Altoona 8-3; Like the yards at Altoona, the football program had a recent upgrade when native John Franco returned in 2012 for his second stint as the head coach. He previously led the Mountain Lions from 1986 through 1993, compiling a 40-45-2 won-loss before being let go. Thereon he headed the storied District 6 powerhouse Tyrone from 1993 through 2011, continuing the tradition of excellence with a 190-37 overall combined with a 43-16 playoff record. They took the AA silver in 1996, losing to Mount Carmel 25-6 before winning gold in 1999 (15-0), beating MCA (11-4) 13-6. In 2011 (14-2) they lost to Lancaster Catholic (16-0) in the AA final 17-7.
Oops!….back to Altoona. They had their first winning season last year since 2007 (also 8-3), fielding abysmal teams in between then and now that went 14-43. Looking at the coming campaign, they have big holes to fill beginning with PSU signee DE/OLB Kevin Givens (6-2, 245) and running back Eli Mencer (6-2, 205, 211-1625 yds). They also graduate top receiver Sean Steave (5-9, 170, 29-306) and quarterback Devin Miller (6-2, 175, 833py, 50%) along with 31 other seniors.
Cautionary note; their wins came against opponents with a combined won-loss of 27-50. Their losses were against McKeesport (10-2) 33-17, Penn Trafford (10-2) 42-21 and Pine Richland (15-1), 49-7. The wins against teams finishing above .500 were Plum (6-5) 14-11 and Bethel Park (6-4) 27-17. The momentum has certainly shifted towards the positive but look for the Lions to come back to the pack this year. The schedule is hard enough beginning at Butler who pretty much just lines up and tees off on you. Then it gets difficult at McKeesport who does the same in their Flex Bone but with a pile of experienced backs. Then comes the home opener against Plum who is no longer a cake walk followed by Penn Trafford who dominated them last year. Up next is a 5-5 Norwin teams who has their quarterback and running backs returning. Hempfield (3-6) has a lot of body parts returning too so it could be a tough row to hoe this season for the rebuilding Mountain Lions.
Mifflin County 1-9; T The Huskies are a result of the merger of AA Lewistown Panthers and AAA Indian Valley Warriors high schools in 2011. Neither made much noise except Indian Valley (11-3) in 2007 going to the AAA quarterfinals and losing to Strong Vincent (11-3) 54-20. Vincent then lost to Thomas Jefferson (16-0) in the semifinal 35-6 with TJ beating Garnet Valley (13-2) in the final 28-3. IV went 30-27 the preceding 5 years before the merger while Lewistown was 5-45.
Last year saw the Huskies go a problematic 1-9 with a team full of seniors that simply put could not compete in the Mid Penn Commonwealth, losing by an average score of 41-8 in seven division games against teams like Central Dauphin East (10-3) 33-12, Cumberland Valley (9-3) 35-13, Central Dauphin (11-3) 47-0, Harrisburg (6-5) 42-9 and State College (6-7) 47-12. They also lost non-conference games to Downingtown West (6-5) 42-7 and Dubois (8-3) 61-38, making for one tough schedule. It’s a brutal conference like the 2014 SOL-National but this was a team loaded with 18 seniors, nine on both sides. Part of the problem was inability at quarterback where three seniors got time. All three graduated; Brice Christian (15/58/270/26%), Hunter Walker (23/59/311/39%) and Colin Spencer (9/22/116/41%). It’s a wipe-out at running back too with three of the four leading backs graduating 1002 yards of rushing on 91 carries. The receiver corps lost their top target Jared Michaels’ 19 receptions for 359 yards. With an offense scoring an anemic 11ppg, the defense never stood a chance, collapsing even against mid rung Carlisle (5-6) 61-7….61-7!....and Chambersburg 20-0, where the 1-9 Trojans were suffered one of their worst seasons ever. The Herd was another story with their big gun Billy Burger (6-3, 180) wreaking havoc in the conference last year, throwing for 2404 yards (202 of 320, 63%, Dickinson), losing to Central Dauphin East (10-3) 25-24 in ot then taking Lancaster-Lebanon bad ass Wilson to the edge in the first round before losing 21-7 as the 16th seed. Man, don’t the Mid Penn and LL love to bang heads! Coach Dahms had a good game plan in that one playing “keep-away” with super back Shane Dantzler eating clock with 39 carries netting 232 yards.
Defensively, allowing 40ppg is a school record. Interesting knowing they had a run stuffer in 6-3, 285 pound DT Jesse Rodgers leading the team in tackles with 54 and Matt Wagoner, the same at 6-3, 285 with 22 stops and DE Christian Hagans out there on the edge, at 6-1, 210 with 28 tackles. Rodgers was All-Conference and All State and will play at St. Francis University, Loretto. Most of their linebackers graduated with a big chunk of the secondary making it look like a rebuild on both sides of the line.
