Williamsport, Jersey Shore and Warrior Run all had great seasons last fall, with all three reaching the district finals and Williamsport winning the District 2-4 Class 6A title.
Currently, eight of the players who contributed to the team’s greatness are teammates.
On Saturday afternoon, seven players from those schools joined North Penn Mansfield’s Luke Krager in earning Pennsylvania Sportswriters All-State honors. Jersey Shore completed a grand slam with Evan Snyder, Elijah Jordan, Slate Secrist and Beau Secrist all selected to Class AAAA. Warrior Run’s Sam Hall and Eli Butler joined Krager on the Class AA team, while Williamsport’s Jaden Ransom earned a 6A selection.
Ransom emerged as a senior and put on a pass-rushing clinic, helping the Millionaires win their first district title since 2016. The outside linebacker played a Lawrence Taylor-like role, collecting sacks in 10 of 13 games and adding 85 tackles. , one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Ransom had a good season with a memorable night in which he recorded seven sacks in a 15-6 district semifinal win over Hazleton.
Ransom is one of the few players who can say he fired Jordan, who has proven to be one of the most elusive and talented quarterbacks in the state. Jordan threw for 2,401 yards and 28 touchdowns, the most for a District 4 quarterback through 12 weeks, and also ran for 801 yards and eight touchdowns, earning All-State Athlete honors. Jordan totaled 3,202 yards and 36 touchdowns in his debut season as quarterback, helping to anchor the secondary, and capped off his stellar high school career with 6,133 total yards and 70 touchdowns, including a Jersey Shore 2000s-best 3,142 rushing yards. Ta.
Snyder was Jordan’s favorite target, and he put together one of the best receiving seasons in Jersey Shore history, which says a lot considering some of the great receivers the school has produced. . Snyder caught 64 passes for 1,099 yards and a program-record 15 touchdowns. A player who consistently turns short passes into big plays, Snyder is as consistent as he is productive, going over 80 yards in 10 of 12 games and over 100 yards five times, both as a defender and on special teams. also scored a touchdown.
Slate Secrist played a key role in helping the offense thrive up front, but he also anchored a solid defensive line that earned him All-State honors defensively. Secrist averaged 6.7 tackles per game and 26 tackles for loss, earning him the Sun-Gazette Lineman of the Year award. An exceptional run stuffer who could also disrupt the passing game, Secrist totaled 4 1/2 sacks and 58 tackles while creating opportunities for his teammates. In his final two seasons, Secrist had 40 tackles for a loss.
Continuing the tradition of Secrist football, Bo Secrist was also repeatedly selected as an all-state linebacker. The junior helped the quarterback on defense, making a team-high 123 tackles, including 76 solo, and averaging 10.3 tackles per game. Secrist recorded 10 tackles in eight of 12 games and 20 tackles in the playoffs. An excellent running back, Secrist has made most of his 258 tackles over the past two seasons, including 26 tackles for loss.
Like Jersey Shore, Warrior Run also reached the regional finals, with Hall and Butler playing key roles. No area player gained more career yards than Hall, an all-state wide receiver who finished his stellar collegiate career with 174 catches for 3,194 yards and 33 touchdowns. Despite battling a hamstring injury for much of the season, Hall caught 53 passes for 1,017 yards and 13 touchdowns last fall, averaging 19.2 yards per game. He also excelled in the secondary, becoming only the second area receiver in history to reach 1,000 yards in two seasons.
Butler is also an all-state athlete, doing everything he can to help the Warrior Run make history and reach its first district finals. Butler ran for 1,181 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 30 passes for 461 yards and four scores. The senior was also one of the area’s best linebackers, recording 138 total tackles, including 101 solo and 27 for a loss. Butler added four sacks, four interceptions, two fumbles and a pick-six. Butler also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and gained 469 all-purpose yards against North Penn-Mansfield.
That same night, Kreger showed why he became an all-state wide receiver, catching 11 passes for 278 yards. Krager has the third-highest total yards in area history, and two weeks later against Canton, he had 264 yards, good for fifth all-time. The tall, fast junior caught 60 passes for 1,188 yards and 10 touchdowns. In just two seasons, Kreger totaled 88 catches for 1,727 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 118.8 yards per game this season.
Williamsport, Jersey Shore and Warrior Run all had great seasons last fall, with all three reaching districts.
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