District 3, Class 5A semifinals football:

The Solanco Mules have defeated the New Oxford Colonials 43-12.
They play Bishop McDevitt in the the finals next weekend.

This will be the first time Solanco plays for a District Three football championship.

Solanco’s relentless rushing attack overwhelmed top-seeded New Oxford Friday night, as the Golden Mules rolled to a 43-12 victory to punch their ticket to the District 3 Class 5A championship game.

And Johnny Garcia’s 3 Solanco CDs put the game away.

The fourth-seeded Mules (11-1) chugged along behind record-setting running back Johnny Garcia, who scored three touchdowns in the win.

Solanco will meet reigning champion Bishop McDevitt – a 42-0 winner over Exeter in the other semifinal – in the District 3 final next Friday, Nov. 21.

It was a tight game for the whole first half with Solanco leading just 14-12 at the 2:40 mark. The Mules scored in the final minute of the first half (0:25) on a 1-yard TD plunge by Garcia and never looked back in the second half.

New Oxford (11-1) struck first when Alex Brown capped the opening drive with a 3-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead. Solanco answered late in the first quarter with Garcia’s first score, then surged ahead in the second. After Garcia’s second touchdown made it 14-6, the Colonials briefly closed the gap on Kam Lamke’s 2-yard run, but Garcia’s third TD just before halftime pushed Solanco ahead 21-12.

The Mules dominated after the break. Sensenig’s 17-yard strike to Wesley Bard and a two-point conversion from Kris Burgos-Wise, who later ran for an 8-yard TD run, extended the lead to 29-12 after three quarters. Sensenig’s 13-yard TD run finished it off for the Mules.

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