High school football 1st and 10: Playoff brackets taking shape, Robert Martin rolling up big numbers, and more gridiron notes

ANDREW P. SHAY, The Patriot-News, October 31, 2012 11:54 a.m. View full size Harrisburg running back Robert Martin is averaging 15.4 yards per carry over his last five games. - (SEAN SIMMERS, The Patriot-News)High school football news and notes entering Week 10: 1. The playoff clock is ticking. As we get ready for the final week of the regular season in District 3, the playoff brackets are taking shape (find them here). Right now it appears the Mid-Penn will have anywhere between 17-19 teams earn a postseason invitation. The only Tri-Valley League club in the mix is Millersburg in Class A. Nearly half of the Class AAAA and AAA brackets will most likely feature Mid-Penn teams. Make sense considering we have the largest league in the district. Still a big number. 2. Based on the current District 3 power ratings system — big fan by the way — it might be time for the Mid-Penn Conference to consider a slight course adjustment in terms of division alignment. How about moving Bishop McDevitt into the Commonwealth Division and sliding Carlisle to the Keystone? Just a suggestion. 3. Harrisburg running back Robert Martin continues to put up ridiculous numbers. In his last five games the junior, who doubles as a member of that lethal Cougars linebacker corps, has rolled up 865 yards in only 56 carries. That’s 15.4 yards per carry. 4. My Diet Shasta six-pack of Ginger Ale for Week 9 goes to Williams Valley’s Owen Daniel. The wide receiver-defensive back-kick returner for the undefeated Vikings caught a 32-yard touchdown pass, returned a punt 73 yards for a score and a had a 100-yard interception return for a TD in a 48-0 blanking of Newport. That’s a rare variety pack. 5. Hershey quarterback Zach Drayer is one of the more underrated signal callers in the conference. The senior is tough as nails and isn’t afraid to get his nose bloody running the ball. In an impressive 47-28 drubbing of Red Land, Drayer flashed his dual threat skills. He completed 11 passes for 238 yards and five of those targets went for touchdowns. 6. If Palmyra had made the jump to the Keystone Division last year there would not be this level of concern about the Cougars’ program. This is a nasty combination of Class AAAA and AAA teams on almost a yearly basis. This season seven of the eight teams are currently in the District 3 playoff field. It was always going to be a big jump. This year it’s just mean. Take a few years before asking the tough questions. 7. Susquehanna Twp. is potentially a lethal No. 2 or 3 seed in the District 3-AAA field. The Indians have found a offensive scheme that’s unlocked this monster. The defense has been there from Week 1. Normally by this time of year coach Joe Headen’s team has already played its best football. That is clearly not the case this season. You’ve been warned. 8. Congratulations to Middletown on picking up its first win of the season. The Blue Raiders under second-year head coach Rob Deibler have been close for a few weeks to nabbing victory No. 1. Running back Chris Holloman rolled up 257 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-17 triumph over Boiling Springs to clear 1,000 yards for the season. 9. In the preseason my partner Eric F. Epler offered this one-liner about West Perry: “Stopping the Z-Train seems harder than calculus.” He was referring to Mustangs quarterback Zach Smith. Congrats partner, you nailed that one. West Perry is 7-2 and appears playoff bound. And Smith? The senior has 1,873 total yards of offense with 30 touchdowns. 10. In 20 years of covering high school football, I can't remember two quarterbacks throwing for a combined 700 yards in a single game. Bishop McDevitt’s Alec Werner and Andrew Ford of Cedar Cliff came within nine yards of reaching that milestone. The duo completed 39 passes for 691 yards and seven touchdowns. More impressive might have been these two gunslingers completing 64 percent of their passes.