Coach Harvey

08 Season 10-3 Distrit 3 Finals

09 Season 12-1 District 3 Semi Finals 

December 5- It will be a game that will be remembered by everyone who witnessed it. The players, the coaches, the frozen fans, the sports writers, everyone. Cumberland Valley upset Bishop McDevitt, 34-27, in two overtimes at Hersheypark Stadium for the PIAA District 3 Class AAAA Championship. The Eagles had led the entire game until an unlikely Crusader comeback had knotted the score at 20 with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Then McDevitt had to withstand a final CV surge and block a field goal attempt to reach overtime. A fleeting lead in the first overtime was quickly erased. Then, finally, it was over in a heartbeat. The team that many had predicted would win a state championship had suffered its only defeat of the year, but it was enough to send the Crusaders home with a 12-1 record. The Eagles will go on to meet State College, a fellow Mid Penn member, in the western final. McDevitt dominated the statistics, out-gaining CV 470 total yards to 338, producing 13 more first downs (24 to 11) and registering a 100 yard rusher and receiver. But the resilient Eagle defense played rope-a-dope against their talented opponents all night, stopping the Crusaders twice on fourth down deep in CV territory and forcing 5 turnovers. In the end the only statistic that mattered was the final score.

McDevitt kicked off to start the game and the Crusader defense immediately stuffed the high-powered CV running game, forcing a 3-and-out and a subsequent punt that rolled dead at the McD 39. Junior Jameel Poteat (32 carries for 160 yards and 3 TD's)         started things off for McDevitt with a 2 yard run, and then junior quarterback Matt Johnson ran a keeper for a 22 yard gain, to the CV 37. Johnson then completed his first pass of the evening, an 8 yard gain to senior Salath Williams. After 2 Poteat dives had produced only 1 yard Crusaders were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the CV 28. Johnson tried a sneak, a play that has been very productive for McDevitt this year, but was stopped short of the first down and the Eagles took over. CV quarterback Eric Sawyer was promptly sacked by senior defensive end Ryan Kuntz and, a play later, CV had a 3^rd-and-9 to deal with. Sawyer retreated to pass and found Trevor Harmon for a 32 yard gain, to the McD 38. Three short runs later the Eagles had their own fourth down situation to deal with, needing 2 yards to keep the drive alive. Kevin Snyder was met by a host of Crusader tacklers, though, and the Crusaders took over at their own 30. After Poteat was held for no gain the rugged junior ripped off runs of 23 and 17 yards on the snow-covered turf to move McDevitt to the CV 30. Two plays later Johnson passed to Williams for 14 yards and another first down, at the CV 17. The drive self-destructed from there, though, as a holding penalty was followed by a  9 yard sack and a swing pass to Poteat that lost 8 yards. Johnson then scrambled for 24 yards, to the CV 20, as the scoreless first quarter ended.

