2014 preview

By Ed Gotwals

egotwals@gametimepa.com

Optimism may be the word of choice for football in Franklin County for 2014.

Take a look at James Buchanan. The Rockets were 4-6 a year ago, but that was a huge improvement over the 0-10 record JB posted the year before. Coach Andy Stoner appears to have the program headed in the right direction and it will be a challenge to keep things going that way. But he does return quarterback Dillon Sanders and speedy receiver Peter Hughey, and several other key players are back to give the Rockets a chance to be competitive again.

Then there is Waynesboro, which went through two head coaches last fall, was stuck with an 0-10 mark, and averaged only 92 yards on offense per game. The hype that has already been generated from the Boro this summer is amazing. New head coach Brennan Marion has promised big things for the Indians, including putting the motto “We will win” on their T-shirts. He brought along his younger brother Justin Marion, who is rumored to be a real talent. Connor Fetterhoff, who played as a sophomore but did not come out last year, also returns to help the cause.

Chambersburg coach Mark Saunders enters his fifth season with a big struggle behind him. His position was put up for a vote before the school board in June and his contract was renewed. The Trojans have put together back-to-back winning seasons -- albeit 6-5 both years -- for the first time since 1993-94, and Saunders will have his work cut out for him to replace some dynamic offensive talent that had been in place for the past several years. The Trojans do return defensive forces, Colten Brookens and Mitch Hollar. Chambersburg has made steady progress under Saunders, but 2014 promises to be a big test.

The team with the most consistent program over the past few years is clearly Shippensburg, which has reached the District 3 Class AAA playoffs for the last five years running. Coach Eric Foust has continued a high level of play in those years, but he has a ton of talent to replace from last year’s squad. Early indications are that last year’s backups are ready to shine, and they’d better be because the Greyhounds have added Chambersburg, Mechanicsburg, Dover and Bermudian Springs as non-league opponents -- a much-improved slate than in previous seasons.

Greencastle-Antrim, which Ship supplanted as the area’s biggest annual winner, has had to fight hard to reach .500 in each of the past two seasons, both times winning its last three games of the season to achieve that mark. Veteran coach Chuck Tinninis is entering his 27th season at the helm and he’d like nothing better than to turn the fortunes of the Blue Devils around. That will start with two-way lineman Bobby Rider, who has the size (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) and talent to be a Division I prospect.

Mercersburg Academy will again be tested by a small roster and a tough schedule in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League. The Blue Storm have dropped their last 14 MAPL games and have not won more than one league game since 2007, when they were 3-3.