Kickoff returns and interceptions among 5 things to watch in Week 2

Mechanicsburg, which opened its season with a 34-6 home win over Carlisle on Friday, will take the field for Cumberland County’s first Thursday night football game of the season. The Wildcats will host Palmyra (1-0) in a Mid-Penn Keystone opener for both teams.

Last season, Mechanicsburg went 0-1 on Thursdays and lost 14-0 to Gettysburg on Sept. 22. Before that, the Wildcats defeated Northern 21-7 on a Thursday in 2020.

Boiling Springs (Week 8 vs. Milton Hershey) also has a Thursday game scheduled for this season.

3) Bulldogs Hall of Famer brings consistency to Camp Hill

Big Spring’s Grant Hall has established himself as one of the area’s most consistent running backs. The Bulldogs’ senior has racked up 100 or more rushing yards in four of his last five games, including last week’s performance against Shippensburg, where he rushed for 132 yards and scored a touchdown on 13 carries in a 28-7 loss.

Hall brings his resiliency in the running game to Camp Hill on Friday, where the Lions (0-1) also look to bounce back from a season-opening 42-41 loss in double overtime to Lancaster Catholic. The Crusaders’ Brandon Way had 188 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions, who will look to bolster their run defense in their home opener at Siebert Park.

4) Cedar Cliff’s inaugural goal in the CommonwealthFor the first time since 2007, Cedar Cliff is set to open its league schedule as a member of the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division.

The Colts (1-0) defeated West Shore rival Red Land 50-30 in the nonleague season opener on Friday and look to keep the offense rolling against Central Dauphin (0-1), which gave up 47 points in a shutout loss in the season opener to Central York last week.

The Rams defeated the Colts 35-10 the last time they met as division rivals. The programs have met just once since that 2007 matchup — a 35-32 win for Central Dauphin in the 2011 District 3 Class 4A quarterfinals.

Cedar Cliff isn’t the only local team opening its 2024 league schedule in a new division this week. Other teams playing in new divisions include Mechanicsburg (vs. Palmyra), Northern (vs. Mifflin County) and Shippensburg (vs. Hershey) in the Keystone Division, West Perry and Boiling Springs as former Capital rivals now in the Colonial Division, and Trinity (vs. East Pennsboro) as another new Colonial Division member.

5) The Panthers’ pirated passes

The East Pennsboro-Trinity clash, scheduled for Friday at COBO Field, features a pair of teams looking to right the wrongs of their Week 1 losses. The Panthers lost 28-14 at home to Bethlehem Catholic, while the Shamrocks suffered an 18-0 shutout loss at Allentown Central Catholic.

Interceptions played a big role for both teams in their first games. Despite the loss, the Panthers intercepted Bethlehem Catholic twice. JJ Gossard returned his first-quarter interception 52 yards for one of East Pennsboro’s two touchdowns. Kolton Keys also intercepted a Crusader pass. Meanwhile, East Pennsboro threw an interception of its own.

Meanwhile, Trinity saw a pair of interceptions end drives and be a factor in the Shamrocks’ shutout loss.

Interceptions, or the lack thereof, could be the difference between two programs looking to find their footing in Week 2.