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Chambersburg faces another quality opponent


To get to its current 5-1 record, Cedar Cliff has not exactly played a murderer's row of opponents. Its six foes have a combined record of 9-26, including 3-3 Bishop McDevitt, which defeated the Colts 42-35.

But that doesn't mean Cedar Cliff, which travels to Chambersburg on Friday at 7 p.m. for a Mid Penn crossover football game, isn't a quality team.

And it will be facing a 1-5 Trojan team that, although its six opponents have a record of 27-9, got squashed 61-10 by Harrisburg last week.

The problem for Chambersburg, which gave up 235 yards on the ground last week and another 234 through the air, is that the Colts are equally adept at rushing or passing.

"They can spread you out and throw the ball around, or they can line up in a two-back formation and run it," Trojan coach Mark Luther said. "I'm not sure which one we'll the most of.

"The thing with them is, they have an all-senior offensive line, a senior quarterback and a senior running back. They have a lot of mature players and that reflects in their record. Except for McDevitt, they've pretty much dominated everybody else. We certainly aren't getting a break - they are a very good team."

Cedar Cliff is averaging 375 yards and 43.5 points per game.

Grant Breneman, who will play at Colgate University next year, has completed 68.5 percent of his passes (61-for-89) for 1,027 yards, a whopping 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions. The top rusher is Chris Thompson (70 carries, 417 yards, 7 TDs).

The Colts have three active receivers - Alex Lantz (19 catches, 305 yards, 6 TDs), Trysten McDonald (13-188, 2), Bobby Whalen (12-250, 4, plus three picks on defense) and Nick Yanevich (11-204, 2).

And they'll be going up against a weakened Chambersburg defense. Linebacker Luke Wetzel was injured last week and is out for the season, as is linebacker Nate Reed, who was hurt several games ago.

"It seems like we're losing another guy every week," Luther said. "It's disheartening."

Clay Myers will be used more frequently at linebacker, so he'll share more of the load at tailback with Kammeron Green, who led Trojan rushers last week with 56 yards.

Luther said, "Kammeron did a nice job and ran hard last week. We'll probably use him a little more on defense, too, at cornerback."

NOTES: Starting this week, CASHS has a new policy: students in grades K-8 must be accompanied by an adult for all home football games ... Friday is the 4th annual Veterans Recognition Night, which will include a special halftime ceremony ... Leaders: QB Tyler Collier 52-112 (46.4%), 575 yards, 4 TDs, 5 int.; Myers 77-742, 3 TDs; Green 39-192; Sean Vessah 18 catches, 324 yards, 4 TDs.

Colts-Trojans at a glance

Game data: Cedar Cliff Colts at Chambersburg Trojans ... Friday, at Trojan Stadium, 7 ... Mid Penn crossover game.

Media: Follow @LindseySquints for live updates ... Live stream on GameTimePA.com and MidPennBroadcasting.com.

Teams: Cedar Cliff is 5-1 and ranked 12th in District 3 5A; it handled Hershey 50-2 last week ... Chambersburg is 1-5 after a 61-10 loss to Harrisburg.

Series: The Colts lead 31-10-1; the last meeting was a 35-14 win for Cedar Cliff in 2011.

P.O. pick: Colts by 20. The Cliff appears to have too many weapons for the Trojans to slow down.