JERSEY SHORE —
If the first-year Jersey Shore coach gets what he wants out of his team, and the Bulldogs are able to uphold their home-field tradition Friday night, the winless Bulldogs could have something for the Shikellamy as it looks for a third win in a row in Friday night’s Heartland Athletic Conference Division I game.
Tom Gravish said the key for his young team is to “get off to a good start, get the offense going and be competitive early.”
“I feel like if we get off to a good start, get a couple quick scores, we have a chance. We have to score first, and not shoot ourselves in the foot early,” he said.
Gravish said that, in a loss to Mifflinburg two weeks ago, “our defense played real well, and we played a competitive game. We were scoreless through three quarters.”
Over the years, the Braves have often found the Bulldogs, no matter what the teams’ records, to give them a competitive game, even pulling the occasional upset win.
“We are aware of that,” first-year Shikellamy coach Todd Tilford said. “We have had several former coaches and teachers say we always have trouble at Jersey Shore, and we’ve got that in the back of our minds.”
Shikellamy (3-3 overall, 1-1 HAC-III) is trying to win its third game in a row and stay alive for at least a share of the division title, with Danville coming up next week.
“We looked at them on tape and they definitely have athletes that can make some plays and they have played a real tough schedule,” Tilford said.
He noted that his own team is beginning to get healthy and this is a game that the Braves need to take care of.
“We are playing for a chance to get over .500 and for a chance in the league, and winning three games in a row, and hopefully get on a run here,” he said.
But, he added, “A winless team that has some talent can be scary. They can be playing with nothing to lose and you’ve got to expect the unexpected.”
He said Warrior Run moved the ball against the Braves last week and that his team must improve its pass defense if they are going to have success down the stretch.
He said the Bulldogs’ junior tailback/linebacker Utoah Agae-Naipo is a good athlete and they like to get him the ball. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Agae-Naipo has rushed for 586 yards and three touchdowns on 101 carries.
He added that junior quarterback Jordan Tawney, is “a big kid who likes to run.”
The 5-10, 200 Tawney has thrown for 202 yards and two TDs and sophomore quarterback Logan English has passed for 283 and two more scores.
“We’ve just got to keep on improving. Our offensive line last week, it was the first time that we can’t say we had a ton of mistakes. They were doing what they were supposed to do and we didn’t stop ourselves, That is a good sign and hopefully we go up and get a little test on the road and get above .500 and come home for Danville,” Tilford said.
Gravish, who formerly coached at Williamsport, said his team is young, but continuing to improve. He said most weeks the Bulldogs have no more than three or four seniors in the starting lineup.
He said Shikellamy will provide a challenge. “(Quarterback Garrett) Kemberling can do just about anything. They are well coached by Todd Tilford and Todd West, the defensive coordinator. I have known them for a few years. You can see the job they’re doing. They’re having a great year.”
He added that he likes Braves junior fullback/linebacker Dwayne Pepper. “He’s a nice runner.”
But, he said, because of the absence of several players, “We didn’t focus too much on (last week’s Warrior Run game). We focused more on the plays than the players,” he said.
Game Night Online
Shikellamy looks to get back above .500
- Football News Wire
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High School Football Scoreboard
PIAA Playoffs
Friday
PIAA Class AAA Quarterfinal
at Bethlehem
Allentown Central Catholic 41, Selinsgrove 13 FINALSaturday
Continued ...
PIAA Class AA Quarterfinal
at HersheyPark Stadium
Wyomissing 52, Danville 0, FINAL
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Lewisburg's Brandon Smith will walk on at Penn State as a linebacker
LEWISBURG - Some may question Lewisburg Brandon Smith's decision to walk on at Penn State despite getting two offers from Ivy League schools at both Penn and Princeton. For the Lewisburg senior though, it all came down to his faith and believing in it.
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Brandon Smith sweeps 2012 high school football honors
LEWISBURG - When he was playing football at Lewisburg High, Nathaniel Brown once joked in a film session after watching himself throw a block that if he could block for himself, he would have a lot more yards.
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Daily Item names 2012 high school football all-stars
SELINSGROVE - If the 2012 edition of The Daily Item All-Stars were not a fictional team, the quarterback would find a familiar downfield target. But Bloomsburg quarterback Ricky Klingerman, while knowing he could make big plays with teammate and cousin wide receiver John Klingerman, the Panthers’ junior first-year starter might be just as content to hand the ball off to one of his elite running backs.
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Jim Keiser and Dave Hess are 2012 Coaches of the Year
Two of the pleasant surprises among Valley football teams this season were the turnaround by Selinsgrove and the solid season by a young Danville team.
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Nine local football stars earn all-state nods
LEWISBURG - For the third consecutive season Lewisburg linebacker Brandon Smith headlines the Valley’s contingent on the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Football team.
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High school football: Eagles place five on All-Star team
Following a hotly-contested 2012 season, Line Mountain placed a combined five players on the 2012 Tri-Valley League All-Star Team, as selected by the league's head coaches.
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HAC champions dominate all-star teams
In addition to claiming its first District 4 Class AA title since 1999, Danville also put the most players onto the 2012 Heartland Athletic Conference All-Star team, as selected recently by the league’s head coaches.
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High School Football Scoreboard
- Box Scores
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- Wyomissing 52, Danville 0
- Allentown Central Catholic 41, Selinsgrove 13
- Danville 28, Mount Carmel 21
- Dunmore 35, Southern Columbia 29
- Southern Columbia 47, South Williamsport 12
- Mount Carmel 48, Montoursville 20
- Danville 14, Athens 13
- Selinsgrove 31, Milton 0
- Montoursville 37, Lewisburg 33
- Southern Columbia 28, Line Mountain 21
