LEWISTOWN, Pa. – After nearly one month of season preparations, the youth of the Central Keystone Youth Football & Cheer League (CKYFCL) hit the gridiron on Sunday afternoon to open up the 2025 season.
MIGHTY MIGHTS (Flag)
KISH 32 – McVEYTOWN 22
MCVEYTOWN, Pa. – Three different players scored for the visiting Kish Indians as the visitors held off the host McVeytown Eagles by a 32-22 tally on Sunday afternoon.
Trace Reed opened the scoring for Kish with a first-quarter touchdown run before Khai Carrington added a second-quarter score as Kish owned a 16-7 lead at the half.
Reed scored again in the third quarter and Theo Bush added a fourth-quarter touchdown run to round out the scoring and send Kish home with a 32-22 victory.
Kish is back in action on September 7 when it hosts Juniata at noon. McVeytown is back in action on September 7 when it travels to Burnham for a noon kick.
OTHER SCORES:
JUNIATA 24 – DERRY-DECATUR 18
BURNHAM 24 – TERRACE 18
PEE WEES
JUNIATA 40 – DERRY-DECATUR 0
PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Juniata utilized a balanced offensive attack and a smothering defensive effort to open the season in style with a 40-0 victory over the visiting Derry-Decatur Cyclones on Sunday afternoon.
James Gehman wrapped up the scoring for the host Little Indians with a third-quarter score to push Juniata’s lead to 40-0.
Juniata’s defense continued to shine over the final 12 minutes, holding the Cyclones offense off the scoreboard to notch the team’s first win of the year in shutout fashion.
Offensively, five different players struck pay dirt for Juniata. Gehman was joined by Stephen Batarick, Easton Hostler, Dominic Lorenz and Ryker Stahl as the quintet each scored touchdowns for the Little Indians in the win.
The Little Indians are back in action after the Labor Day holiday when they travel to Kish for a 3 p.m. showdown on September 7. Derry-Decatur will be back in action on September 7 when it travels to Terrace for a 3 p.m. affair with the Tigers.
KISH 28 – McVEYTOWN 13
MCVEYTOWN, Pa. – Bennett Harmon scampered for four touchdowns and rushed for over 150 yards to lead the visiting Kish Indians to a 28-13 victory in Sunday’s season opener against the host McVeytown Eagles.
McVeytown got on the board first early in the first quarter. Stetson Bordell powered the ball across the goal line on a five-yard carry to put the host Eagles out in front by a 6-0 score.
Harmon got on the board for the first time on the game’s ensuing possession. The youngster sprinted to the end zone from 46 yards out to tie the game up, 6-6. Eli Jackson broke the plane on the extra point attempt to put Kish out in front by a 7-6 tally with 8:35 to play in the first quarter.
Kish’s defense held true on the following McVeytown possession before Harmon added a second score, this time on a 37-yard burst to put the Indians up by a 13-6 tally. Quay Vogt converted the extra point attempt to extend the Kish advantage to 14-6.
Harmon added another score on a 20-yard run to build a 20-6 lead late in the first half and rounded out the first-half scoring by finding Vogt on a two-point conversion pass to put Kish up by a 22-6 tally at the half.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Harmon capped off the day with his fourth touchdown run of the afternoon to put the game out of reach. Harmon’s 20-yard touchdown run pushed Kish out in front by a 28-6 score with seven minutes remaining.
McVeytown added a score with 72 ticks to play when Knox Hartman scored from the goal line but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Indians opened the season with convincing 28-13 win.
Defensively, Kish was led by the efforts of Emmett Hostetler. Hostetler made six stops to lead the Kish defense while Brody Bishop added five stops in the win.
Kish is back in action on September 7 when it hosts Juniata for a 3 p.m. kickoff with the Little Indians. McVeytown will look to get back on track on September 7 when it travels to Burnham for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Bulldogs.
