No. 1 Central Dauphin girls' tennis coach Jere Bender has a double-barreled secret weapon this season. The Sternberg twins, Julia and Rachel, have caused double trouble for Rams' opponents. Julia, at No. 1 singles, and Rachel, No. 3, led the Rams to a record of 9-1 as of Sept. 13 after a 5-0 win at CD East. Their only loss was to Cumberland Valley. The twins also form a potent doubles team when Bender doesn't pair Julia with No. 2 singles Lauren McNair. When asked if Julia takes charge of their doubles matches, Rachel said, "It depends on who's having the better day." Rachel said she was older by five minutes.
No. 2 Undefeated Bishop McDevitt football was super impressive in shutting down Cumberland Valley, 27-7, in Week 3, while East Shore teams Steel-High, Hershey and Lower Dauphin all moved to 3-0 on the year.
No. 3 CD East suffered its first football loss in a 27-14 trip to Coatesville, the No. 2 ranked team in Class AAAA. The Red Raiders handed the ball 38 times to workhorse running back DaQuan Qorley, who finished with 220 yards. Raekwon Purdy of the Panthers returned a kickoff 79 yards and caught a 7-yard TD pass from Justis Jacobs, while senior running back Chase Edmonds ran for 106 yards on 11 carries. After three games, Edmonds, who has five offers and is leaning toward Delaware at the moment, ranked fourth in the midstate in rushing with 438 yards on 58 trips for an average of 7.6 yards per carry.
No. 4 It was a good week for Palmyra field hockey, girls volleyball and football, but not for the girls' cross country and soccer teams. In girls' soccer action Sept. 17 at In The Net, undefeated Lower Dauphin routed the Cougars, 7-0, behind a four-goal, two assist assault by Taryn Messick. Palmyra was without center mid Lucy Krikorian, who was injured in a 2-1 win at Bishop McDevitt.
No. 5 In girls' cross country, coach Barb Mellinger's PIAA Class AA and District 3 champs lost their top runner, junior Maria Tukis, to a foot injury suffered recently in a dual meet at Hershey. Tukis, the defending district champ, stumbled over an obstacle in the course and fell hard. The Cougars must now rely on junior Miranda Salvo and freshman Kelsei Bixler, who led them to victory in the Lebanon County championships Sept. 14. Without Tukis, Hershey upset Palmyra behind pacesetter Gabi Broschard.
No. 6 Palmyra football returned to the win column for the first time in 13 games with a 31-30 win on Sept. 13 at Donegal. Junior quarterback Michael Lewsi threw four TD passes for 253 yards with one interception. Senior wide receiver Mitchell Cooper was Lewis' favorite target with 13 catches for 169 yards and two TDs. Joel Lohr's PAT was the difference after the Palmyra defense stiffened in the fourth quarter.
No. 7 A pair of Lower Dauphin grads were reunited in NCAA Div. I field hockey action last week at Wake Forest. Ashlee Krulock scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season for Liberty University in the second half, before the Deamon Deacons answered with two late goals to win, 3-2. Krulock's teammate at LD, Madison Julius, started as a freshman last year at Wake, but is being red-shirted this season due to a hip injury that required surgery.
No. 8 The Liberty women's soccer team is also being led by a pair of East Shore graduates: Alanna Dunkle (Lower Dauphin) and Rebecca Smith (Harrisburg Christian). Dunkle, a junior and former PIAA-AAA champ at LD, had a team-high three goals and three assists for 4-1 Liberty as of Sept. 17.
No. 9 Central Dauphin, Hershey and Lower Dauphin boys' golf teams took turns beating each other recently on their home courses. LD won at its home course, Manada, as Tyler Maiman took medalist honors with a 71. LD's Chad Stine tied several others at 73, including Hershey's Jake Reilly and CJ Zachary.
No. 10 Palmyra grad Tyler Shank is playing golf this fall for Penn State-Harrisburg. The Lions' freshman shot a final round 2-over 74 recently to finish 16th in the prestigious Tom Kinder Memorial Tournament hosted by Bridgewater.