Football Game Preview: Upper Dauphin Area Trojans vs. Newport Buffaloes

The Upper Dauphin Area Trojans will challenge the Newport Buffaloes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Upper Dauphin Area has three straight wins, Newport has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Friday, Upper Dauphin Area really took it to Susquenita for the full four quarters, racking up a 38-7 victory. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Trojans just coasted through the last quarter.

Upper Dauphin Area can attribute much of their success to Carter Dreibelbis, who rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry, and Isaac Jackson, who gained 87 total yards and two touchdowns. Dreibelbis' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 117 rushing yards.

Upper Dauphin Area's run defense was locked in: Susquenita could only muster 1.1 yards per carry. The team can thank Gauge Downs for the heroic effort on defense: he. Upper Dauphin Area's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 3.6 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 7.1 on average over their last five games.

Karson Engle

Total Tackles

10/10/25 @ Susquenita	4
10/04/25 vs Camp Hill	4
09/26/25 @ James Buchanan	3
09/19/25 vs Line Mountain	2
09/05/25 @ West Perry	2
+ 2 more games

Upper Dauphin Area didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Karson Engle and Landen Osenga. Engle also made four total tackles, which is notable because Upper Dauphin Area is undefeated when he posts at least three total tackles, but 0-5 otherwise.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Newport and Halifax meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Buffaloes came up short against the Wildcats, falling 27-7.

Newport's defeat dropped their record down to 4-4. As for Upper Dauphin Area, their win bumped their record up to 3-5.

Everything came up roses for Upper Dauphin Area against Newport when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 47-14 victory. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Buffaloes have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.