EAHS football preview

(E-town will be led by senior captains, from left, Shane Rosenberry, Kyle McNeil and Alex Kirchner.)

Head Coach: Jeff Polites, 11th season.

2007 Record: 10-2 overall, 6-1 Section Two. Section Two co-champions. Beat Shippensburg 35-7 in District Three Class AAA quarterfinals. Lost to Lampeter-Strasburg 21-0 in District Three Class AAA semifinals.

Key Returners: Shane Rosenberry, senior, FB/LB (209 rushing yards, six touchdowns; 156 tackles, four sacks, two fumble recoveries in 2007); Conrad Heisey, senior, HB/LB (794 rushing yards, five touchdowns; six tackles in 2007); Alex Kirchner, senior, G/DE (88 tackles, two sacks, three fumble recoveries in 2007); Kyle McNeil, senior, QB (538 passing yards, eight touchdowns in 2007).

These four players were all very productive for the Bears during their 2007 playoff season, and Polites expects that to continue and also for them to step up as seniors and be the leaders of the team.

“They are providing great leadership for this team. We expect them to be the players who provide most of our production,” he said.

Rosenberry was a force at linebacker last season, leading the team with 156 tackles in just 12 games, an average of 13 tackles per game. He was a second team all-section linebacker last year. He will be the quarterback of the defense from middle linebacker and is a game-changer on defense. On offense, Rosenberry carried the ball only 47 times last year, but still had six rushing touchdowns, third most on the team. He will likely see more carries this year, with the departure of running backs Andrew Weller and Jordan Hallman. He is a bruising running back and E-town will likely feed him the ball when it needs to pick up some tough yards.

Heisey led the team in carries last season and will likely be the feature running back again this year. He was an honorable mention all-section running back as a junior and will be handling the bulk of the carries for the Bears. Also, look for Heisey to have a more prominent role on defense this season, unless the Bears decide to use him sparingly at linebacker to keep him fresh on offense.

Kirchner will be the anchor of both the offensive and defensive lines. For a lineman, Kirchner is extremely quick off the snap and will be the key to protecting quarterback Kyle McNeil and opening holes for Heisey, Rosenberry and company. On defense, he had the most tackles of any lineman last year and will likely repeat that feat. He’ll be in the backfield plenty of times to blow up running plays or disrupt the quarterback’s timing. He also has a nose for the football and led the squad in fumble recoveries last year. Kirchner was a first team all-section defensive lineman and honorable mention at guard last year.

After splitting time with Preston Faith at quarterback last year, McNeil steps in for his first full-season as a starter. He completed nearly 58 percent of his passes last year, and has very good arm strength. McNeil said that, because of the amount of playing time he received last year, he is very comfortable in the offense this season. The Bears will grind the clock on the ground quite a bit, but when a passing play is called, McNeil can air it out and hurt defenses.

Key Newcomers: Jamie Kehler, senior, G/DE; Zach Myers, junior, TE/LB; David Kennedy, junior, HB/LB; Jarred Danneker, junior, RB/OLB; Mitch Weidman, junior, HB/FS; Steven Nunez, senior; WR/DB; Josh McMaster, senior, WR/DB; Jeremi Jones, senior, WR/DB; Shaun Buller, junior, T/T; Travis Eppley, junior, C/T.

Many of these players saw some time at the varsity level last year, but will be relied on to step into full-time roles this season.

On the offensive and defensive lines, the Bears welcome in Kehler, Buller and Eppley, who are all more than 200 pounds. Kehler will pair with Kirchner at the other guard spot on the offensive line and will also play a lot of defensive end. Eppley steps in at center and Buller will be the team’s best tackle with the loss of Evan Good, who suffered and injury in preseason and is likely out for the year. Their line play will be key for the Bears, who love running the football.

Weidman is a speedy junior who should see a lot of carries on offense, and will likely be used for several purposes, similar to the way Hallman was featured in the offense last season. He will also be stepping in at free safety on defense.

McMaster, Nunez and Jones, who is a transfer from Mount Calvary Christian School, will be the team’s top pass catchers. McMaster and Nunez each saw time in the offense last season and are capable of giving McNeil good targets to hit. Jones has a lot of speed and will burn defenses deep if they aren’t careful with him. All in all, it’s an athletic group of receivers. Myers gives the team a tough tight end and will be in on a lot of tackles at linebacker.

Danneker and Kennedy each saw limited carries last season, but will be needed to give the team more weapons on offense this season. They also will both be used at linebacker on defense.

Polites said that because a lot of this group was able to get on the field for the Bears last year, their transition to impact players should be quick.

“This groups provides us with quality that we are excited to see step in and perform immediately,” he said.

