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Mules Top Shippensburg - Advance to District Semis

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At Britain Hill Thursday, November 10, head coach Greg Minnich announced the following award winners: (left to right): Luke Herr Rookie of the Year; Hudson Brown - Most Improved; Brayden Herr - Coaches Award; Logan Wagner - Lowest Stroke Average, lowest stroke average in Section Two, four year district qualifier and two year state qualifier with a fourth place finish at states this year; and Anna Sexton - Coaches Award.

BY MONA STEINHAUER

In a game that appeared to be heading for a mercy rule induced running clock, the momentum suddenly shifted. After grabbing a convincing 28-7 lead by halftime, Josiah Forren opened the third quarter with an 18-yard touchdown run before Shippensburg, not ready to concede defeat in the District Three 5A quarterfinals in Quarryville on November 12, mounted a comeback. That rally fell short and Solanco advanced to the district semifinals, for the second time in school history, with a 42-35 thriller.

Shippensburg’s Trae Kater scored twice in a span of 57 seconds, sparked by an onside-kick recovery, that cut the lead to 35-21 with 2:53 left in the third.

“I think the kids just got too relaxed,” said head coach Tony Cox. “And when they realized that, they refocused.”

Cole Harris, who rushed 83yards on 22 carries, capped a nine-play drive and scored what proved to be the gamewinning touchdown, a threeyard run that opened the fourth quarter and pushed the lead to 42-21.

The Greyhounds quickly responded. Quarterback Tucker Chamberlin (ranked top 10 in the state) threw a 48-yard strike to his brother, Tory. Nick Defrancesco blocked the PAT, giving Solanco new life but the Mules could not convert. They drove the length of the field but turned the ball over on downs with 5:23 left.

“We thought about kicking a field goal at that point, but our snaps were a bit off,” said Cox. “And we haven’t kicked a field goal all year. I didn’t want the pressure of this one to be our first. So we went for it and fell short of the first down.”

Chamberlin (15-for-24, 225 yards) passed his way to the endzone, eventually finding Kater with a 5-yard score. Then, spinning his way out of a jam, he cut the lead to 42-35 with an impressive flip to Erby Weller for the two-point conversion with 3:25 remaining. He was 10-for-12 in the second half. Solanco was able to gain first downs to run the clock out on Shippensburg’s season, dealing the eighth seed a heartbreaking 42-35 defeat.

“We just couldn’t stop them in the first half,” said Shippensburg’s head coach Eric Fouse. “I think we panicked a little.”

“This was an eye opener,” Cox stated. “We have a lot of things to correct. We can’t just do our own thing. We have to execute more, and we can’t relax when we get a lead.”

That first half included a 63-yard, 16 play drive and a six-yard carry by Brody Mellinger for the first score of the game. Mellinger added two more touchdown runs in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 21-0 with 5:19 left in the half. Forren capitalized on David Achuff’s fumble recovery, forced by Defrancesco, scoring from six yards out to make it 28-0.

Shippensburg got on the board with 29.8 seconds left in the half and carried that momentum through the second half.

Forren finished with 175 yards on 14 carries and led the defense with nine tackles. Mellinger added 131 yards on 16 carries and Harris added 88 yards on 22 rushes.

“Josiah is a hard-nosed kid,” said Cox. “He’s the spark when we need it. The seniors kept us going,” he added. “We never gave up and kept fighting. I knew if we got the ball back, we’d be able to kill some time. It was a good win.”

The final score reflected Solanco’s last playoff game when they lost at Shippensburg in 2019. That time around the Mules had the ball late but failed to capitalize.

photo by Mona Steinhauer

Solanco’s David Achuff get set to block Shippensburg’s Landon Carbaugh in the Mules 42-35 District 3 5A victory over the Greyhounds Saturday, November 12.