LANCASTER — L-L League football camps open bright and early Monday morning.
What are the five biggest pressing questions heading into the season openers?
Here’s a section-by-section breakdown, concluding with Section 3 …
1 — CAN GARDEN SPOT GO 10-0 AGAIN? Maybe. I mean, who thought the Spartans would go 10-0 last season? What a ride for Garden Spot in 2012: A Section 3 crown in its first year down from Section 2. An offense that produced 36 points per game. A defense that forced 33 turnovers and was a spiffy plus-21 in turnover ratio — by far tops in the L-L League. The 35-7 loss to Manheim Central in the first round of the District 3 Class AAA playoffs was a downer. But all in all, the Spartans had a superb season. And they’ll return a bunch of great kids from that team, including dual-threat QB Mitch Martin, who had a breakout soph season with 1,795 all-purpose yards and 25 total TD. He’ll be surrounded by capable, experienced linemen and playmakers, making Garden Spot the hands-down favorite to recapture the Section 3 title. But 10-0 again? Run-the-table seasons are kinda hard to predict in the second week of August. I suppose it’s a possibility, but the Spartans will have much, much bigger bull’s-eyes on their backs this time around.
GARDEN SPOT COUNTDOWN TO CAMP PREVIEW
GARDEN SPOT PRESEASON VIDEO INTERVIEWS
2 — CAN DONEGAL WIN SECTION 3? If you haven’t been paying attention, the Indians have put together back-to-back solid seasons: In 2011, Donegal went 5-1 in Section 3 and 6-5 overall, falling to eventual champ Bishop McDevitt in the first round of the District 3 Class AAA playoffs. Last year: 5-1 in Section 3 again, and 9-2 overall after a loss to Conrad Weiser in the first round of Districts. That’s 10-2 in league games, 15-7 overall and back-to-back trips to the postseason in the last two years for coach Jeff Polites and his crew. Only Lancaster Catholic, which went on to win the state championship in 2011, and Garden Spot, which went 10-0 in the regular season in 2012, have stood in the way of the Indians winning a Section 3 crown in the last two years. So is this the season Donegal gets over the hump and wins its first Section 3 title since 1999? The Indians will certainly see where they’re at right away; for the second year in a row, they’ll open Section 3 play in Week 4 vs. Garden Spot, this time in Mount Joy. Circle that one in ink. Donegal was 3-0 and sailing into last year’s game at Garden Spot, but turned the ball over five times in a 34-23 setback. Donegal will go at it with a new QB — looks like senior Justin Amspacher will get those honors — but returns one of the top two-way threats in the L-L in thumper FB-LB Kris Trimby. You’ll be hearing his name plenty in the coming months. Pretty simple bottom line here: If the Indians want that elusive title, they’ll have to beat Garden Spot. Either way they’ll be in the chase. But a victory over the Spartans in Week 4 would give them an enormous leg up.
DONEGAL COUNTDOWN TO CAMP PREVIEW
DONEGAL PRESEASON VIDEO INTERVIEWS
3 — WHO WILL CHASE GARDEN SPOT AND DONEGAL? While the Spartans and the Indians will gobble up most of the headlines, there is a ton to like in the Section 3 race, with every team thinking big. … Elco, under first-year coach Bob Miller, was right in the mix last year, going 4-2 in league games and just missing out on Districts with a 6-4 overall mark. QB Jeff Martin passed for 1,016 yards and nine TD and Cameron Strause rushed for 1,178 yards and 13 TD as the Raiders’ super-back. Elco will do damage offensively; if the Raiders can stop people, they’ll be knocking on the door. … Plenty to like at Annville-Cleona, too. The Little Dutchmen hope to improve on last year’s 3-7 mark, and will feature one of the top dual-threat players in the league in Mitch Rodkey. He’ll play QB and line up in the backfield and in the slot. Rodkey is a major weapon, and he’ll have three returning linemen to show him the way (tackles Brandon Boger and Josh Hartman and guard Geordan Barr). … Thinking Northern Lebanon will bounce back from a 0-6 section campaign. Leading passer Isaac Ray (657 yards, 10 TD), leading rusher Derek DiAngelis (588 yards, 4 TD) and leading receiver Mason Yost (16-219, 5 TD) are all set to return. … Pequea Valley is enjoying quite the resurgence under coach Evan Breisblatt, who is benefitting from the school’s new weight room. Guys like center Ben Teijaro and trench mates Tyler Doratt and Keith Beiler at guard and tackle Brett Reifsnyder have packed on muscle weight and will be tougher to tangle with at the line of scrimmage. They’ll also open holes for RB Tyler Hershey and keep QB Hunter Smith upright. While you’re at it, remember the names Smith and Hershey. They’re primed to do some damage. … And a lot of eyes on Columbia, where James Burke takes over the reins from Mike Burke III. Plenty to like in Tide camp, as well, like QB Kyle Warfel and a pair of heavy lifters along the lines in Vanyel Leytham-Peterson and Andres Munoz. With a small field in Class A, Columbia is thinking postseason. But the Tide has enough weapons to make some noise in the Section 3 hunt, too. It’ll be easy to get caught up in what Garden Spot and Donegal are doing; don’t forget about the rest of Section 3.
PODCAST: CAMERON STRAUSE INTERVIEW
PODCAST: EVAN BREISBLATT INTERVIEW
4 — WHY DOESN’T SECTION 3 EVER GET ANY RESPECT? Hmmm, wish I knew. When you think L-L League football, you usually think Manheim Central, Wilson, Lancaster Catholic, et al. Not Annville-Cleona, Elco or Columbia. To me, that’s a shame. The league is the league, regardless of sections or PIAA classifications. You think Annville-Cleona coach Terry Lehman wouldn’t love to have 90 kids on his roster? You think Elco coach Bob Miller wouldn’t love a two-platoon system with kids playing just one way? Heck, you think Columbia coach James Burke wouldn’t want 40 kids, instead of 25 most years? You shouldn’t disrespect teams just because they’re quote-unquote small, or don’t have a year-in-year-out winning program. They’re in Section 3 for a reason: Number of students in the school. And don't forget: Cocalico flip-flops with Garden Spot next year, as the Eagles make the return trip to Section 3 for the first time since 2003. I’ll submit this for your reading pleasure: Look what Section 3 has pumped out recently: Lancaster Catholic won a pair of state championships in three years and four District 3 Class AA championships since 2005. Columbia won the District 3 Class A title in 2011. Garden Spot ran the table and went 10-0 last fall; the Spartans were the only District 3 Class AAA team to do that. Lampeter-Strasburg won the District 3 Class AAA championship in 2007 repping Section 3. Your argument will be that they played a weak league schedule. OK, but they all had to beat bigger programs along the way to win those titles or put up those numbers. That tells me that Section 3 plays some pretty good football. And that the teams that come out of that section to win championships are battle-tested and ready to go. So stop hating on Section 3.
5 — WHO IS THE BEST ALL-AROUND PLAYER IN SECTION 3? Gotta go with Donegal’s Kris Trimby here. Not only does he grow a mean beard — which makes grown men jealous, trust me — but he’s also a top-shelf performer on both sides of the ball for the Indians. Last fall he piled up 1,344 yards and 18 TD from his fullback spot on offense, and on defense he was in on 72 tackles and picked off five passes. Trimby is the reigning L-L Section 3 RB and LB of the Year. Impressive. And he’s back to inflict more damage — and grow cool facial hair — this season.