The second quarter began with Johnson's incomplete pass giving the Eagles the ball. After 2 short runs and an incomplete pass CV was punting again, and senior Dawan Smith returned the kick 4 yards, to the McD 32. A 1 yard Johnson-to-Williams hookup preceded Johnson's dart to senior Dan Leonard (5 catches for 98 yards and 1 TD) for a 27 yard gain, to the CV 40. After a short Poteat run Johnson loaded up and threw a fade to Williams, two steps behind the defender, Trevor Harman. The pass was dulled by the swirling wind, however, and Harman intercepted at the CV 15. The McDevitt defense was still dominant, though, and forced another 3-and-out and punt Smith corralled the boot at the McD 36 and the Crusaders were ready to launch another drive. Poteat carried 5 consecutive times, gaining 0, 13, 12, 6, and 18 yards. Now on the CV 15, McDevitt saw the Eagle defense stiffen, throwing Poteat for a 3 yard loss. Following an incompletion the drive looked to be over when a scrambling Johnson was wrapped up about 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The wily junior then flipped a backhand throw to Poteat, who fought for a 12 yard gain, to the CV 6. Facing another 4th-and-1 deep in Eagle territory McDevitt Coach Jeff Weachter went back to Poteat for the short yardage play. CV got great penetration, though, and McDevitt was again stopped short of the first down. The Eagles then used the running of Snyder and Travis Friend to move to the CV 30 as the game neared halftime. From there Sawyer dropped back and threw to a wide-open Snyder, who benefited from a slipping McDevitt defender. Only a touchdown-saving tackle by senior cornerback Corey Ford at the McD 3 prevented the score, which came on the next play on a run by Friend. After the successful PAT the Eagles, dominated offensively the entire half but refusing to quit, had a stunning 7-0 lead with 57 seconds left in the half. McDevitt had used less time than that to score a number of times this year so, when Leonard returned the following kickoff 9 yards to the McD 37, McDevitt fans prepared for a passing onslaught. First Johnson scrambled out-of-bounds for a 2 yard gain and then he passed to Smith for a 15 yard gain into Eagle territory. On the next play CV was called for pass interference, giving the Crusaders the ball at the CV 31. Three straight incomplete passes followed, however, and McDevitt went to the locker room at half time without scoring for the first (and only) time in 2009.

The second half started with one of the Crusaders' lightning-quick scoring drives, covering 63 yards in 7 plays and 3 ½  minutes, mixing 3 passes and 4 runs. Poteat began the drive with a 3 yard run and then Johnson passed to Leonard for a 15 yard gain. Johnson then ran a 3 yard keeper before hitting senior Aaron Sye with a pass good for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the CV 44.Poteat followed a 7 yard run with a powerful 13 yard blast to the CV 24 before Johnson again targeted Leonard, this time a 24 yard scoring strike with the plucky senior breaking two tackles to reach paydirt. The opportunistic Eagles spoiled the McDevitt celebration, though, swarming through to block Connor Maloney's PAT attempt and maintaining a 1 point lead. It looked like momentum had swung to McDevitt on the next series when senior linebacker Fred Dietz sacked Sawyer for a 7 yard loss on third down, but the subsequent CV punt was fumbled by Smith at the McD 13 and the Eagles recovered. Cumberland Valley struck quickly from there,, as Snyder circled right end and scored on the next play. Lance Geesey's successful PAT gave CV a 14-6 lead, with 5:56 left in the third quarter. Leonard took the following kickoff 30 yards, to the McD 49, but a play later Johnson threw his second pick. Sawyer returned the favor two plays later, as junior linebacker Sean Barowski intercepted at midfield.

