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Daily Record/Sunday News Week 4 football picks
York, PA -The belief began to take root almost a year ago to the day, the last time Biglerville and Littlestown shared a football field.
In that contest, the upstart Canners held a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. For many of the players on that Biglerville team, it was their first experience in a tight game against one of YAIAA Division III's traditional powers.
The Thunderbolts eventually surged to a 34-24 victory. But for Alex Ramos' group, the mentality had already started to change.
"My first year, there was a little bit of disbelief," said Ramos, now in his third season at Biglerville's helm. "There was a feeling of, 'We can't hang with these guys.' Sure enough, we didn't.
"Last year, we saw, 'Hey, we're tied at halftime. Hey, we're winning the fourth quarter.' When you start to get that belief, a little more of that confidence starts to settle in."
A year later, many of Biglerville's players from that game are now leaders on a senior-heavy squad, which heads into today's 7 p.m. home showdown against the also-unbeaten Thunderbolts looking to secure its status as a division title contender.
In addition to that loss to Littlestown last season, the Canners also played close against Delone Catholic and
"They're a predominantly senior-oriented team," Littlestown coach Mike Lippy said of the Canners. "These kids have played since they've been sophomores. ... They're not fearful of any of us."
Tonight's matchup holds intrigue not just because of the teams' perfect records, but also because of their respective strengths.
The Canners have been carried by a balanced, unrelenting offense. Three Biglerville running backs boast at least 231 rushing
In three games, Biglerville has scored a YAIAA-best 154 points. Although the Canners three opponents -- James Buchanan, Fairfield and Hanover -- are a combined 0-9 and won a total of three games last season.
Littlestown has traditionally fielded a potent offense of its own during Lippy's tenure, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of this year's team has come from the other side of the ball. After allowing 23.3 points per game last year, the Thunderbolts have given up just 28 through three games this season.
During a 33-14 win against Delone Catholic last week, Littlestown surrendered just one offensive touchdown and held Squires standout quarterback Brett Smith to 4-of-15 passing with two interceptions.
"I just think, to a man, they realized we can be a better football team if we play better on defense," Lippy said. "We can't afford to go into every Friday night thinking we have to score 35 points a game."
That defense may face its biggest challenge to date tonight.
Ditto for the Canners.
"We had a good week of practice," Ramos said. "Our kids prepared well. They were focused all week. It's one of those things where we said they're at where we want to be. If you want to be the best, you got to beat the best."
Tonight's
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GameTimePA.com reporter Matt Goul talks high school sports with readers every week, with an assist from Steve Navaroli. Their next chat will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 21 on The Varsity Beat blog.
Central York (1-2) at
Susquehannock (0-3)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Central York 48, Susquehannock 0
The skinny: Central put it all together last week, while the Warriors had a tough road game at Milton Hershey.
Panthers must: Feed off the momentum from last Friday's 51-14 blowout at Hempfield. Getting the ball to speedy Marquis Fells, who last week scored four touchdowns in three different ways (one rushing, two receiving, one returning) will go a long way.
Warriors must: Take advantage of opportunities. Despite three losses, Susquehannock has a plus-6 turnover margin and has been able to move the ball on offense. It's time to turn those chances in points.
Dallastown (0-3)
at Dover (2-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Did not play
The skinny: The Wildcats have fallen victim to a brutal early-season schedule. This one won't be easy either, against a Dover team coming off its first loss.
Wildcats must: Cultivate some sort of rushing attack. Dallastown has averaged just a shade over 100 rushing yards in its three games, including a 66-yard performance last week. With the Wildcats' speed in the backfield and size up front, those numbers should be higher.
Eagles must: Keep their defense off the field, something they failed to do during a 34-14 loss to Red Land. Many of Dover's players go two ways, so the Eagles must use their ground game to wear down opponents -- not the other way around.
Delone Catholic (1-2, 1-1 Div. III)
at York Suburban (3-0, 2-0 Div. III)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Delone Catholic 34, York Suburban 7
The skinny: The Trojans could cement their status as division contenders with a win, but they'll have to overcome a Squires team hoping to rebound from a tough loss.
Squires must: Play a crisper game than they did last week, during a 33-14 loss to Littlestown. Delone turned the ball over three times, and York Suburban -- with its great speed -- can be an extremely opportunistic bunch.
Trojans must: Win the battle at the line of scrimmage. Delone has been known through the years as a grind-it-out team, and Suburban is still inexperienced at spots along its offensive line and the front seven of its defense. Those groups will have to come up big.
Fairfield (0-3. 0-2 Div. III)
at Eastern York (0-3, 0-2 Div. III)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Eastern York 48, Fairfield 6
The skinny: One of the Knight teams will earn its first victory of the season tonight.
Green Knights must: Keep YAIAA leading rusher Alex Cooley on the sideline. At least this season Fairfield has an established runner that can help do that in Tommy Bollinger, who has 348 yards and an 8.1 per carry average.
Golden Knights must: Get Cooley going early. In a rare occurrence, Bermudian Springs kept Cooley in check last week (44 rushing yards), but the senior still has nearly 600 yards and six touchdowns on the season and will be looking for more tonight.
Gettysburg (0-3, 0-0 Mid-Penn Colonial)
at Greencastle-Antrim
(1-2, 0-0 Mid-Penn Colonial)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Greencastle-Antrim 49, Gettysburg 7
The skinny: The road isn't getting any easier for Gettysburg, which opens Mid-Penn Colonial play.
