and decked the Golden Mules 32-8, handing top-seeded Solanco its first loss after an 11-0 getaway. The Mules beat Cocalico — also in Quarryville — 21-7 back in Week 2 last year. The Eagles won the rematch, on the way to winning the district crown. The rematch is Friday, and someone is winning for the first time this season.

* Donegal at York Suburban is also a playoff rematch; the Trojans KO’d the Indians 41-6 in a D3-4A first-rounder last fall. That’s the night Suburban RB Mikey Bentivegna rushed for 382 yards and six touchdowns. Yep, 382 and six. The Trojans also beat Donegal 41-18 in a Week 2 nonleague meeting last year. The rematch is Friday, and the Indians are certainly feeling better about things after blanking Elizabethtown 27-0 in Week 1. Suburban fell to East Pennsboro 37-6 in its opener.

* Pequea Valley at Octorara is a Saturday, 11 a.m. kick in Atglen for the Brave Bowl trophy. Octorara leads the series 10-3, and this will be the 14th — and last meeting, for now — collision between the Braves and the Braves. PV and Octorara are ending this backyard series after this season. More on that coming up this week. Sit tight. Both teams had close-call games in Week 1: Octorara outlasted Muhlenberg 15-7 in OT; PV was edged out by Biglerville, 14-7.

L-L LEAGUE FOOTBALL STANDINGS, SCHEDULES, STATS

2. Five games will pit a 1-0 team vs. a 1-0 team: Cedar Crest-CD East; A-C-Elco; Exeter-Boyertown; Ephrata-Warwick; and Twin Valley-Lower Dauphin — and that game will be played in Hersheypark Stadium, the Falcons’ home field. Enjoy the Concrete Palace, TV fans.

Wyomissing’s Week 2 foe, Pottsville, suffered a 68-13 Week 1 setback against Jersey Shore, which is No. 9 in the PennLive Class 4A state rankings. … Hempfield’s Week 2 opponent, York, dropped a 50-20 decision against reigning PIAA-6A runner-up Harrisburg; the Cougars are at No. 6 in the PennLive 6A state rankings. … Berks Catholic’s Week 2 matchup is against Executive Education Charter Academy, which is No. 10 in the PennLive Class 2A state rankings. EECA KO’d Salem (New Jersey) 42-19 in its opener.

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3. Seven games on the Week 2 slate feature a 0-1 team going up against another 0-1 team: Upper Perkiomen-Schuylkill Valley; McCaskey-Elizabethtown; Muhlenberg-Reading; Central Dauphin-Wilson; Solanco-Cocalico; Susquehanna Township-Northern Lebanon; and Hanover-Columbia. … Penn Manor, Elizabethtown and Columbia were all blanked in Week 1, so the Comets, Bears and Crimson Tide — oh my — will be looking to find the end zone in Week 2. … Lebanon, which welcomes Garden Spot on Thursday, will be out to snap a 23-game losing streak. … Wyomissing will be angling for its 37th straight regular-season dub at Pottsville. That’s another longtime series that is going away after this season. However, Wyo has added — get this — Southern Columbia to its nonleague slate for 2024-25.

TWITTER: @JeffReinhart77

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