McDevitt was on the move again as the unforgettable fourth quarter began. After the Barowski interception Poteat had a 10 yard run into Eagle territory before Johnson passed to Sye for a 5 yard gain. A fumble cost the Crusaders 10 yards but a pass to Williams was good for 11. Johnson then passed again to the valiant Leonard, good for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the CV 15. Again the Eagle defense came up strong, dropping Poteat for consecutive losses of 2 and 3 yards. Johnson was unable to connect on his next two passes and CV regained control at its own 20. The Eagles moved to midfield on the strength of a 23 yard pass to Harman, but the combined efforts of Dietz, Barowski and Ford stopped the CV advance and forced a punt that rolled dead at the McD 24.  McDevitt started another drive with a 14 yard pass to Williams, followed two Johnson keepers that netted 17 yards. A 4 yard Poteat run spotted the ball at the CV 43, but Johnson was picked off for the third time on the next play. The ever-present Barowski got the ball back on the next play, though, forcing and then recovering a Friend fumble at the CV 44. An 8 yard Poteat gain and an 11 yard Johnson run, sandwiched around a motion penalty, moved the ball to the CV 30 before a block-in-the-back penalty against the Crusaders moved the spot back to the CV 47. With time running out in the final quarter Johnson found Williams for a huge 19 yard gain, bringing up a 4^th-and 8 situation at the CV 28. This time McDevitt converted on 4^th down, as Johnson fired a dart to Williams for a 13 yard gain that moved the chains. Poteat then blasted for 6 yards before following the double team block of seniors Victor Shaffer and Andrew Miscannon into the end zone to narrow the Eagle lead to 14-12, with 4:08 left in regulation. The Crusaders had no choice but to go for the 2 point conversion, but Johnson's pass to sophomore tight end Noah Spence was superbly defended by CV and the Eagle's 2 point advantage was preserved. Harman returned the ensuing kickoff to the CV 27 and the Eagles were soon facing a 3rd-and-4. Snyder took a pitch around right end, benefited by some good blocking by the CV receivers and sprinted for a 67 yard touchdown run that appeared to seal McDevitt's fate. But Ford and sophomore linebacker Brock Dean weren't ready to stop playing. The duo burst through the Eagle line to block Geesey's PAT attempt and Cumberland Valley had an 8 point lead to protect and 2 minutes and 29 seconds left to do it. The kickoff that followed was a short one and Leonard came up big again, advancing the ball 13 yards, to the McD 43. Johnson wasted little time going to the air, as he calmly passed to Williams for an 18 yard gain and followed that with an 8 yard toss to senior Jeremy Cornelius. Then it was time for Leonard to get into the act and he gathered in an accurate Johnson pass for a 15 yard gain, to the CV 14. With the clock moving under a minute Johnson ran a 6 yard keeper and then handed off to Poteat. The determined runner wouldn't be denied as he pushed his way over the goal line as the McDevitt fans roared in approval. With the score now at 20-18, the Crusaders approached the line of scrimmage with Johnson in the shotgun formation and Poteat beside him, two receivers spread to either side. Johnson took the snap, faked a handoff to Poteat and followed junior tackle Justen Garlic into the end zone to tie the score at 20. 53 seconds remained in the fourth quarter and the Eagles were determined to score again. After returning the kickoff to the CV 34, Sawyer ran a keeper to the 50. A fumble and an incomplete pass slowed the Eagle's momentum, but a 14 yard scamper by Snyder pulled CV within inches of a first down. Sawyer's sneak resulted in a measurement that gave the Eagles a first down at the McD 39. On the next play Sawyer threw a pass to Snyder, who outfought two McDevitt defenders to make the grab at the McD 13. CV Coach Tim Rimphel sent out Geesey to try a game-winning 30 yard field goal but, after a McDevitt time out, Ford came around left end and got a piece of the kick to send the game into overtime.

The Eagles won the coin toss before the first overtime and elected to have McDevitt go first. From the 10 Poteat carried 3 straight times, the final carry a 3 yard scoring run. Maloney's PAT attempt was perfect, and McDevitt had its only lead of the game, 27-20. Crusaders fans had hardly sat down when the Eagles tied the score on a quick pass from Sawyer to Colton Kirkpatrick. The CV crowd awaited Geesey's kick nervously, since his last two attempts had been blocked. They breathed a sigh of relief, though, as the kick sailed through the uprights to tie the score at 27. Now it was the Eagle's turn to go first. Friend struggled for 3 yards before Chris Conway swept left end for 3 more. McDevitt suffered a personal foul penalty on the play, so the ball was advanced to the 2. Friend ran for a yard before covering the final yard on 4^th down to give CV a 34-27 lead. McDevitt regained possession at the 10 and Poteat lost a yard on first down. Johnson then took the snap and looked to Williams, trying to run a slant. Johnson threw the ball but Snyder jumped the route, intercepting the ball and sending the Eagles to the Western final and the Crusaders home for the year.          

2009 was a glorious year for the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders, with a crummy ending. Despite the disappointment of losing the district final, McDevitt fans will long remember the tremendous effort by the Crusaders, especially the proud seniors. The offense, defense and special teams gave the fans countless hours of exciting entertainment, due to their hard work and the tireless efforts of a dedicated coaching staff.

G Andrew Miscannon