YAIAA football Athlete of the Week | Nov. 3-Nov. 8

Some YAIAA teams were dealt some tough defeats during the opening rounds of their respective District 3 football tournaments this past Friday.

We’ll start with Dallastown, a No. 5 seed entering the District 3 Class AAAA tournament, which suffered a 36-21 loss to No. 12 Hempfield.

"They (Hempfield) came out and played,” Wildcats head coach Kevin Myers said following the contest. “That's been our theme the last six weeks, that we have to play 48 minutes of football, and we played about 24 tonight. Whatever that ‘it’ factor is, we didn't have it the first half."

His point was well taken. Hempfield led 28-7 at intermission - the team scored 21 points in the second quarter. A late Dallastown push - the Wildcats cut the deficit down to 28-21 late in the fourth - wasn’t enough. The team finished the season with a 9-2 overall record.

Ironically, Gettysburg suffered a similar fate in its Class AAA contest, falling as a No. 6 seed to No. 11 Milton Hershey, 27-14. Milton Hershey took a 21-6 lead at intermission and was able to hang on against a Warriors team that went 8-3 this past season.

On Milton Hershey’s first play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Keonte Lucas fumbled the snap but picked it up and ran 66 yards untouched up the middle for a touchdown.

"They're a team of hope," Gettysburg coach Matt Heiser said. "So when they were able to take that opening snap and score, it got them ready to go."

Of course, it’s the playoffs, and literally anything can happen. That also means the favored can hold serve. In Class AAA, No. 2 West York downed No. 15 Donegal 35-14, while the Class AA bracket saw No. 2 Bermudians Springs beat No. 7 Schuylkill Valley 42-0.

And, as always, there were some standout performers. We take a look at them, in our Athlete of the Week segment. Feel free to vote away!