Weekly football preview: Franklin teams feeling confident despite tough matchups
Dan Sostek
Coming off a week where only two of the five Franklin County teams won, the local football squads have tried to spin some positives following tough losses.
Here's a breakdown of the five games under the lights on Friday night.
RED LION (2-0) @ CHAMBERSBURG (0-2), 7 p.m.
With two games under his belt now, sophomore Trojan quarterback Brady Stumbaugh is making progress after filling in for injured quarterback Tyler Collier week one.
He threw two touchdown passes last week against Shippensburg, and Chambersburg head coach Mark Luther is hoping that performance carries over at home against Red Lion.
"Every day, every week, he's starting to feel a little better about what's going on," Luther said. "Obviously being a sophomore in his third varsity football game, we hope to see some improvement, but we know there are gonna be mistakes too, and that's just part of learning."
Stumbaugh will have his hands full against a Red Lion team that, with a 2-0 mark on the year, is surrendering an average of just 10.5 points per game.
The Trojan attack will be buffered by the presence of running back Keyshawn Jones, who ran for over 100 yards in his first game back from an ankle injury last Friday at Shippensburg.
Luther says, despite the 0-2 start and the schedule only getting tougher, the Trojans are feeling upbeat, particularly after nearly coming back from 21-0 against the Greyhounds.
"I think there's a different feel, a confidence level in them," Luther said. "They know when they take care of their job and do what they're supposed to do, they can play the game the way it's supposed to be played."
SHIPPENSBURG (2-0) @ BERMUDIAN SPRINGS (2-0), 7 p.m.
For a 2-0 team, Shippensburg has some kinks to iron out.
Head coach Eric Foust has acknowledged as much. Despite two early season victories, the coach knows his young team needs to keep their foot on the gas pedal, after two consecutive games in which the Greyhounds sputtered following big first half leads.
In week one, they jumped out to a 35-0 first half lead over Dover. They won 35-26. In week two, they quickly took a 21-0 lead against Chambersburg in the second quarter. They won 21-14.
So, in two games, Shippensburg has failed to score any points in second halves. Foust knows that his young team needs to change this this week at Bermudian Springs.
"It's growing pains," Foust said. "A lot of these guys don't have enough varsity experience. We've maintained a nice first half right now and we just need to increase our ability to keep attention throughout the game."
The Greyhounds, led by quarterback Carter Van Scyoc, will look to stay undefeated on Friday night on the road, taking on a 2-0 Bermudian Springs team playing its first home game of the year.
WAYNESBORO (1-1) @ GETTYSBURG (1-1), 7 p.m.
Waynesboro netted its first win last Friday against Lancaster Catholic 23-10. utilizing some stout, smash-mouth defense, but head coach Steven Myers is looking for a more balanced level of production this week at Gettysburg.
"I'll take a win however we can get a win," Myers said. "But obviously, I'd like to be pretty balanced and be able to play both sides of the ball equally well."
Myers is hoping to see increased production out of both his quarterback Isiah Kersher (who completed just five passes for 31 yards) and the teams' two-headed rushing attack of Tom Drumsta and Mason Frampton (who ran for 20 and 41 yards respectively) after the lackluster performance on offense last week.
Still, Myers thinks Kersher is on the right path.
"I think he'll continue to grow," Myers said. "We've continued to tweak things around to get the offense on track, and I'm expecting a big one this week."
The Indians' will look to get over .500 with a win over Gettysburg this week, in their first road contest of the season.
GREENCASTLE-ANTRIM (1-1) @ EAST PENNSBORO (2-0), 7 p.m.
Coming back from down 28-3 to lose 34-23 might not earn a "W" in the win column for Greencastle, but, for head coach Chuck Tinninis, did earn the team some respect.
The Blue Devils' first loss of the season last week didn't come without fight, as they valiantly pushed against Milton Hershey. Tinninis says that effort can easily translate well to each and every game.
"I think it shows the character of the kids," Tinninis said. "We're not gonna give up, we're gonna play for four quarters."
The loss also featured another strong performance by dual-threat quarterback Cade McDowell, who recovered from an early pick-six to run for two scores and throw for another.
The performance has the Devils feeling confident heading into their matchup with an undefeated East Pennsboro team that averages 51 points per game and features one of the best players in the state in Onasis Neely.
"We [feel we] can play with anybody, when we're clicking," Tinninis said. "We need to be able to click on all the cylinders and all three phases of the game."
JAMES BUCHANAN (0-2) @ CAMP HILL (1-2), 7 p.m.
After a near-comeback in week one, James Buchanan's quest for its first win since October 2014 took a step back last Friday, as Fairfield blew out the Rockets 55-15.
But with that loss came some positives, as, following head coach Andy Stoner relying on back Cormac Houpt week one, found more of a balanced rushing attack week two, as Blake Egolf, Houpt and Owen Stoner all ran for over 50 yards.
What doomed the Rockets was a lackluster passing attack, as the quarterback Egolf only managed 60 yards and two picks.
Stoner will need Egolf to provide just as much with his legs and much more with his arm to secure that elusive victory, as they'll take on a Camp Hill team coming off a 39-20 loss to Annvile-Cleona last week.