2014 preview

By John Buffone and Pat Huggins

GameTimePA.com

The times they are a-changing … maybe.

The 2014 Lancaster-Lebanon football season is packed full of storylines that are going to keep high school football fans mesmerized all the way into December.

In Section One, the king is still reigning supreme in Wilson, which won its sixth straight section title and extended its section winning streak to 43 games in 2013.

Looking to knock the Bulldogs off their throne is Penn Manor, which fell twice to Wilson last year, including a 27-0 decision in the second round of the playoffs.

Seemingly Wilson’s only roadblock to another section title, Penn Manor’s players are already looking forward to their late October showdown with the Bulldogs.

“Every game is important, but I’m looking forward to that one,” Comets quarterback Tanner Erisman said. “We’re probably going to have the most fans of any L-L game in our stadium.”

While Penn Manor will try to change the winds in Section One, section realignment is already shaking things up in Section Two.

Dropping down from Section One is perennial power Lancaster Catholic and coming up from Section Three is Garden Spot, which is coming off a playoff season, as well.

Other changes in Section Two include a new sheriff in town for Solanco. After spending 13 years at Berkeley High School in South Carolina and being a part of a 2009 state championship squad, Anthony Cox takes over as the Mules head coach in hopes of turning around a program that went 2-8 in 2013.

“My expectations right now are to make the kids buy in. We’re putting a new offense in and we’re just trying to get the kids to work hard,” Cox said. “Any success we have is great, but I’m not going to put a number on it. I want to teach the kids character and teach them how to be men.”

The realignment creates a royal rumble in Section Two that includes five squads that made the District 3 playoffs in 2013. Major players for the section crown are assumed to be defending champion Manheim Central, Cocalico, Lancaster Catholic and Lampeter-Strasburg.

Cocalico almost missed the party this year when it was slotted to move down to Section Three until Ephrata saved the Eagles’ day and agreed to swap positions.

“For these kids, they don’t know any better. We’ve always been in Section Two for the last 10 years so they were very excited to stay, as were I and the coaches,” Cocalico coach Dave Gingrich said. “Section Two is a challenging section and it’s going to get tougher.”

With Cocalico staying in Section Two, the biggest rivalry in the section is being preserved between the Eagles and Manheim Central.

“They bring out the best in us, and I hope we bring out the best in them. We’ve had some great games in the past 10 years,” Gingrich said. “I’m excited we’re not leaving Section Two for a number of reasons but that’s a big one. You never have to worry about getting your kids excited to play Manheim Central.”

Adding even more intensity to the Oct. 17 matchup between the Eagles and Barons is the biggest story of the L-L offseason.

After 34 years, Manheim Central coach Mike Williams announced he would be retiring following the 2014 season. Under Williams, the Barons have gone 240-71-3 and won 17 section titles with a state championship coming in 2003.

The changes are even leaking into Section Three with Pequea Valley finding a new coach in former Great Valley coach Mike Choi.

Pequea Valley has had only one winning season in school history with no one on the current roster ever experiencing a .500 record. The Braves went 3-7 in 2013 under Evan Breisblatt, who resigned in February to take over at District 1-AAA Phoenixville.

“This is the year we have to do it. I don’t think being 3-7 is what we want to be. I know I don’t want to be that. A winning season is what everyone is striving for,” junior quarterback Gabe Allgyer said.

Choi said achieving that winning season would not only change the attitude of his players but also get the wheels turning towards a culture shift in Kinzers.

“I came here because it was an opportunity to do something special. We get to build this thing from the ground up and create a culture that is not only exciting but lasting,” Choi said. “Everyone in the school and the community has been great, and it will be great to see these stands packed on Friday nights.”

With Garden Spot bumping up to Section Two, 2013 Section Three champion Donegal is the preseason favorite to repeat, but ELCO, Northern Lebanon and Annville-Cleona should be nipping at their heels throughout the season.

Over in Lebanon County, the winds of change are gusting as well, for players, coaches, and teams in general.

That's certainly the case at Lebanon, where the Cedars are looking to fill the giant shoes of prolific quarterback Mark Pyles, who guided the Cedars to a surprising trip to the Class AAAA district playoffs last season by piling up 48 combined touchdowns while at the controls of the vaunted Air Raid attack.

Pyles, one of Pennsylvania's two QBs for the Big 33 game, has moved onto the collegiate level at Bucknell, where he'll play linebacker.

That leaves Lebanon head coach Gerry Yonchiuk, looking for a replacement. Earlier this summer, he was eyeing three potential candidates to replace Pyles: Last season's backup, senior Justin Martin; promising sophomore Cody Kissinger; and junior Omel Francois, more of a Wildcat-type QB.

Regardless of who’s under center for Lebanon at the annual season-opening Cedar Bowl clash with Cedar Crest on Aug. 29, the Cedars will take on a new leader on the opposite sideline: new Cedar Crest boss Rob Wildasin.

Wildasin takes over for Tom Waranavage, who stepped down in November after five seasons at the helm.

Wildasin, a former receiver and defensive back at Annville-Cleona and Lafayette College, is a teacher at Cedar Crest and a former Falcon assistant. He spent the past few seasons on the staff of his high school coach, Terry Lehman, at A-C.

In his first head coaching gig, Wildasin will look to breathe new life into a Cedar Crest program whose last winning season came in 2004, when it went 6-4 under Mike Robinson.

Change is also in the air at Palmyra, and the Cougars couldn't be happier about it.

After two season of enduring the treacherous Mid-Penn Keystone Division and its multiple powerhouse programs, Palmyra is back in the more suitable Capital Division courtesy of conference realignment.

That doesn't mean the Cougars will magically transform into a postseason contender, after going 1-19 the last two years. But with quarterback Michael Lewis and big-play wideout Mitchell Cooper back in the fold, Palmyra should be competitive again on most Friday nights this fall.

Whether the wind blows in new eras or simply swirls around the status quo, there’s no denying that the 2014 Lancaster-Lebanon football season is going to be a wild ride.