Unbeaten Hanover turns tables on Eastern York with lockdown 'D', Laughman-led run game
Hanover head coach Bill Reichart can't help but reminisce.
Friday night, the players stood together on the field holding their helmets in the air and saluting the fans, who returned the favor with a standing ovation after the Nighthawks posted another big win. This time, Hanover beat Eastern York, 13-6, to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Hanover hasn't seen a start this strong in a while. In fact, many say the 2015 Hanover Nighthawks are the best team since 1985, when Reichart, as a player, helped his team win the District 3 Class A championship.
And after Friday's win, Reichart said he's starting to see the winning spirit that embodied his 1985 team coming back.
"I swear to God, when we had our first football meeting in the winter, I told this team reminded me so much of my senior year," he said. "There are a lot of similarities. Oh my gosh, I just realized it's 30 years later and here we are with another team that could go a long way."
Last week, it was quarterback Kyle Krout leading the way in a win against Kennard-Dale. This time, it was the running game led by Jordan Laughman that got to Eastern York (2-1).
Laughman, who rushed for 149 yards and one touchdown, said the team is playing for their coach.
"All of this is going toward him," he said. "He's doing a heck of a job coaching us over there."
The senior running back carried the ball seven times on Hanover's final drive, which took 4:17 and gave Eastern York no chance for a comeback.
"All of us, since of ninth grade year, have been looking forward to our senior year," Laughman said. "Now it's time, and you can't ask for a better start."
Hanover rushed for 230 yards against the top-ranked Eastern York defense that had allowed just 42 yards in two games before Friday. Meanwhile, Eastern couldn't get its offense going, rushing for 71 yards on the night.
Golden Knights head coach Dave Kemmick said his team came out flat and couldn't recover.
"[Hanover] didn't surprise me at all," he said. "We just have to pick it up. We came out a little soft and thought it would be easy, but it wasn't."
The Nighthawks made it through its first big test unscathed, but Reichart said he knows there's still much to do.
"We're not used to this start around here," he said. "I don't know how far we're going to go with this thing. We've still got seven more, or more."
Hanover7060—13Eastern York0060—6
First Quarter
H — Resean Williams 19 pass from Kyle Krout (Kenworthy kick), 1:55.
Third Quarter
H — Jordan Laughman 5 rush (kick failed), (2:19).
EY — Seth Bernstein 55 pass from Ryan Kalke (kick failed), 2:06.
HanEYFirst downs197Rushes-yards34-23035-71Passing11-24-02-10-0Passing yards10256Total yards332127Punts 4-28.26-19.8Fumbles-lost3-24-2 Penalties-yards7-657-40
Individual statistics
Rushing — Han, Jordan Laughman 18-149, Devon Bell 7-40, Deandre Kerr 3-21, Justin Barnes 6-20. EY, Isaiah King 7-36, Brennen Shenk 11-25, Logan Kline 9-21, Ryan Kalke 8-(-11).
Passing — Han, Kyle Krout 11-24-113, EY, Ryan Kalke 2-9-56, Seth Bernstein 0-1-0.
Receiving — Han, Resean Williams 4-50, Nick Seymour 2-14, Bill Morris 1-14, Colten Ehrhart 2-13, Luis Lara 1-11. EY, Seth Bernstein 1-55, Derek Zurin 1-1.