Tucker Karn (photo courtesy Pictures Plus)

NEFFSVILLE — A dropped punt here. A missed tackle there. And a crucial official’s call.

Take away any of those three choices and the Chambersburg football team would be playing next Friday.

Instead, the Trojans’ magical season was ended by a 20-17 victory for Manheim Township in a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal playoff game on a grossly rain-filled Friday night.

“I’m very torn right now,” Trojan coach Mark Luther said. “I am very proud of the way we played and the effort, but I’m disappointed because we should be playing next week. I’m disappointed for the kids because they never quit and I think we should have won that game.”

What will be remembered by many was a Chambersburg touchdown that was called back. Quarterback Brady Stumbaugh lofted a deep pass that found DaQuan Rogers just behind the defense and Rogers caught it, escaped one tackler and ran to the end zone for a 70-yard touchdown.

It would have given the Trojans a 17-13 lead with less than six minutes remaining.

However … late in the play, a flag was thrown (some said it was thrown when Rogers was on about the 15-yard line). The call? Illegal formation.

“We ran trips on the one side and the official said the outside player covered one guy up,” Luther said. “But he didn’t throw the flag until late, after the (Manheim Twp.) coaches had yelled at him.

“If we were lined up wrong, well that’s on us and you can’t make those mistakes. But that would have put us up by four and put the pressure on them.”

Trojan senior Andrew Shetter said, “Coach always told us you can’t put the game in the ref’s hands and we did, and it killed us.”

On the next play, Stumbaugh was sacked, and on the next series, Matt Mikulka intercepted a pass and returned it to the Chambersburg 3. Bryce Casey scored two plays later to give the Blue Streaks a 20-10 cushion with 1:56 left.

But, it wasn’t over yet.

Tyeshawn Worrell took the kickoff at his 10 and slashed his way upfield until he broke into the clear and took it 90 yards for a touchdown. Down 20-17 with 1:43 left, there was still a chance.

Andrew Shetter (photo courtesy Pictures Plus)

But when the Streaks’ Jaden Floyd took a pitch 37 yards for a first down, it was over.

Keyshawn Jones, who ran 17 times for 155 yards, including a 91-yard bolt in the third quarter for a score, said, “I think it’s the best game we’ve played for a while. And nobody quit. We kept playing until the clock ran out. I’m proud of our guys.”

Senior lineman Tucker Karn said, “We made some mistakes that could have changed the outcome of the game.”

Chambersburg moved the ball well in the first quarter and got a 33-yard field goal by Tyler Luther to take 3-0 lead.

Manheim Twp. drove 54 yards in 11 plays, with Floyd finishing from 11 yards out, to take a 7-3 lead. A fumbled punt by the Trojans that MT recovered on the Chambersburg 14 led to a 20-yard field goal by Jack Rodenberger with 0:19 left in the half for a 10-3 lead.

Jones’ big run tied the game 10-10 in the third quarter, then a 40-yard Rodenberger field goal gave the Blue Streaks a 13-10 lead with 7:45 remaining.

Luther said, “Our defense got after it tonight. We had a good week of practice and we got a good feel for what they were trying to do. And the kids recognized what they were doing. Outside of a couple plays on the edge, we did well. And we made some plays in the secondary.”

Bryce Diller and Jones each made interceptions and Rogers had two passes knocked down and a recovered fumble. Blue Streaks QB Harrison Kirk was held to 84 passing yards and he averaged over 200 coming in.

It was  tough ending for the season, but it was still a great season for the Trojans.

Kyere Morton said, “Tonight was devastating, but we know we can be back next year.”

Jones said, “This was just a stepping stone to building this program back up.”

Manheim Twp. 20, Chambersburg 17
Chambersburg                   3    0   7    7   —   17
Manheim Twp.                   0   10  0  10  —   20
First Quarter
Ch — Tyler Luther 33 field goal, 3:01
Second Quarter
MT — Jaden Floyd 11 run (Jack Rodenberger kick), 4:28
MT — Rodenberger 20 field goal, 0:19
Third Quarter
Ch — Keyshawn Jones 91 run (Luther kick), 2:35
Fourth Quarter
MT — Rodenberger 40 field goal, 7:45
MT — Bryce Casey 3 run (Rodenberger kick), 1:56
Ch — Tyeshawn Worrell 90 kickoff return (Luther kick), 1:43
Team Statistics
                                           Chbg                      MT
First downs                        10                         14
Rushes-yards                   33-196                 52-215
Passing yards                     11                         84
Passing                             2-9-1                     5-16-2
Total offense                    207                        299
Fumbles-lost                    6-2                          1-1
Punts-average               5-35.2                     4-39.0
Penalties-yards               4-19                       4-55
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Chbg, Jones 17-155, Brady Stumbaugh 15-30, Worrell 1-1. MT, Floyd 34-154, Anthony Ivey 1-26, Casey 7-20, Harrison Kirk 9-14.
Passing — Chbg, Stumbaugh 2-9-1-11. MT, Kirk 5-16-2-84.
Receiving — Chbg, Brady Hughes 1-13, Andrew Shetter 1-(-2). MT, Brett Benjamin 4-37, Hilton Ridley 1-47.
Interceptions — Chbg, Bryce Diller, Jones. MT, Matt Mikulka.