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H.S. FOOTBALL: Chambersburg boasts diverse squad


The increasingly diverse nature of Chambersburg is reflected on this year's Trojan football team, which has a number of players of Hispanic descent.

For example, Joshua Honorat, who started at cornerback a year ago and has moved up to linebacker, has lived here for three years. Of Haitian descent, Honorat started playing football when he lived in Florida.

Offensive lineman Calvin Noel, likely to start at right tackle, who also has Haitian ties, started playing football at a young age.

Xavier Navarro, whose family roots are in Puerto Rico, did not start playing the sport until the eighth grade. Now he's pushing for playing time at guard and as a defensive lineman.

"It was a real challenge to learn the game," Navarro said, "and it was hard to get the hang of it playing against players with all of that experience. As a lineman, I think the footwork is the hardest thing to learn."

Others coach Mark Saunders listed were Philippe Lutius and Angel and David Serna.

Saunders said, "Some of these kids don't have a football background, but they are working hard and learning as they go. And some of them are really helping us.

"I think 95 percent of what we do is focused on winning games, but there's another part of me that wants to make sure all the kids on the team have a good experience with the sport."

UNITED FRONT >> Having a 1-9 season, like the Trojans did a year ago, will expose plenty of problems in the program.

One thing the players believe they have rectified for 2015 is team unity.

"There's no doubt about it," two-way lineman Kelton Chastulik said. "Last year we had a lot of individuals. This year it's not individual-based – we're united. We got in the weight room and hung out together so we're a lot closer."

Noel said, "There's a different attitude this year. We're bonding better as a team, and I think we can do great things."

"Everything has been coming together for us," Honorat said. "It seems like things have clicked, and I think we know what we have to do to win."

Wide receiver/safety Sam Blevins said, "I think we're doing things more as a team, and we've had better competition for positions. Everybody is pushing each other."

NOTES >> There have been two changes to the Chambersburg coaching staff ... Scott Shacreaw, a former head coach at Waynesboro, is now the offensive line coach, taking over for Kevin Weller ... Scott Mitchell, who was a head coach at Hershey, has returned to the staff as the quarterbacks coach.

The Trojans play only eight of their games on Friday nights this fall ... The Week 3 game against Lower Dauphin will be played on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium ... The Falcons share that facility with Hershey as a home field and Hershey is playing there Friday ... Also, the game at Harrisburg is a 1 p.m. start on Oct. 31.

To view Chambersburg's full season preview, visit GameTimePA's digital football preview.