The Schuylkill League is currently home to two of the top five rushing leaders in all of PIAA football.
According to statistics compiled by MaxPreps, Pine Grove Area senior Logan Troup is currently second in Pennsylvania with 1,139 rushing yards through 5 games. Not far behind is Williams Valley’s Fletcher Thompson at 1,001 yards.
Troup is less than 100 yards behind Vinnie Feliciano, of Mercyhurst Prep, and his 1,223 yards. And he’s redefining what it means to be a bellcow for his Cardinals.
The senior running back/linebacker rarely comes off the field, according to Cardinals head coach Dave Shiffer.
“He is an absolute warrior on the field,” he says. “It is impressive watching him do his thing.”
Troup has 75 more carries than Fletcher and Shiffer is calling his number nearly 40 times a game so far in 2026. But the more plays call for handing it off to #21, the better he’s getting.
“It’s great having a workhorse like Troup in the backfield,” Shiffer says. “He hasn’t asked for a break or shown signs of slowing down. In fact, the more carries he gets during a game, the harder he runs.”
Troup is on pace to have one of the best rushing seasons of all time at Pine Grove Area. Ryan Heim set the all-time record back in 2013 with 2,031 yards.
The Cardinals come in to this week’s game against North Schuylkill on a two-game winning streak and are 2-3 on the season.
Meanwhile, in Williamstown, Thompson is carrying the load for Division II-leading Williams Valley. His 1,001 yards are fifth-best in the state. The Vikings (4-1 overall, 2-0 in the Schuylkill League) are facing Schuylkill Haven this weekend, a matchup that could go a long way toward deciding the eventual division champion.
MORE: Blue Devils Roll to 2-0, Overwhelm Cardinals
Williams Valley head coach Frank Gaffney tells Coal Region Canary that having a player like Thompson on his team is one of the greatest pleasures he's had in his years of coaching.
"With the ball in his hands, the kid is electric ... tough, physical, great vision," Gaffney says. "But the cool part about him is, as good of a football player as he is, Fletcher's an even better kid."
This is the third season that Thompson has reached the 1,000-yard plateau but he's not on the field to pad his stat sheet, Gaffney says. Of all the plaudits he heaped on his team through five games this season, the Vikings head coach praised Thompson's and his teammates' selflessness.
"I've been doing this 13 seasons now and I've not coached a player as dominant as he is with the ball in his hands but doesn't care about the statistics," Gaffney says. "You have a lot of running backs chasing statistics. He's not. He's happy whether he gets the ball 10 times or 25 times."
SCHUYLKILL LEAGUE STATS THRU WEEK 5
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