Sustaining surprise success
It's hard to call any win an upset in Week 1, especially in high school football, because turnover is so high and it's hard to assess what each team has. Still, looking at what Eastern York and Northeastern were able to do on Friday and how they were able to do it, those results would have been hard to predict.
Eastern scored a 32-yard touchdown with 49 seconds left to earn a win over Columbia for the first time in the 31-year history of the program. Northeastern did not just pick up a victory in its first varsity football game in school history, it put forth a dominating performance for a 36-7 triumph.
Along with Eastern and Northeastern, there are three other teams that finished below .500 in 2007 that earned big victories in the season's first week and have a good chance of staying undefeated after this week and essentially set themselves up for a run to the playoffs if they can pull it off.
1) York Catholic: Sure, the Fighting Irish gripe about the longer road trips and the lack of local rivalries moving to YAIAA Division III. But the bonus for this year's York Catholic squad is playing in Class A this year, where they have a chance to make some waves. After an impressive comeback victory on the road last week, the Fighting Irish take on a Shenandoah Valley team that's more noteworthy for having two former players charged with killing a man than achieving anything on the football field. Last week, the Blue Devils lost to North Schuylkill 19-6 and quarterback Adam Sentz (212 yards rushing last week) and the Fighting Irish get to play them at home.
2) Eastern York The Golden Knights are almost as likely as the Fighting Irish to pick up another victory, hosting a Donegal team that was shut out 40-0 last week against Daniel Boone. Eastern may have won only one game last year, but with running back Jared Smeltzer (147 yards last week) and a boost of confidence following the historic win over Columbia, the Golden Knights looked poised to make it two in a row.
3) Northeastern: The Bobcats are playing on the road for the first time, but they're taking on a Biglerville squad that struggled last week and lost a lot of personnel from last year's 6-4 team. Considering what Northeastern was able to do against East Juniata last week they should have a good shot at taking down the Canners. and move to 2-0 in it's first two games ever.
4) South Western: Beating Gettysburg last week wasn't that surprising, but winning in dominant fashion by 27 points was an undeniable eye-opener. The Mustangs won only three games last year, but after holding the Warriors scoreless for the first three quarters look poised to make a run this season. This week they hit the road, but they take on a Hollidaysburg team that was shut out 37-0 in its season opener.
5) Hanover: The Nighthawks thumped perennial cupcake Carson Long last week to equal their 2007 win total, but the wins may not stop there. Hanover is still adjusting to the new spread option offense implemented by first-year coach Jason Potts, but they get to open at home against a Big Spring squad that stumbled to a 1-9 record last year and lost to Boiling Springs by 25 points to open the 2008 slate. The Patriot-News ranked Big Spring second-to-last among the 33 Mid-Penn Conference teams. If the Nighthawks can utilize its home-field advantage and keep mistakes to a minimum, they could easily remain undefeated.
Which of these five teams are most likely to win this week? Who will stay undefeated the longest? The comments section awaits your thoughts.
