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NTL FOOTBALL: YOUNG PLEASED WITH WILDCATS' SCRIMMAGE AT SUSQUEHANNA (18 PHOTOS) (2019-08-18)

Valley Sports Report
SUSQUEHANNA TWP. - Athens saw its first live action of 2019 here Saturday in what will be the Wildcats' only scrimmage of the season, and the offense flashed some big-play potential.

"All in all, It was a good scrimmage," said longtime Athens coach Jack Young. "Susquehanna is always tough."

Senior Damian Hudson and sophomore Shayne Reid each broke off long TD runs during the scrimmage.

"We showed signs of being able to make some big plays,"

(Senior) Damian (Hudson) and (sophomore) Shayne (Reid), we expect big plays from those guys, they are going to have to make plays for us on Friday nights.

"Damian made a couple of runs, including one run early that was special. Hopefully, we get a lot of those this year," said Young. "And, Shayne had a real nice run for a score.

"We expect big plays from those guys, they have to make plays for us on Friday night," he added.

Freshman Mason Lister had the majority of reps with the starting offense.

"We had a freshman quarterback (Mason Lister) working with the number 1s," said Young. "He's a freshman, he did some really good things, and we saw some things he really needs to work on.

"He's got the tools and the ability to be a good one," noted Young.

"I think our wide receivers did a nice job of blocking, and caught a couple balls. We got a new guy in sophomore J.J. Babcock, who showed some real good stuff.

"Our line did some good things, too," added Young. "At times, we got what we expect and need out of them, but at times they were tired, which is an issue we need to address. We have to create some depth, so we can keep people active for four quarters."

Young was also fairly pleased with the Wildcats' effort on defense.

"Defensively, we were pretty solid for the most part, just a few breakdowns here and there. I think all the little breakdowns are things we need to address, and all those things are correctible.

"I thought our kids played physical, and we did a pretty decent job of tackling, especially considering we don't get the time to work on that like we have in year's past," said Young.

"Our linebacking corps is young. Junior Tanner Dildine is our only guy with experience, but sophomore Troy Jennings showed some really good things, and sophomore Troy Pritchard showed signs of really helping us at defensive end.

"Guys like Ben Pernaselli and Ian Wright showed us they can be dominant at times, but we need to figure out a way to get them a few plays off here and there to keep them fresh for four quarters.

"Freshman Caleb Nichols show some really, really nice things offensively," added Young. "If I was a betting man, I'd say (Nichols) will start to see some time for us defensively on the varsity level."

In year's past, Pa. schools have had two scrimmages to prepare for the season, but this year there's just one, with the regular season kicking off Friday.

"I think everybody approaches it a little differently," said Young. "Bottom line is we've had two weeks to prepare.

"Honestly, with our small number of upper classmen (juniors and seniors), I don't know if two scrimmages would have been good for us, in terms of the health aspect.

"We already have a couple of kids dinged up, so it's going to be an issue," added Young. "Our depth is going to come from some really young kids."

Another change facing all high school teams this season is the 40-second play clock.

"That's a big change for high school football ... there might be some growing pains there," said Young. "It's something we've been working on. Hopefully, we'll be little better off than some of the other teams."

The Wildcats open the regular season Friday at Hanover Area.

"Overall, I was very pleased with the scrimmage," said Young. "And, we came out of it healthy, and that's definitely a bonus."

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINA KREYKENBOHM.


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