They’ll begin the season with a new head coach after George Miskinis’s recent resignation. Miskinis took over mid-way through the 2011 season when coach Steve Hayes retired in October. It appears that Brent Hartman, former assistant at Lewistown and Indian Valley will head the Huskies this season after leading East Juniata to a 2-8 record last year.
Oops!….back to Altoona. They had their first winning season last year since 2007 (also 8-3), fielding abysmal teams in between then and now that went 14-43. Looking at the coming campaign, they have big holes to fill beginning with PSU signee DE/OLB Kevin Givens (6-2, 245) and running back Eli Mencer (6-2, 205, 211-1625 yds). They also graduate top receiver Sean Steave (5-9, 170, 29-306) and quarterback Devin Miller (6-2, 175, 833py, 50%) along with 31 other seniors.
Cautionary note; their wins came against opponents with a combined won-loss of 27-50. Their losses were against McKeesport (10-2) 33-17, Penn Trafford (10-2) 42-21 and Pine Richland (15-1), 49-7. The wins against teams finishing above .500 were Plum (6-5) 14-11 and Bethel Park (6-4) 27-17. The momentum has certainly shifted towards the positive but look for the Lions to come back to the pack this year. The schedule is hard enough beginning at Butler who pretty much just lines up and tees off on you. Then it gets difficult at McKeesport who does the same in their Flex Bone but with a pile of experienced backs. Then comes the home opener against Plum who is no longer a cake walk followed by Penn Trafford who dominated them last year. Up next is a 5-5 Norwin teams who has their quarterback and running backs returning. Hempfield (3-6) has a lot of body parts returning too so it could be a tough row to hoe this season for the rebuilding Mountain Lions.
Mifflin County 1-9; T The Huskies are a result of the merger of AA Lewistown Panthers and AAA Indian Valley Warriors high schools in 2011. Neither made much noise except Indian Valley (11-3) in 2007 going to the AAA quarterfinals and losing to Strong Vincent (11-3) 54-20. Vincent then lost to Thomas Jefferson (16-0) in the semifinal 35-6 with TJ beating Garnet Valley (13-2) in the final 28-3. IV went 30-27 the preceding 5 years before the merger while Lewistown was 5-45.
Last year saw the Huskies go a problematic 1-9 with a team full of seniors that simply put could not compete in the Mid Penn Commonwealth, losing by an average score of 41-8 in seven division games against teams like Central Dauphin East (10-3) 33-12, Cumberland Valley (9-3) 35-13, Central Dauphin (11-3) 47-0, Harrisburg (6-5) 42-9 and State College (6-7) 47-12. They also lost non-conference games to Downingtown West (6-5) 42-7 and Dubois (8-3) 61-38, making for one tough schedule. It’s a brutal conference like the 2014 SOL-National but this was a team loaded with 18 seniors, nine on both sides. Part of the problem was inability at quarterback where three seniors got time. All three graduated; Brice Christian (15/58/270/26%), Hunter Walker (23/59/311/39%) and Colin Spencer (9/22/116/41%). It’s a wipe-out at running back too with three of the four leading backs graduating 1002 yards of rushing on 91 carries. The receiver corps lost their top target Jared Michaels’ 19 receptions for 359 yards. With an offense scoring an anemic 11ppg, the defense never stood a chance, collapsing even against mid rung Carlisle (5-6) 61-7….61-7!....and Chambersburg 20-0, where the 1-9 Trojans were suffered one of their worst seasons ever. The Herd was another story with their big gun Billy Burger (6-3, 180) wreaking havoc in the conference last year, throwing for 2404 yards (202 of 320, 63%, Dickinson), losing to Central Dauphin East (10-3) 25-24 in ot then taking Lancaster-Lebanon bad ass Wilson to the edge in the first round before losing 21-7 as the 16th seed. Man, don’t the Mid Penn and LL love to bang heads! Coach Dahms had a good game plan in that one playing “keep-away” with super back Shane Dantzler eating clock with 39 carries netting 232 yards.
Defensively, allowing 40ppg is a school record. Interesting knowing they had a run stuffer in 6-3, 285 pound DT Jesse Rodgers leading the team in tackles with 54 and Matt Wagoner, the same at 6-3, 285 with 22 stops and DE Christian Hagans out there on the edge, at 6-1, 210 with 28 tackles. Rodgers was All-Conference and All State and will play at St. Francis University, Loretto. Most of their linebackers graduated with a big chunk of the secondary making it look like a rebuild on both sides of the line.
They’ll begin the season with a new head coach after George Miskinis’s recent resignation. Miskinis took over mid-way through the 2011 season when coach Steve Hayes retired in October. It appears that Brent Hartman, former assistant at Lewistown and Indian Valley will head the Huskies this season after leading East Juniata to a 2-8 record last year.