Warriors must: Find some kind of defense. The Warriors have allowed a staggering 147 points this season, including 62 last week against Chambersburg. It's impossible to win that way.
Blue Devils must: Find a way to turn offense into points. The Devils offense averages more than 260 yards per game, but only has 16 points per contest to show for those efforts.
Hanover (0-3, 0-2 Div. III)
at York Catholic (1-2, 1-1 Div. III)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year:
The skinny: The Irish try to reach .500 against a Hanover team that has struggled mightily so far.
Nighthawks must: Establish some sort of offense and keep the powerful Irish attack -- led by QB James Dougherty -- off the field. Hanover has scored a combined 20 points in its first three games, and will likely have to exceed that total to keep this one close.
Irish must: Pick up where they left off last week during a 59-14 win against Fairfield. After a pair of narrow losses to Northeastern and Bermudian Springs, the Irish rolled behind the powerful duo of Dougherty (362 passing yards, 3 TDs) and RB Matt Lehr (137 rush, 89 pass, 5 TDs).
South Western (1-2)
at New Oxford (1-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Did not play
The skinny: It's the first meeting between the two since the Colonials dropped to Division II in 2010.
Mustangs must: Forget the last two games, during which they allowed 69 and 63 points, respectively. There is plenty of season left, especially with RB Dillon Thomas scoring five touchdowns and averaging 109.7 rushing yards per game.
Colonials must: Move the football against a former rival. Coming off a shutout loss at Waynesboro, the Ox has something to prove. But it must improve upon a net average of 117 yards of offense per game.
William Penn (0-3)
at Northeastern (3-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Northeastern 37, William Penn 7
The skinny: These two 'Cats seem headed in opposite directions, with the Bobcats fresh off a statement win and the Bearcats scuffling.
Bearcats must: Rally together and play inspired. It's been a tough year for William Penn football -- on the field and off -- and it could be easy to get discouraged. A big play out of the chute or an early lead will be essential here.
Bobcats must: Continue the newfound balance on offense. RB Daniel Adams (533 yards, 4 TDs) is Northeastern's engine, but QB Alec Miller posted his best outing of the season (197 passing, 42 rushing, 4 TDs) in last week's 32-27 win at Shippensburg.
Northern York (2-1, 0-0 Mid-Penn Colonial)
at Big Spring (0-3, 0-0 Mid-Penn Colonial)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Northern York 41, Big Spring 10
The skinny: After a disappointing loss last week, the Polar Bears look to start off their Mid-Penn Colonial schedule on a positive note.
Polar Bears must: Finish stronger than they did last Friday, when they allowed 27 second-half points in a 33-26 loss at Mechanicsburg. A pair of Northern turnovers -- one of which was returned for a touchdown -- didn't help matters.
Bulldogs must: Finish off their scoring chances. That was an issue during last week's frustrating, 5-0 loss to Boiling Springs. Big Spring made four trips into the Bubblers red zone last Friday, all of which ended with zero points.
Lower Dauphin (3-0, 0-0 Mid-Penn Keystone)
at Red Land (3-0, 0-0 Mid-Penn Keystone)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Red Land 34, Lower Dauphin 17
The skinny: A pair of unbeaten teams are contesting for the early Mid-Penn Keystone lead.
Falcons must: Continue the stellar play of their defense, which has not allowed a point so far this season. True, the Falcons have faced three struggling teams, but to not allow a point through three games is still impressive.
Patriots must: Play a second half like they did last week, when the Pats trailed Dover at the half before running off 27 unanswered points. Red Land amassed 385 yards on the ground in that game.
Red Lion (0-3)
at West York (3-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Did not play
The skinny: Teams with opposite records battle in this YAIAA crossover game.
Lions must: Get the lead and hold onto it. The Lions went in front three times during last week's road game against Lampeter-Strasburg, only to lose all three. That included allowing the winning touchdown with 1:22 to play.
Bulldogs must: Get more consistent on offense. Despite being 3-0, we probably haven't seen the best of West York, which won its last two games by a combined six points and was outgained by Spring Grove during last week's 21-17 thriller.
Saturday's games
Bermudian Springs (3-0, 2-0 Div. III)
at York County Tech (0-3, 0-2 Div. III)
Kickoff: 10 a.m.
Last year: Bermudian Springs 39, York Tech 0
The skinny: It's the undefeated against the winless in this Division III morning clash.
Eagles must: Not change a thing. The offense, averaging more than 360 yards and 30 points per game, is getting it done. So is the defense that has allowed only 14 combined points in three games.
Spartans must: Ride the horse that is Calvin Savary. The 210-pound junior is averaging 158 yards per game and 5.58 yards per carry. The challenge will be converting that yardage into touchdowns.
Spring Grove (1-2)
at Kennard-Dale (0-3)
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Last year: Spring Grove 21, Kennard-Dale 14
The skinny: The Rockets could surpass their 2011 win total with a victory in this cross-division matchup.
Rockets must: Build on the positives from last week's hard-fought, 21-17, loss at West York. Spring Grove outgained the Bulldogs in that matchup (274 to 189) and had almost twice as many first downs (15 to 8).
Rams must: Establish some type of go-to option on offense. Junior fullback Mike Young (225 yards, 6.4 avg., 2 TDs) has been Kennard-Dale's most consistent ball carrier, but the Rams have managed just 9 points per game so far.