OTHER SCORES:
BURNHAM 42 – TERRACE 0
MIDGETS
BURNHAM 12 – TERRACE 0
BURNHAM, Pa. – Ricky Jenkins rushed for a score and added a receiving touchdown to lead the Burnham Bulldogs to a 12-0 shutout victory on Sunday afternoon against the visiting Terrace Tigers.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Connor Rose connected with Jenkins on a 25-yard pattern to build a 6-0 Burnham lead. Burnham’s defense held strong over the remainder of the opening half to own a 6-0 advantage as the two teams went to the locker room.
Out of the halftime break, Jenkins finalized the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run to extend the Bulldogs lead to 12-0.
Burnham’s defense pitched a shutout across the remainder of the game as the Bulldogs opened the season with a solid 12-0 victory over Terrace.
Burnham is back in action on August 27 when it travels to Kish-North for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with the Indians. Terrace returns to the gridiron on September 7 when it hosts Derry-Decatur for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Cyclones.
JUNIATA 20 – DERRY-DECATUR 12
PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Abel Yoder ran for two scores and Michael Lorenz added a touchdown pass as the Juniata Little Indians held off Derry-Decatur by a 20-12 score.
Yoder opened the scoring with a two-yard run to put Juniata out in front by a 6-0 score with 48 ticks to play in thew opening frame.
Derry-Decatur’s defense got on the scoreboard when Evan Kahley picked off a Lorenz pass and took it the other way to the end zone, tying the score up, 6-6, as the game headed to the intermission.
Out of the halftime break, a defensive battle ensued with both teams being held off the scoreboard in the third quarter as the contest remained at a 6-6 deadlock with 12 minutes to play.
Yoder struck pay dirt for the second time of the day with a 20-yard touchdown run to put Juniata out in front by a 14-6 tally with 6:56 to play following a successful two-point conversion.
Lorenz struck on a 17-yard touchdown pass to give the Little Indians a cushion at a 20-6 score with 1:46 remaining.
Brady Kahley rounded out the scoring with a Derry-Decatur touchdown run on the game’s final play but it wasn’t enough as the host Little Indians held on for a 20-12 victory.
Derry-Decatur is back in action on August 27 when it plays host to Kish-South. Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. Juniata is back in action on September 7 when it travels to play Kish – North at 3 p.m.
McVEYTOWN 20 – KISH-SOUTH 0
MCVEYTOWN, Pa. – Calvin Napikoski rushed for two scores and threw for another as the McVeytown Eagles picked up where it left off a season ago en route to a 20-0 victory over the South squad of the Kish Indians.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Napikoski got the Eagles on the scoreboard with a 70-yard touchdown run with 6:10 to play in the first half to make the score 6-0.
Both teams were held off the scoreboard over the remainder of the first half with McVeytown owning a slim 6-0 advantage at the half.
Napikoski added his second touchdown score late in the third quarter on a 10-yard sprint to extend the McVeytown lead to 12-0.
While the Eagles defense held strong keeping the Kish offense off schedule, Napikoski connected with Canyan Brown on a five-yard touchdown strike to build the McVeytown lead to 18-0 with 7:14 to play.
McVeytown’s defense got on the board late in the contest when Cole Laughlin recorded a safety to finalize the scoring at a 20-0 tally.
The McVeytown defense was led by four players – Owen Fultz, Alex Weaver, Laughlin and Napikoski – with a pair of tackles each.
McVeytown is back in action on September 3 when it travels to Reedsville to play the Kish – North team with a 5:30 p.m. kickoff against the Indians. Kish – South is back in action on September 3 when it travels to Burnham. Kickoff in that matchup is also set for 5:30 p.m.
The CKYFCL is a 501c3 registered non-profit organization benefitting the more than 500 children across a four-county area in Central Pennsylvania. In addition to healthy competition, the league aims to provide an equal opportunity for the youth of Central Pennsylvania to learn important skills in teamwork while forming friendships and bonds that can last a lifetime.
Member organizations include:
Burnham Bulldogs
Derry-Decatur Cyclones
Juniata Little Indians
Kish Indians
McVeytown Eagles
Terrace Tigers