The Indians are also searching for their first District 3 title. They stunned fourth-seeded Wyomissing 37-35 in the semifinals. Evans scrambled to his left before finding Josh Nengite in the end zone for a 15-yard TD on the final play. Nengite, who’s headed to Temple, is a standout on defense. The 6’3, 205-pound linebacker leads Susquehanna Township in tackles with 81. Evans also has a pair of 6’2 wide receivers to target in a passing attack that averages 226 yards per contest. Jarrett Kern has a team-high 46 catches for 724 yards and nine scores. Syracuse commit Zi’khere Leaks has provided 38 receptions for 629 yards and 10 TD. Running back Rakhi Seville, a 5’8 senior, has chipped in with 741 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Twin Valley fell behind #2 seed West York 14-0 last week before reeling off 45 unanswered points. “The teams get better as we keep winning. We know that if we get down 14-0 again, it’s gonna be a lot harder to come back this time,” replied Engle.

The third-seeded Raiders haven’t had to play from behind very often this fall. They’ve dominated almost all of their opponents during a historic year. Twin Valley went unbeaten in the regular season for the first time in the program’s 29-year history. The (12-0) Raiders are putting up an eye-popping 53.3 points a night while allowing just 9.1 ppg. Engle has set school records with 3,690 career rushing yards and 57 touchdowns. “I’m pretty proud, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my offensive line. They’re fantastic at what they do,” he emphasized. Twin Valley’s front five averages 279 pounds. “They’re some of our hardest workers and you can see them improve throughout the year. They keep getting better week by week and it’s awesome to watch them improve as a unit,” remarked Engle. The Army lacrosse commit is averaging 10.4 yards per carry this season with 28 TD. He needs just 26 yards to top his single-season school record of 1,599 rushing yards. Engle is joined in the backfield by 215-pound junior Lucas Myers. He’s added 1,020 yards and 20 TD while averaging a lofty 11.2 yards per pop.

The Raiders are piling up 399 yards per game and 293 of that total comes on the ground. Maverick Foster has been extremely efficient in his first year as the starting quarterback. The sophomore is completing 72% of his attempts without a single interception. “He’s doing fantastic. He’s done a great job. He works super hard at practice,” noted Engle. Foster has thrown for 1,145 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Susquehanna Township’s defensive line features Coastal Carolina commit Yendor Mack and Jayden Riley. Mack (6’3, 295) leads the Indians with ten tackles for loss and four sacks. Riley (5’10, 290) has racked up 50 tackles including 6.5 TFL. Steph Malette and Jasani Brown have combined for six interceptions. Brown, a 6’2 junior with 42 tackles, has offers from Old Dominion and Akron. They’re joined in the secondary by Kern who’s an invaluable piece to the puzzle for Susquehanna Township.

Two of the premier Class 4A squads in Pennsylvania will square off on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7pm at ELCO. The Raiders are ranked first in the state by PennLive. The Indians aren’t far behind at #4 in the statewide poll. They met in the District 3-4A quarterfinals a season ago with Twin Valley prevailing 47-19. “We can’t wait. We’re super excited for this game,” said Engle.

Twin Valley led 7-0 early in the second quarter when Dominic Summers blocked a punt which set up the Raiders at the 3-yard line. Engle’s 2-yard run made it 14-0 with eight and a-half minutes remaining in the first half. On the ensuing possession, Twin Valley brought heavy pressure again on fourth down and the Braves weren’t able to get off a punt. Ryan Rementer capped a 33-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run on a counter. The Raiders kept momentum in their favor as Keenan Munn recovered an onside kick at Octorara’s 41-yard line. After a penalty, Lucas Myers broke free up the middle for a 46-yard touchdown run and a 28-0 advantage. Munn recovered a fumble on the next series which gave Twin Valley the ball at the Braves’ 31-yard line. Engle took it from there with a dazzling touchdown run. He started up the middle, got bottled up, bounced it to the left, cut back across the entire field, and raced down the right sideline for a 31-yard score. The Army lacrosse commit put the Raiders in front 35-0 with 4:38 left before halftime. “I bounced it outside and saw a couple more guys out there so I went the other way. It just opened up. My O-line does a fantastic job blocking for me and it starts with them,” explained Engle. After using its timeouts, Twin Valley got the ball back with 1:30 to go in the first half. Ben Grundy took a quick pop pass from Maverik Foster and sprinted 62-yards down the left sideline. After a scoreless first quarter, the (5-0, 2-0) Raiders exploded for 42 points in just ten minutes. “I think we were fired up, a little bit mad we didn’t score,” replied Engle.

Myers ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run down the right sideline to extend the lead to 49-0 with 5:18 to play in the third quarter. “He’s one of the hardest workers on the team. It also keeps us fresh. He does give me a little bit of a break which is nice. I love working with him,” noted Engle. Myers finished with 132 yards on only seven carries. The 6’1, 215-pound junior reached the end zone three times. Engle added 82 yards and two scores on ten carries. The 5’11, 185-pound senior was named an All-American by USA Lacrosse earlier this year. Foster was 8-of-10 for 134 yards and a touchdown. Twin Valley piled up 413 total yards including 279 on the ground. The Raiders are averaging 56.6 points per game at the midway point of the regular season.

Octorara got on the scoreboard on the final play of the third quarter thanks to a 47-yard run by Brayden Mastripolitto. The 5’11, 175-pound junior entered the night with 631 rushing yards and 11 TD. The (3-2, 1-1) Braves were without starting quarterback Mason Prokay for the second straight game. Sophomore Gavin Davis was under center again due to Prokay’s injury. Prokay is a standout javelin thrower. The 6’3, 210-pound senior finished 11th at Nike Outdoor Nationals this summer. Twin Valley’s defense was spearheaded by Rementer. The 200-pound senior linebacker had a team-high seven tackles. The Raiders have outscored their opponents 283-46. “We’re just focused about getting better every day, never satisfied and just keep working hard,” said Engle.