By ED GOTWALS

Sports editor

Wednesday was a big day across the nation for big-time football recruits.

That excitement barely touched Franklin County.

A pair of Mercersburg Academy post-graduate players have signed with NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, which is old Division I-AA) schools in the Patriot League, but no other signings have been reported.

Running back Charles Thompson has agreed to play at Bucknell and defensive linemen Darius Glover will play at Lafayette.

Chambersburg quarterback Brian Reese, who completed his high school studies early, has already enrolled at Liberty University, an FCS school in Lynchburg, Va.

Thompson (5 feet 10 inches, 185 pounds) was an all-state pick when he played in California (San Diego) last year.

Blue Storm coach Dan Walker said, "Charles is a powerful runner, but he even played a little quarterback when (Paul) Suhey got hurt. He had a bunch of offers from that league (Patriot) -- he's really serious about his academics."

Glover (6-3, 272), who played previously at Delaware Valley H.S. in Milford, projects as a defensive lineman at Lafayette.

"He has a tremendous motor and his energy is contagious," Walker said of Glover. "He had eight sacks and a bunch of tackles for loss. He had some other scholarship offers from I-AA schools, but liked Lafayette, even though he got only a partial scholarship."

In the last five years, 12 Mercersburg players have signed with Division

Advertisement
I or FCS schools, including at least one in seven consecutive years.

Several other area players are still trying to decide which school to choose, either FCS or Division II in most cases. Some of those players include ConRoy Smith of Chambersburg, Greg Williams of Shippensburg, Marvin Gaskill and Brandon Robinson of Waynesboro and Levi Powell of James Buchanan.

----------

Ed Gotwals may be reached at 262-4755 and egotwals@publicopinionnews.com.