CHAMBERSBURG — The halftime score was nearly the same, but the feeling was almost entirely different.

Chambersburg trailed Bishop McDevitt 16-3 at the half Friday night in a Mid Penn Commonwealth game at Trojan Stadium. But the Trojans had a right to feel pretty good about the situation because they played well against a really good team.

Imari Watson

It was a far cry from a week ago when Chambersburg trailed 15-2 vs. CD East, but had done practically nothing on offense and were playing poorly.

McDevitt eventually wore the Trojans down and took a 40-3 victory, but the vibe after the game was much more positive than the drubbing by East.

"I hope the Trojan team you saw tonight is the one we see the rest of the year," Chambersburg coach Mark Luther said. "That's the kind of football we need to play every week. Maybe we learned a life lesson: You have to show up every day for work. We're just hoping last week was the only time that kind of thing happens."

The Crusaders (2-1, 1-1 MPC), with their galaxy of athletic talent, went 3-and-out three times against a game Trojan defense in the first half, and superstar QB Stone Saunders, a Kentucky recruit, at one point was 2-for-8 for 29 yards.

But starting midway through the second quarter, McDevitt started hitting throws underneath the Trojans' coverage and running back Maurice Barnes had some big runs and that got the offense going. The Crusaders scored on six of their next seven possessions.

Luther said, "Good teams find a way to make big plays, and in the second half they wore us out and hit those plays."

Saunders connected on 19 of 31 throws for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Barnes had 113 yards on 15 carries.

But in the first half, Chambersburg's offense did some damage, too, with 140 yards, including 84 on the ground. Imari Watson had a run of 47 yards and QB Ceagan Truett had a 39-yard pass play to Trever Luther. The team had 5 first downs and another was wiped out by penalty.

Coach Luther said, "We used some motion in the offense for the first time and that caught them off-guard a little. We were so close to breaking a big play several times, but were just off a little. The O-line was more aggressive this time and the backs ran harder."

After Watson's burst up the middle, Chambersburg (1-2, 0-2 MPC) got to the McDevitt 28 before turning it over on downs. In the second quarter, the Trojans blocked a punt and took over at the McDevitt 12.

But two straight losses of 6 nd 5 yards and an incompletion brought out Trever Luther to hit a 41-yard field goal.

"If you're going to stick with these teams in a game like this, you have to get a touchdown in that kind of situation," Mark Luther said.

In the second half, the Crusaders tightened it up on defense and held the Trojans without a first down on four possessions, and a total of 23 yards in total, while outscoring Chambersburg 24-0.

NOTES: Watson ended up with 52 yards on the ground … Trojan QBs Truett and Justin Deneen combined to go 8-for-23 for 78 yards … Chambersburg plays at Harrisburg next Saturday at 1 p.m.

Bishop McDevitt 40, Chambersburg 3
B. McDevitt              3     13     14     10     —     40
Chambersburg        0      3        0       0     —       3
First Quarter
BM — Aidan Grella 27 field goal, 0:16
Second Quarter
Ch — Trever Luther 41 field goal, 8:17
BM — Maurice Barnes 7 run (Grella kick), 6:11
BM — Liam Fuller 6 pass from Stone Saunders (kick blocked), 0:30
Third Quarter
BM — Jontai Quick 7 pass from Saunders (Grella kick), 5:38
BM — Gage Ruth 1 pass from Saunders (Grella kick), 3:26
Fourth Quarter
BM — Grella 33 field goal, 11:04
BM — Juan Figueroa 37 run (Campbell Miltsch kick), 6:41
Team Statistics
                                         McD                           Chbg
First downs                      20                                6
Rushes-yards                29-212                        24-85
Passing                          20-32-0                        8-23-1
Passing yards                   280                            78
Total offense                     492                           163
Punts-average                3-46.0                       7-30.1
Fumbles-lost                     1-0                            0-0
Penalties-yards                8-90                         5-42
Individual Statistics
Rushing — McD, Barnes 15-113, Figueroa 7-59, Brandon Dalling 3-23, Saunders 3-21, Grella 1-(-1), Sebastian Williams 1-(-3). Chbg, Imari Watson 10-52, Ceagan Truett 5-15, Antonio Harrison 6-11, Evan Brown 1-8, Luther 1-3, Nick Pompeii 1-2, Cooper Stockslager 1-(-6).
Passing — McD, Saunders 19-31-0-258, Williams 1-1-0-22. Chbg, Truett 5-16-1-58, Justin Deneen 3-7-0-20.
Receiving — McD, Dominic Diaz-Ellis 5-89, Quick 7-82, Ruth 2-27, Jaden Erole 1-22, Fuller 2-17, Barnes 3-13. Chbg, Luther 1-39, Devonte Scott 1-15, Harrison 4-11, Stockslager 1-10, Watson 1-3.
Interception — McD, Shaheed Clements.