Manheim Central vs. ELCO Review

I love going to games in Philly as much as the next guy, however a trip closer to Central Pennsylvania can always be a treat as well, especially when you have the great trio of great food, Class AAA playoff action and watching one of the best junior prospects in the state in Manheim Central player Dakota Royer.

Scout.com was on the scene Friday night at Manheim Central High School along with over 2,000 fans to watch the Barons take on Eastern Lebanon County High School in a game that was a blowout from the start. While we were certainly in attendance to watch junior Dakota Royer who has offers from Penn State, Pittsburgh and Maryland, we also saw some other impressive juniors as well.

Things got ugly quickly for ELCO in this matchup as Dakota Royer caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Justin Gorman less than four minutes into the game for a 7-0 lead. Six minutes later running back Joe Gruber powered the ball 22 yards into the end zone to put the Barons up 14-0. Gruber is definitley a player to watch for the Class of 2010 and if you like fiery running backs, he’s a prospect you’ll certainly enjoy watching.

Junior quarterback Justin Gorman hit wide receiver Daniel Trafford twice in a row for touchdown passes of 59 and 14 yards to start the second quarter and Manheim Central was already cruising with a 28-0 lead. Finishing off the second quarter ELCO did score on a six-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds left, but Gorman hooked up with Dakota Royer a few times to put Manheim in a position to kick a field goal and go into the half at 31-7. Royer had 5 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown in the first half, a statline that he would finish the game with.

There was one score in the third quarter as Gorman scampered for a 16-yard touchdown run (his fourth of the day) and then Dakota Royer finished things off it the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run of his own. ELCO scored very late in the game to make it 45-14 which was the final score of the contest.

Dakota Royer finished the game with 5 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown and also had two carries for 16 yards and a score. On defense he notched 8.5 tackles by our count. Justin Gorman and Joe Gruber are players that will definitely get looks from schools, however we’ll have to talk to them to see where they’re at right now.