Sentinel photo by MIKE GOSS Mifflin County's Reese Christine makes an interception in front of Northern's Cash Keck to stop a Northern drive.

LEWISTOWN — Mifflin County locked up its second straight shutout Friday night, beating Northern York 14-0 at Kish Bank Field at Donald M. Chapman III Stadium. The Huskies scored both touchdowns in the closing minute of the first half, then slammed the door on a pair of promising Polar Bear drives to open Mid-Penn Keystone play with a statement win.

It wasn’t flashy. Mifflin County (2-0) finished with 209 yards of offense and spent most of the night grinding for every inch. But the defense stayed perfect on the season, stringing together eight quarters without giving up a point and turning away every Northern York threat. With last year’s overtime loss to the Polar Bears still lingering, the Huskies delivered a response rooted in grit and execution.

The Huskies leaned on senior quarterback Chase Hartung, who completed 15 of 18 passes for 129 yards and both touchdowns–each to his younger brother, sophomore Lucas Hartung. As the final minute of the first half ticked away, Chase guided Mifflin County on an 80-yard drive into the wind, capping it with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Lucas.

Moments later, the Huskies forced a turnover on the ensuing kickoff and seized the moment. With the clock winding down, Chase lofted a last-second Hail Mary toward a pack of receivers in the end zone, and Lucas came down with it for a stunning 33-yard score as time expired in the half.

“We had that, I think it was an 80-yard drive or something like that into the wind there. That was good right before half, and then we got a turnover and were able to capitalize and put some of our tall kids out there and threw it up and somehow, Lucas came down with that ball, and it was a huge play in the game,” Mifflin County coach Shane Breon said.

Northern York (0-2) controlled stretches of the first half but came away empty each time. The Polar Bears’ best shot came early, when quarterback Grady Bonin moved them to the Huskies’ 30. The drive stalled as linebacker Reece Christine jumped a route for an interception.

The Polar Bears made another push in the second quarter, reaching first-and-goal at the Mifflin County 6, but Lucas Hartung, playing both ways, stepped in front of a pass for a red-zone pick. The defense set the tone, limiting Bonin to 117 yards on 12-of-17 passing and holding the Bears to 95 yards rushing on 32 attempts. Gabe Johnson led Northern York with 59 yards on 17 carries, but rarely found running lanes against the Husky front.

Mifflin County’s offense never found much rhythm on the ground. Jaxon Strohecker led the way with 36 yards on 12 carries. The Huskies netted 80 yards rushing on 24 attempts, with Kauffman, Christine, and Hartung chipping in. Chase Hartung stayed clean in the pocket, mixing short throws with two big plays downfield. He found seven different receivers, but the game belonged to Lucas, who finished with three catches for 46 yards and both touchdowns. Joel Beamer added two catches for 37 yards.

The Huskies’ biggest challenge came in the third quarter. Mifflin County fumbled on its first drive of the second half, giving Northern York possession in plus territory. The defense stiffened. The Bears moved inside the Huskies’ 20, but back-to-back run stops on third and fourth down gave the ball back. On the next series, Northern York drove again, but a holding penalty and a sack ended the threat.

The final quarter belonged to the Huskies’ defense and the clock. Each time Northern York crossed midfield, Mifflin County slammed the brakes. When the Bears threatened again in the final minutes, the Huskies forced a fourth-down incompletion, their second red-zone stop of the night.

“We came out sluggish again on offense a little bit. Defense hung in there, especially in the red zone, but these kids don’t quit. They know we’re not getting scored on until they cross the goal line,” Breon said. “We’ll make some plays there, some great plays by certain kids. And we hung tough.”

It was a night for resilience. The Huskies played through adversity, losing their long snapper, Jacob Traxler, to an injury and seeing receiver Landon Hagel go down with a banged-up knee. Breon praised his team’s “next man up” response. “These kids just stepped in and sucked it up and played great. I’m just so proud of everybody,” Breon said.

Northern York finished with 212 total yards, a slight edge over Mifflin County’s 209, but never found the end zone. The Polar Bears were flagged eight times for 75 yards and lost two fumbles, both snuffing out scoring drives. The Huskies lost one fumble and drew 10 penalties for 85 yards, but didn’t let mistakes snowball.

The win gives Mifflin County a 2-0 start and, more importantly, it avenges last year’s double-overtime defeat at the hands of the Polar Bears, a loss that stuck with many returning players. The Huskies have now outscored opponents 56-0 through two games, an early sign this defense could set the tone for the rest of the season.

“We’ve got things to clean up. But any win you get in the Mid-Penn’s a good win and we’ll take it and we’ll move on,” Breon said.

Mifflin County faces its toughest test yet next week, traveling to Mechanicsburg–the defending Keystone champions–looking to keep its shutout streak alive and prove this fast start is no fluke.

Mifflin County 14, Northern York

Northern York 0 0 0 0 – 0

Mifflin County 0 14 0 0 – 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Second Quarter

MC – Lucas Hartung 13 pass from Chase Hartung (Beamer kick), :28.

MC – Lucas Hartung 33 pass from Chase Hartung (Beamer kick), :00.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:

MC–Jaxon Strohecker 12-36, Brandon Kauffman 4-6, Chase Hartung 4-12, Joel Beamer 1-6, Reece Christine 2-9, Landon Haigh 1-11. Total: 24-80.

NY–Gabe Johnson 17-59, Grady Bonin 11-10, Jaxon Tyree 2-8, Gavin Bucik 2-18. Total: 32-95.

PASSING:

MC–Chase Hartung 15-18-129-2-0.

NY–Grady Bonin 12-17-117-0-2.

RECEIVING

MC–Landon Haigh 1-5, Joel Beamer 2-37, Nevin Farley 1-10, Jayden Smith 1-0, Dom Siennick 2-13, Lucas Hartung 3-46-2, Jaxon Strohecker 5-18. Total: 15-129.

NY–Landen Geidel 6-79, Dalton Porter 1-8, Cash Keck 1-1, Tristan Wenrich 4-29. Total: 12-117.

TEAM STATISTICS

MC NY

First downs 9 | 12

Rushes-yards 24-80 | 32-95

Passing (C-A-I) 15-18-0 | 12-17-2

Yards passing 129 | 117

Total yards 209 | 212

Fumbles-lost 1-1 | 2-2

Penalties-yards 10-85 | 8-75

Punts-average 3-36.3 | 3-27.7

FROM THURSDAY

GIRLS TENNIS

Huskies blank Cougars, 5-0

LEWISTOWN — Mifflin County tennis topped Harrisburg on Thursday, 5-0.

Maddy Clinard beat Harrisburg’s London Walker, 6-3, 6-1. Husky Ava Kelly beat Dayana Diaz, 6-2, 6-1. Marcella McKee defeated visitor Darielle Buchanan, 6-0, 6-4.

In doubles play, Huskies Emmah Miller and Delaynie Newlen topped Alinah Graham and N. Linderwood, 6-4, 6-1. Alexis Allen and Gladrielle Leonard beat visitors Jorday Johnson and Maddie Melendez, 6-2, 6-3.

GIRLS SOCCER

Greyhounds top Huskies, 1-0

LEWISTOWN — Shippensburg girls soccer got a goal from Nadia Blount at the 3:07 mark in the first half and beat Mifflin County, 1-0, on Thursday.

Ship had more shots, 16-2, and both teams had three corners.

Goalie Liberty Cook had 15 saves for MC (1-1). Jenna Winter had two saves for the Greyhounds.

JV Shippensburg topped MC, 6-0.

The Huskies visit Boiling Springs on Tuesday.