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Five takeaways from South Western-West York scrimmage


In a matchup that fans wouldn't typically get to see in the regular season, South Western hosted West York for a scrimmage Thursday night at The Corral. One team — West York — is coming off a division title in 2014 while the other — South Western — has its sights set on one in 2015. Both teams struggled with penalties, which is something the head coaches will attempt to straighten out before their season openers on Sept. 4, but both squads also showed flashes of potential on both sides of the ball. While they didn't keep score, there were a few things that stood out. Here are five takeaways:

NEW QUARTERBACK, NO PROBLEM >> The Bulldogs and their new head coach, Jeremy Jones, face the tall task of replacing do-it-all signal caller Ross Campbell, who racked up nearly 3,000 total yards last season. But senior quarterback Tyler Folk showed the Bulldog faithful that he could be up to the task. On the very first drive, he launched a bomb down the left sideline, hitting his receiver in stride for a 60-yard touchdown.

AIR ATTACK >> After Folk's touchdown, South Western reeled off four straight scores with three coming through the air. Seniors Brock Geiman and Noah Staub showed off their chemistry early, connecting on two plays on the first drive, including a 40-yard touchdown down the sideline after Staub beat the defensive back beat by three strides. Geiman hit Corbin Byers for a 50-yard score down the seam on the second drive, then rolled to his right in the red zone and found Matt Smolko in the back of the end zone on the third drive. Head coach Damian Poalucci trusted Geiman to air it out down the field and it paid off for the Mustangs.

THE BIG GUYS >> Poalucci was thrilled with how his line played all night. Neither of South Western's quarterbacks were sacked and both had ample time to find open receivers.

"Our line really stood up for us tonight," Poalucci said. "They deserve some credit. This is one of the biggest offensive lines we've had in a long time here."

NO-HUDDLE PAYS DIVIDENDS >> After their first drive, West York's offense stalled (two punts, turnover on downs) until they mixed in a no-huddle series, which resulted in four straight first downs. The fast-paced offense kept South Western on its heels, and West York eventually punched the ball in from the 2-yard line.

PLAY OF THE DAY >> There were a few candidates for this honor — mostly from the Mustangs — but the winner was Drew Hartlaub's diving catch that preceded Smolko's touchdown. The junior, who was a GameTimePA all-league selection last season. He came out of the backfield for a deep ball down the sideline right in front of the Mustangs' bench. Even with a defender going stride for stride with him, Hartlaub was able to lay out and make a diving catch just before Geiman's high-arcing pass hit the ground.