YAIAA football Week 5: York Suburban, Gettysburg prove to be class of Division II

Entering the season, Gettysburg and York Suburban were thought to be the class of YAIAA Division II. After a few weeks, that still seemed to be the case. 

And it's definitely the case after Friday night. 

The Division II favorites both easily beat teams that entered the night with 3-1 records. Gettysburg beat Susquehannock, 29-0, at home while York Suburban beat Kennard-Dale, 35-13, at home. 

Both teams are now 2-0 in the division and Suburban is unbeaten overall. Gettysburg (4-1) suffered its only loss to Mid-Penn powerhouse Bishop McDevitt in Week 2. No other team in the division looks like a contender, meaning the title will presumably be decided when Gettysburg plays Suburban on the road in Week 8.  

Just don't tell the Warriors that. 

"One week at a time," Gettysburg star linebacker Austin Heiser said with a smile. 

The defending champion, Gettysburg hasn't been challenged in the division dating back to last season. They beat Division II opponents by an average of 32 points last season, with no opponent getting closer than a 20-point margin. The Warriors have opened this year's slate by beating West York and Susquehannock by an average of 30 points. 

Do the Warriors wish they were getting challenged more? 

"One week at a time," Heiser repeated. 

Time will tell if York Suburban can give Gettysburg that challenge. 

While the Trojans went 4-6 last season with a very young roster, they returned virtually everyone and were expected to be very good. They've lived up to that billing so far by beating opponents by an average of 25 points. 

Star running back Savion Harrison provided more highlights Friday with two long touchdown runs, but Suburban showed it has more playmakers with Isaiah Pineda catching two touchdowns and Nate Banks bursting for a long touchdown run against Kennard-Dale. 

Gettysburg has some explosiveness with senior back Charles Warren (100 rushing yards on 10 carries, two total touchdowns against Susquehannock) making plays as a runner and receiver. But the biggest key to the Adams County Warriors' success is their defense. 

Gettysburg has given up an average of 11.4 point per game, and even that's skewed by the McDevitt game (28-9). The point totals allowed by the Warriors in the other four games are 9, 7, 13 and 0. 

More:York-Adams high school football scoreboard: Week 5 results

More:Updated: YAIAA high school football standings after week 5

On Friday, they held Susquehannock to five yards of total offense in the first half. The York County Warriors scratched their way to around 100 yards by the end of the night, but couldn't sniff the end zone. 

"We're just dogs, and dogs work and work and work. And when it's dog time, it's dog time," said Gettysburg senior defensive tackle Devin McIntosh, who had two sacks (including a safety) on Friday. "This year we have a lot more seniors that have been playing together since sophomore year so it's the chemistry and stuff we have. Ever since we came in it's like, 'We got this, we know what we're doing, fly to the ball and play football.'" 

Both Austin Heiser and his head coach and father, Matt Heiser, agree that chemistry has played a big part in the unit's success. However, the talent is certainly there too. 

McIntosh highlights an experienced defensive line that Susquehannock coach Steve Wiles said was the biggest problem Friday night. Both Heiser (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) and Gunner Pennington (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) are human vacuum cleaners at linebacker. And quarterback Zach Ketterman — one of the best three-sport athletes in the region — might be a better safety than QB. He intercepted a pass and returned a fumble for a score Friday. 

"Our safeties are like linebackers, and that's key, and Zach does a good job at it," Matt Heiser said. "He listens and he's very coachable. He just has great leadership skills."

But the headliners of the unit are the middle linebackers, Heiser and Pennington. While Heiser was the division's Defensive Player of the Year and an all-state selection last year, he enjoys a friendly rivalry with the player he's been best friends with since moving to Gettysburg from Boiling Springs prior to his freshman season. 

The two even have a nickname for their partnership. 

"We call ourselves the bash bros," Austin Heiser said of himself and Pennington. "We just keep on going at it back-and-forth, fighting over who's going to make the tackle. At the end of the day, I love him to death."

Added Matt Heiser: "The chemistry they've built sniping back-and-forth at each other ... having played linebacker myself, when you have a guy next to you that you can trust that he's going to do his assignment, that does make it a lot of fun." 

Gettysburg scored all of its points in the first half Friday, and played conservatively after the break. The Adams County Warriors face Eastern York (2-3) and Kennard-Dale (3-2) the next two weeks before facing York Suburban. 

"I think they'd be very competitive in Division I this year," Wiles said of Gettysburg. "They're physical, they have speed and size to match."

Around the rest of the league

Central wins without quarterback, South Western shocks Red Lion

While there wasn't necessarily a marque game on the schedule this week, there's still plenty to take note of. 

In Division I, Central York cruised past New Oxford, 43-7, but did so without sophomore quarterback Beau Pribula, who spent the second half of last week's win over Red Lion in a sling with ice on his shoulder. Pribula suited up for the game against New Oxford, but Kyle Fontes got the start at quarterback. 

And the shocker of the night also came from the big-school division, with South Western knocking off Red Lion, 17-14, at home with a late touchdown run. The Mustangs have won three in a row after going 1-9 last season. 

On the other hand, Red Lion will have a lot of things to solve with Northeastern (5-0) and York High (3-2) coming up after back-to-back losses. 

Delone makes Division III statement

And remember last week when it seemed we learned the favorite in Division III after Littlestown knocked off York Catholic? Throw that out the window. 

Delone Catholic stormed past Littlestown, 27-0, at home Friday to win their second straight division game after on 0-3 start to league play. It was the first statement of the year for the Squires, who beat York County Tech last week. 

The Squires are tied for first place in Division III with Bermudian Springs, who hasn't been challenged yet against Hanover and Fairfield. Delone plays Bermudian in two weeks. 

On Friday, the Squires were dominant defensively, with two scores on that side of the ball by Kyle Denisch and Dylan Zimmerman. 

"I knew coming into the season we had a young team and the first three teams we faced were all senior-heavy teams," Delone coach Corey Zortman said. "Sometimes when your back is against the wall, they know another loss could be absolute doom for anything they want to do. They were able to pull it together tonight." 

Staff writer John Buffone and freelancer George Marinos contributed to this report. 

Week 5 YAIAA football scores

 Bermudian Springs 43, Fairfield 0

York Catholic 49, Biglerville 13

Central York 43, New Oxford 7

Northeastern 24, Dallastown 7

Delone Catholic 27, Littlestown 0

Dover 41, Eastern York 12

Gettysburg 29, Susquehannock 0

Hanover 33, York County Tech 0

York Suburban 35, Kennard-Dale 13

South Western 17, Red Lion 14

York High 49, Spring Grove 19