2021 Season Recap – District 3: Lampeter-Strasburg

Up today in our 2021 season recaps for District 3 is the Lampeter-Strasburg Pioneers. The Pioneers put together a dominant 11-2 record on the season including 5-0 in league play. The Pioneers started off the season on the wrong foot with a 45-22 loss to Warwick but quickly found their footing on both sides of the ball afterward. Starting in their second game against Penn Manor, the Pioneers were unstoppable, putting up impressive victory after impressive victory. The closest victory in their 10-winning streak coming against Solanco, a 28-14 victory. During that 10-game winning streak, the Pioneers had five shutout victories including a 74-0 win over Lebanon on October 29. The Pioneers would see their season come to an end, however, in the District 3 4A Finals against Bishop McDevitt in a hard-fought 7-0 loss. <strong>August 21: </strong>45-22 loss to Warwick <strong>September 3: </strong>31-0 win over Penn Manor <strong>September 10: </strong>19-0 win over Conestoga Valley <strong>September 17: </strong>28-14 win over Solanco <strong>September 24: </strong>42-2 win over Nothern Lebanon <strong>October 1: </strong>42-14 win over Lancaster Catholic <strong>October 8: </strong>55-0 win over Donegal <strong>October 15: </strong>50-20 win over Garden Spot <strong>October 22: </strong>63-7 win over Ephrata <strong>October 29: </strong>74-0 win over Lebanon <strong>November 12: </strong>62-13 win over Big Spring <strong>November 19: </strong>31-0 win over Kennard-Dale <strong>November 26: </strong>7-0 loss to Bishop McDevitt <h5><strong>2022 Prospects:</strong></h5> No.39 [player_tooltip player_id="92420" first="Nick" last="Del Grande"] One of my favorite overall prospects in this class, Del Grande has all the potential to become an impact offensive lineman for Coastal Carolina in the future. Not only was he a terrific offensive lineman for the Pioneers but he was also great defensively, recording 83 tackles including 16.0 tackles for loss. <h5><strong>Unranked Prospects: </strong></h5> QB Berkeley Wagner (2022) - Senior quarterback Barkeley Wagner put together a quality season as the signal caller of the Pioneers,completing 84-of-153 passing attempts for 1,472-yards and 18 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He also added an additional 821-yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground for the Pioneers. RB Giovanni Malatesta (2022) - Malatesta recorded 749-yards and 11 touchdowns for Lampeter-Strasburg in 2021. A solid football player, I think Malatesta could've been a nice player at the next level, however, he is committed to Washinton College to play baseball. Nonetheless, Malatesta was a big reason for the Pioneers offensive success this past season. RB Jonathan Mellinger (2024) - A running back to watch in the class of 2024, Mellinger made the most of his limited carries totaling 431-yards and eight touchdowns on just 67 carries. He also had seven receptions for 73 yards. I'm really looking forward to see what the 5-foot-11, 160-pound tailback can do over the next two seasons. TE Beau Heyser (2022) - Lampeter-Strasburg obviously doesn't run a pass heavy offense but when throwing the ball, Heyser was the primary target for the Pioneers. Heyser recorded 22 receptions for 494 yards and seven touchdowns. A two-time All-State TE selection, Heyser is committed to East Stroudsburg to continue his football career. ATH Payton Cunningham (2022) - It appears Cunningham won't be playing football going forward, but if so, he finished off his high school career on a strong note. Cunningham totaled over 1,068-yards for the Pioneers this past season with 409 rushing yards, 122 receiving yards, and 567 kick return yards.The only Pioneer with more total yards per game was Malatesta. OL Evan Sellers (2022) -The Delaware Valley University commit was a big reason for the Pioneers strong rushing attack (along with Del Grande). Sellers has quality size at 6-foot-0 and 270-pounds and excels at run blocking and is solid enough in pass protection. LB Luke Hines (2023) - The junior linebacker was third on Lampeter-Strasburg in tackles with 74 including 37 solo tackles. Hines also recroded 12 tackles for a loss and seven sacks this past season. OLB Jackson Heeter (2024) -The sophomore linebacker is another up-and-comer to watch as he recorded 95 tackles this past season including five tackles for a loss. He also had four quarterback hurries, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and three fumble &nbsp;