Football Recap: Upper Dauphin Area's Luck Takes a Turn for the Worse on Friday

After flying high against Newport last Friday, Upper Dauphin Area came back down to earth. The Trojans took a 14-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Juniata Indians on Friday. The Trojans were red-hot offensively heading into the matchup (they scored no less than 31 points in the four contests prior), but the Indians' defense proved too tough.

When it comes to explaining why Upper Dauphin Area lost, don't look at Carter Dreibelbis. Despite the final result, he rushed for 200 yards and one touchdown while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. Dreibelbis' rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 117 rushing yards.

Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 3.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Braiden McCartney for the heroic effort on defense: he. Upper Dauphin Area didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.1.

Braiden McCartney

Total Tackles

08/29/25 vs Halifax	3
09/05/25 @ West Perry	3
09/19/25 vs Line Mountain	3
09/26/25 @ James Buchanan	4
10/04/25 vs Camp Hill	4

Upper Dauphin Area's defense didn't let Jason Condo, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was McCartney with two. He also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 11.

Jasper Shepps produced another solid performance picking up 87 receiving yards and one score for Juniata. Shepps also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making seven total tackles and defending two passes in addition to snagging an interception.

Upper Dauphin Area moved to 4-6 with that loss, which also ended their four-game winning streak. As for Juniata, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.

Coming up, Upper Dauphin Area will face off against Holy Cross at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Juniata does not have any more games scheduled as of now.