HARRISBURG — Bishop McDevitt took advantage of big plays and very good field position to take a big lead into halftime and rode that to a 41-7 football victory over Chambersburg.

The Crusaders, who came into the Mid Penn Commonwealth game at Rocco Ortenzio Field on Friday night with an uncharacteristic 0-2 record, took care of business quickly when Jontai Quick returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a 7-0 lead.

Enoch Keath

On the Trojans’ third play from scrimmage, quarterback Ceagan Truett was intercepted for the first time this season, and R.J. Duffy returned the ball to the Chambersburg 6. Jake Dawson scored from the 1 and McDevitt had quick 14-0 lead.

“They just pinned their ears back and came after us,” Trojan coach Gary Carter said. “We did some things that really hurt us.”

It got even worse on Chambersburg’s third possession when Truett ran with the ball and was injured on the play. He did not return the rest of the way, and is likely to be out for at least several games.

Carter said, “That definitely changed what we could do. We put in a couple of kids we worked with this summer, but we’re going to have to figure out how to be more effective offensively.”

Sophomore Cam Green and freshman Mason Costolo both saw time taking snaps, and Green managed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Arran Ward with 6 seconds left on the clock to at least get Chambersburg on the board. They combined to go 5-for-17, for 110 yards and an interception.

“We scored on our last drive, which showed that the kids didn’t give up,” Carter said.

Chambersburg’s defense put together a pretty good effort, allowing only 246 yards for the game,  but the Crusaders kept getting the ball in great field position.

With the score 14-0, the Trojans halted two McDevitt drives, the first on an interception by Tavian Ferguson.

But Ish Palmer returned a punt to the Chambersburg 24, and a 7-yard pass from Sebastian Williams to Howard Holton pushed the lead to 21-0.

Chambersburg had to punt again and this time Palmer returned it to the Trojan 1. A penalty on the runback placed the ball at the 29, but on the next play, Williams found Holton again for a TD to make it 28-0.

Carter said, “If you take away the kickoff return and the touchdown after the interception, it could have been only 14-0 at halftime. We gave them too many short fields. Our defensive line (Enoch Keath, Eli Vosburg and Ray Williams) came through numerous times, and (LB) Brady Rosenberry played well.”

McDevitt got second-half touchdowns from RB Jerome Larue (10-yard run) and from Quick on a reception from Williams from 4 yards out.

Davonte Scott caught 6 passes for 103 yards to lead Chambersburg’s offense.

The Trojans (2-1, 1-1 MPC) host Harrisburg next Friday at 7, with the 2025 Chambersburg Athletic Hall of Fame inductees to be introduced at halftime.

Bishop McDevitt 41, Chambersburg 7
Chambersburg                  0      0      0     7     —       7
B. McDevitt                      14    14    13     0     —     41
First Quarter
BM — Jontai Quick 87 kickoff return (Aiden Grella kick), 11:44
BM — Jack Dawson 1 run (Grella kick), 9:42
Second Quarter
BM — Howard Holton 7 pass from Sebastian Williams (Grella kick), 9:41
BM — Holton 29 pass from Williams (Grella kick), 7:35
Third Quarter
BM — Jerome Larue 10 run (kick failed), 8:49
BM — Quick 4 pass from Williams (Grella kick), 5:20
Fourth Quarter
Ch — Arran Ward 3 pass from Cam Green (Ayden Sylvestre kick), 0:06
Team Statistics
                                            Chbg                BM
First downs                         8                      15
Rushes-yards                     17-(-7)            35-146
Passing                              11-27-2           8-10-1
Passing yards                      123                103
Total offense                        116                249
Fumbles-lost                         2-0                 2-0
Punts                                   6-32.5              1-40
Penalties-yards                   8-50              10-95
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Chbg, Mason Costolo 1-2, Malachi Tasker 13-1, Green 1-0, Ceagan Truett 2-(-10). BM, Larue 14-100, Maurice Barnes 6-41, Sterling McFarland 6-35, Creighton Miltsch 3-14, Dawson 1-1, Williams 2-(-5).
Passing — Chbg, Truett 6-11-1-13, Green 5-15-0-110, Costolo 0-2-1-0. BM, Williams, 6-7-1-73, Carel Feidt 2-3-0-30.
Receiving — Chbg, Davonte Scott 6-103, Isaiah Tasker 1-4, Ward 1-3, M.Tasker 1-0, Cobe Penick 1-(-3). BM, Holton 2-36, Larue 1-27, Ish Palmer 1-21, Gage Ruth 1-6, Quick 1-4, Devar Chance 1-3, Dawson 1-(-1).
Interceptions — Chbg, Tavian Ferguson. BM, R.J. Duffy.