1997: "Three Peat"
On a sunny afternoon the last Saturday of August, it was Champ who put on a one-man show, scoring 5 touchdowns in a 65-0 pasting of Lebanon Catholic. The Crusaders' first team offense barely warmed up, playing less than 10 plays, as the defense returned 5 interceptions for scores, with Staffaroni and freshman sensation Fred Lee going the distance in addition to Champ's 3 defensive scores. In week two, the Crusaders took their high-flying attack on the road to Elliotsburg for a Mid-Penn divisional crossover matchup with the West Perry Mustangs, and Eismann & Co. put up points nearly every time they touched the football. Champ caught 2 TD passes as McDevitt built a 39-0 cushion before breezing to a 46-13 win. Now it was time to get serious. Football fans throughout the midstate revved up into frenzy as the hype swelled for McDevitt's titanic week three showdown with Central Dauphin. The Crusaders, though most of them would never admit it, had revenge on their minds as 11,500 juiced-up fans jammed into Landis Field to watch two fierce rivals wage war. It was a game of ebbs and flows but when crunch time arrived, it was the Crusaders who made the big plays and owned the fourth quarter, snatching a hard fought 20-17 victory. The Rams' blitzing defense made life miserable for Eismann at times but McDevitt kept CD off-balance with quick-hitting traps and blasts that junior tailback Brad Sersch, and fullbacks Mitchell and Koppenheffer ran wild on all night. Eismann found Champ for two scores early but a last second Hail Mary touchdown by CD sent the two teams into the locker rooms deadlocked at 14-all. The Crusaders got physical in the final 24 minutes, owning the line of scrimmage, as Sersch became a household name on the night, with his first career 100-yard game. With MCA's offensive line pounding away in the fourth quarter Sersch got stronger as the night wore on. Defensively, Koppenheffer played the game of his life, making one big play after another while Justin LaManna harassed CD quarterback Ryan Belicic into an ineffective second half. With one big win under its belt, McDevitt had no time to enjoy it. The Crusaders had to quickly refocus for Cumberland Valley. What transpired at McDevitt Field was as physical a high school football game as you'll see, with both teams laying big hits and suffering key injuries. McDevitt sustained several big blows early, including the loss of Jameson to a fractured leg on the game's first series, and fell behind 9-0 in thc first quarter before rising up to score thc game's next three touchdowns, building a 19-9 cushion in the third quarter. Eismann played through intense pain, suffering a broken jaw in the second quarter but gutting it out. He hit Pagano on a gorgeous play out of a 5-wideout set for the decisive score in a 25-16 win that was truly one-sided for the final 3 quarters. Then, just when it seemed the Crusaders were entrenched in the driver's seat for the remainder of the season, disaster struck in week five at Carlisle. Already minus Eismann for the short term, and Jameson for possibly the rest of the year, McDevitt lost its ace, Manni, for the remainder of his senior season. Manni's severe knee injury, diagnosed as a torn ACL, dampened an otherwise sparkling 41-6 spanking of the Thundering Herd. David Stone and Lee guided the' offense, and Sersch and Mitchell again ran wild as the defense nearly pitched a shutout. Despite injuries, the Crusaders returned to McDevitt Field to face a fired-up Steel-High Roller squad the next wee This one surprisingly came down to the game's final play, as Roller quarterback Sherrod Chisholm darted for the goal line only to be dropped half a yard short by Crusader defensive tackle Marcus LaManna, preserving a heart-stopping 17-14 victory and a 6-0 slate. Fortune would not be so kind the following week, however. A Cedar Cliff Colt team that had been a major disappointment to this point in '97, strolled into McDevitt Field as the Crusaders welcomed back Eismann. All the pieces were in place for a convincing win, except it was Cedar Cliff who shocked the Crusaders, taking a 21-0 lead into the fourth quarter. McDevitt would not quit, climbing back, when Champ busted loose on a slant, taking it 88 yards, and Eismann scrambling for a TD on the next drive to miraculously knot the game at 21-all. It was all for naught, though, as Cedar Cliff converted a late field goal to ruin McDevitt's perfect season, 24-21. The Crusaders had no time to look back. Goals still in reach, they trekked to Chambersburg and came away with an ugly but effective 14-7 win. The offense moved the football but stymied itself with costly penalties that killed several scoring threats.At 7-1, McDevitt had its destiny in its hands. Home to face archival Harrisburg, a Mid-Penn I title was on the line for the Crusaders. Despite dominating the first half, McDevitt fell victim to big plays by Cougar tailback Calvin Everett and trailed 14-13. That trend would continue. Holding a seemingly comfortable 23-14 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining, McDevitt was burned by another huge Everett run and then a trick play, Everett hitting Andre Totten on a halfback pass for the go-ahead score that sunk the Crusaders 28-23. With only slim hopes of qualifying for the District 3-AA playoffs, McDevitt's only choice was to take care of business at Middletown and hope for a miracle. The Crusaders jumped all over the Blue Raiders. Laying a 49-14 beating on them, then awaited the Wyomissing-Conrad Weiser result. When Weiser pulled the upset in overtime, McDevitt was back in business, and heading to the districts In the district semis against Milton Hershey, Pagano took charge in monsoon-like conditions, with a sweet 42-yard punt return for the game s first score. He then scored on a beautiful 56-yard catch-n-run. Eismann barreled through the defense for a 31-yard TD run early in the fourth to make it 28-0. The defense shackled Spartans star Solomon Melson for most of the night, posting a shutout until midway through the fourth as McD rolled into the championship game, 28-8. Again playing in extremely muddy conditions at E-Town, McDevitt was primed to take home its third consecutive District 3 Class AA gold, hammering West York 35-14. Mitchell rumbled for 118 yards and 3 TDs on just 13 carries, with Sersch also coming close to the century mark, racking up 85 yards on 13 carries. The defense was awesome, limiting the Bulldogs to only 9 first downs all game, many coming in the fourth quarter. Visions of returning to Altoona in December blurred in a hurry the following week as unheralded Northwestern Lehigh stunned the Crusaders 14-13 in the state quarterfinals at Hersheypark Stadium, ending McDevitt's dreams of claiming a second State Championship in 3 years. The tough-to-swallow setback brought an abrupt end to the careers of 16 McDevitt seniors who played a vital role in 44 victories over their 4 years, the most in school history. The '97 season closed out after 10 victories and 3 losses. Despite all the injuries, McDevitt did succeed in winning District 3, though Mid-Penn I and state titles eluded them.

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