Column: Biglerville goes for program's best win
In the locker room after Biglerville's dramatic Week 10 that sealed a playoff spot and a share of the YAIAA Division III title, sixth-year Alex Ramos expressed displeasure with one aspect of his team's celebration
"Guys, we just won a league title, and I didn’t get a bath," he told them. "I’m disappointed."
"Don't worry we ain't done yet," his players responded.
When the Canners beat co-Division III champion Hanover last Friday in the first round of the District 3 AA playoffs, they rewarded Ramos with his desired bath, dumping a cooler full of ice water over his head.
“It’s the best bath I’ve ever had," a shivering Ramos, who is in his sixth year as the Canners head coach, said minutes later. "First bath I’ve ever had, and the best one."
But the fact that players rewarded Ramos with the bath he'd been hoping for doesn't mean Biglerville is done just yet. The Canners (8-3) travel to play undefeated defending district champion Wyomissing at 1 p.m. Saturday in Berks County, a black hole that has gobbled up many successful Adams County football teams over the years.
"We're looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity," Ramos said. "We face a very difficult opponent, but I'd rather have a shot at them than be sitting at home."
A win in this game is clearly a tall task for the Canners, but if they pull it off it would undoubtedly go down as the biggest victory in program history. Biglerville has never been past the district semifinals and hadn't made it that far until 2012.
If there's ever been a group of Canners that could pull off an upset of this magnitude, this year's squad seems to be it. This senior class, highlighted by quarterback Ben Hurda and playmakers Colton Sentz, Dayne Showers, Scott Cooper and Gage McAuliffe, led the turnaround from going 1-9 in 2013 to going 7-3 and earning the program's second playoff victory this season.
A top-10 list of wins in Biglerville football history would probably include all the Canners' last three victories: pummeling previously undefeated Hanover, 42-21, on Oct. 30 in a game they needed to win to maintain a shot at the division title and a playoff spot, beating arch-rival Bermudian Springs, 17-14, on Nov. 6 to give Ramos his first win against the Eagles and achieve those aforementioned goals, and last week's 30-7 pounding of Hanover to advance in the district playoffs for the second time.
Those wins showcased Sentz, who ran for a total of 350 yards and seven touchdowns in the two wins against Hanover and kicked the game-winning field goal with eight seconds left in a tied game against Bermudian Springs
This Canners team also beat Delone Catholic for the first time since 1992 - before any of the players were born — back on Oct. 9. And while the wins helped erase memories of early season losses, the players surely know that 7-3 could've been 8-2 or 9-1, maybe even 10-0. They lost to Annville-Cleona in double-overtime in Week 1, lost to Waynesboro by one point in Week 2 and lost a controversy filled game against York Catholic by a touchdown in Week 7.
No matter what happens on Saturday, this season will be remembered as a success for Biglerville. But a win would cement the 2015 team as one of the best to come out of Adams County this century.
And if the magic continues and the Canners do earn their biggest win, you can bet Ramos is getting another bath.