So you thought parking for a Bishop McDevitt football game in and around 2200 Market St. in Harrisburg was bad?
Who would have thought parking in the suburbs would be more of a nightmare – at least initially.
The issues the private school has been having with Lower Paxton Twp in regards to parking in and around Rocco Ortenzio Stadium for football games was in full bloom Saturday.
One fan said he walked from CD East high school to the game. The one road in and out, Crusader Way, had traffic backed up at the light all the way to Union Deposit.
Former Steel-High and Middletown coach, Rob Deibler, came late because of a commitment to his new job as the athletic director at Susquehanna Twp.
He told us about walking through some field in waist-high grass to watch his son, senior guard Devon Deibler, make his first start for the Crusaders.
The school has approval from Lower Paxton Twp for fewer than 1,000 cars to park on the new McDevitt property.
Arriving early will be critical for those big games – Friday against Central Dauphin for example. Otherwise, unless something changes, expect to hunt then walk.
MCD DEFENSE ARRIVES AFTER ROUGH FIRST QUARTER: With all those starters back on defense, the Crusaders’ defense has high expectations – with good reason. The first quarter Harrisburg’s young offensive line was getting it done and the Cougars’ offense was moving the ball. Poor tackling and getting to the football and playing to the whistle was a big reason Darian Davis Ray broke free for a 65-yard TD run on Harrisburg’s first play from scrimmage. And give Davis Ray credit for being strong enough to break those tackles and going hard until the whistle.
Once the Crusaders’ defense settled in, after falling behind 14-7, it was hard for the Cougars to move the ball. McDevitt’s defense surrendered only five first downs and 79 total yards the final 24 minutes.
“We just settled down. We should have wrapped up, we had a kid in the backfield and we stopped, Bishop McDevitt coach Jeff Weachter said. “After that long run I think we were shell shocked. Then we just relaxed and played. And give Harrisburg credit. They are a lot better than they showed in the two scrimmages.”
INJURIES HAD HARRISBURG SCRAMBLING: Being prepared for one or two injuries is part of being a football coach. But Harrisburg had major injury woes during the second half of its 35-14 loss to Bishop McDevitt Saturday.
“At one point we had five and six starters out from our offense at the same time. We were scrambling to find guys to get in the game,” Harrisburg coach Calvin Everett said. “Then at one point in the third quarter our entire secondary was out.
“It was the worst possible scenario. You can’t prepare for a nightmare like that. One or two guys you can deal with. It was just a nightmare. When Rob went down it changed the whole dynamic of the game. And our inexperience showed.”
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