LEWISTOWN, Pa . – With the season coming to a close, the Kish Indians wrapped up regular season championships in the Mighty Might and Pee Wee divisions as the Central Keystone Youth Football & Cheer League (CKYFCL) postseason picture came into clearer view.
MIGHTY MIGHTS
Kish 6 – McVeytown 4
REEDSVILLE, Pa. – Kish used a pair of four-quarter scores to pull away late and secure the 2024 Mighty Might division regular season crown with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over the visiting McVeytown Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
On the game’s opening possession, Jack Wagner put the host Indians on the scoreboard with a four-yard touchdown burst to put Kish out in front by a 1-0 tally.
McVeytown scored the equalizer with 1:55 to play in the first quarter when Knox Hartman punched it in from one yard out to knot the game up at a score each.
Kish had the final say in the waning moments of the first quarter. Bennett Harmon ran the ball into the endzone from the 10 to put Kish out in front by a 2-1 margin as the game headed to the second frame.
Hartman notched his second score of the day with 4:40 to play in the first half when he barrelled into the endzone to knot the game up at two each.
Kish regained the lead in the waning minutes of the first half to take a 3-2 lead into the intermission. Harmon scored on a 33-yard burst for his second score of the afternoon to send the Indians to the locker room with a slim one-score lead.
The back-and-forth affair continued out of the halftime break. Bryce Seedes punched it in from the 13 with 7:30 to go in the third quarter, tying the score up at a 3-3 tally.
Once again it was Harmon pushing Kish back in front with four minutes to play in the third. Harmon sprinted 33 yards to the endzone to build a 4-3 Kish lead with the game heading to the final quarter.
Harmon wasn’t finished on the afternoon as he scored a three-yard touchdown with 4:55 to play to push the Kish lead to two scores at a 5-3 gap.
McVeytown looked to rally late when Stetson Bordell scored on a 10-yard carry, but Harmon had the final say with 2:05 to go when he sprinted 35 yards to the endzone to propel Kish to a hard-earned 6-4 victory.
Burnham 3 – Juniata 2
BURNHAM, Pa. – Robert Davis scored twice and Kyson Miller added a score as the Burnham Bulldogs picked up a season sweep of the Juniata Little Indians with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Davis opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive to put Burnham out in front by a 1-0 tally.
Juniata scored the equalizer early in the second quarter when James Gehman barrelled in from the one-yard line to knot the game up at a score each.
Following the Juniata score, Burnham had the final say in the opening half. Miller galloped across the goalline on a nine-yard carry with 6:29 to go in the first half to put the Bulldogs back out in front by a 2-1 score.
Both defenses held true in the third quarter as Burnham owned a slim 2-1 advantage as the game shifted to the final frame.
Davis bookended the day with a five-yard touchdown run with 5:52 to go as Burnham extended its lead to 3-1.
Juniata wouldn’t go away without a fight.
Ryker Stahl answered the Burnham score with one of his own on the ensuing Little Indians drive to bridge the gap to 3-2 with 4:49 to play but it wasn’t enough as Burnham picked up a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
Terrace 7 – Derry-Decatur 0
PEE WEES
Kish 13 – McVeytown 12
REEDSVILLE, Pa. – Kish ran out to a two-score lead after the first quarter of play and held off a late-game charge from visiting McVeytown as the host Indians secured the regular season Pee Wee division championship behind a 13-12 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Kish forced a McVeytown fumble on the opening series of the game and Knox Wagner came up with the recovery. Kish worked its way downfield and capped off the drive when Wyatt Hassinger connected with Jase Atherton for a score to build a 7-0 Kish lead.
After the defense forced a McVeytown punt, Kish got back on the board as a long Hassinger touchdown run pushed the lead to 13-0 after the first quarter of play.
McVeytown got on the board in the second quarter to trim the deficit to a single score at a 13-6 tally when Mathew Hartsock pounded the ball in from the one-yard line with 1:46 to go in the first half.
Out of the halftime break, McVeytown struck again with 56 ticks to go in the third quarter when Hartsock found paydirt on a 35-yard sprint to cut the game to a 13-12 Kish lead. The visiting Eagles were kept out of the endzone on the extra point attempt when Duke Peachey picked off a Calvin Napikoski pass to maintain a 13-12 Kish lead as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
Both defenses were up to the task in the fourth quarter as Kish held on and secured its eighth win of the year by a 13-12 margin.
Hartsock led the way for the McVeytown defense with seven stops. Alex Weaver chipped in a trio of tackles in the loss.
Juniata 21 – Burnham 12
BURNHAM, Pa. – The three-headed rushing attack of Mason DeLancey, Michael Lorenz, and Cooper Snyder each found the endzone as Juniata ran its way to a 21-12 victory over the Burnham Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
Lorenz got the visiting Little Indians on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run to put Juniata out in front by a 7-0 tally with 4:07 to go in the first.
Burnham got on the board in the waning moments of the first half when Chantz Williams scored from the two-yard line to send the game to the half with Juniata clinging to a 7-6 advantage.
Out of the intermission, Juniata scored the lone touchdown of the third quarter when Snyder bolted in from 25 yards out to extend the Little Indians lead to 14-6 as the game headed to the final frame.
Juniata extended its lead to 21-6 midway through the fourth quarter when DeLancey barrelled in from the 25.
Burnham scored late but it wasn’t enough as Juniata picked up a split in the season series with the Bulldogs with a 21-12 victory.
Terrace 7 – Derry-Decatur 0
MIDGETS
McVeytown 26 – Kish 2
REEDSVILLE, Pa. – Bentley Felmlee scored three times on the ground and as the McVeytown Eagles rolled to their sixth victory of the season with a 26-2 win over the Kish Indians on Sunday afternoon.
McVeytown broke the early deadlock when Colt Bratton barrelled into the endzone from the four-yard line with 34 ticks to go in the opening stanza to put the Eagles out in front by a 6-0 score.
Felmlee got on the scoreboard in a big way in the second quarter to extend the Eagles’ lead to 13-0 when he sprinted 50 yards to the endzone with 8:08 to go in the first half.
Following an exchange, Felmlee rounded out the first-half scoring with a 30-yard touchdown run to send McVeytown to the locker room with a 19-0 lead.
Kish’s defense scored the only points in the third quarter by recording a safety to cut the deficit to 19-2 as the game headed to the final frame.
Felmlee capped off the day with a 25-yard scamper with 7:50 remaining in the game to push McVeytown out to a 26-2 score which is how the game would end.
Along with his offensive prowess, Felmlee led the Eagles defense with eight tackles. Treyson Yohn chipped in six stops while Zander Fultz and Carter Smith added four tackles each in the win.
Terrace 25 – Derry-Decatur 13
The CKYFCL is a 501c3 registered non-profit organization benefitting the more than 600 children across a four-county area in Central Pennsylvania. In addition to healthy competition, the league aims to provide an equal opportunity for kids between the ages of 5 and 13 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