Key Losses: Nate Koach, WR/DB (44 catches, 705 yards, eight touchdowns; 61 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries in 2007); Andrew Weller, HB/LB (710 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, three receiving touchdowns; 70 tackles, one interception in 2007); Sean McMullen, C/LB (155 tackles, nine sacks in 2007); Oliver Thayer, OLB (50 tackles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery in 2007); Preston Faith, QB/DB (787 passing yards, eight touchdowns; 48 tackles in 2007); Jordan Hallman, HB/DB (1,192 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, 326 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns; 23 tackles, one interception in 2007); Evan Good, senior, T/T, injury.

When you think of the great season E-town had in 2007, these six graduating players will likely be the first six to pop into your mind. Each had fantastic production on both sides of the ball and would be difficult for any team to replace.

Koach was the team’s top receiver, accounting for 51 percent of the team’s receiving yards. He also led them in interceptions and was a first team all-section receiver and second team defensive back.

Weller was the team’s third-leading rusher and among its leaders in tackles. He was a first team all-section linebacker and honorable mention running back.

McMullen was second on the team in tackles and led them in sacks, and also anchored the offensive line. He was first team all-section at both center and linebacker.

Thayer was a starting linebacker who was very tough, recording 50 tackles and grabbing two picks.

Faith was the Bears’ starting quarterback for the past three seasons and was honorable mention all-section at quarterback last year. He was also a starting defensive back.

Hallman was E-town’s most explosive offensive weapon last year, crossing the 1,000 yard mark rushing and was the team’s second-leading receiver. He was also an outstanding defensive back and was an all-section running back, punter, kick returner and defensive back).

While these players left their mark on the program with their statistics, Polites said this year’s group will carry on their example of hard work and preparation.

“The 2007 seniors were great leaders and set a wonderful example of how to prepare for a long season,” he said.

Good was slated to be E-town’s starting tackle on both the offensive and defensive lines before suffering an injury in the preseason that will likely force him to miss his senior season. Before his injury, Good was, along with Kirchner, one of the anchors of both lines. His injury will force a younger, more inexperienced lineman to step in and fill his shoes.

Strengths: Leadership, running game, athleticism.

The Bears certainly don’t want to forget about what they accomplished last year, but the seniors – namely Rosenberry, McNeil, Kirchner and Heisey – are anxious to continue what last year’s team started. And they are doing that by firing up the team during practice, working hard and maintaining a high level of intensity.

E-town’s strength on offense, as it often is, will be the running game. Heisey and Rosenberry will lead that charge. Both are experienced runners who know how and when to hit holes and get downfield as quickly as possible.

E-town may have lost a lot of starters to graduation, especially on defense, but the players that the Bears will plug in are athletic and strong, which will go a long way for them.

Weakness: Depth.

Depth could become an issue for E-town early in the season. With the large amount of seniors it lost, younger players need to get up to varsity speed quickly for the Bears to come roaring out of the gate. This problem shouldn’t persist for long, as the coaching staff will work out the depth chart quickly. But for the first game or two, E-town’s reserve players need to be ready to play whenever their number is called.

On defense, the Bears will be playing a lot of players who, while many of them saw the field last year, didn’t see it as extensively as the starters did. But the coaching staff is convinced that those players have the talent to play – and play well – at the varsity level.

Outlook: The Bears come into the season with the target of defending section champions (along with Solanco) on their backs, which means every team they play is going to leave it all on the field to try and knock E-town off.

On paper, it appears that the Bears will be weaker on defense, since only Rosenberry and Kirchner are returning starters from that stout 2007 unit. But at the recent Lancaster-Lebanon League football media day, Polites said he doesn’t get caught up in those kinds of numbers. He said they have plenty of capable players who could have started if they were seniors (E-town gives starting nods to seniors usually when there is a competition at a position with an underclassman). But the Bears have two major reasons to believe that they have what it takes to repeat last season’s stellar defensive performance, in which the Bears had the best defense in the section and the fourth-best in the L-L League – Rosenberry and Kirchner.

Both will be inflict a ton of damage to opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers and will spearhead a hard-nosed defensive attack. The Bears fly sideline-to-sideline very well on defense and, despite the nine new starters, will be able to limit scoring and create turnovers.

On offense, the running game is pretty much intact – led by workhorse Heisey. It will be interesting to see how the offensive line can jell early in the season, especially with the loss of Good leaving Kirchner as the only returning starter on the line. The line is certainly bigger than last year’s group, but time will tell if they can match the moxie and toughness that the Bears’ line displayed in 2007.

McNeil looks poised to have a big season. He has the size and arm strength to be an excellent quarterback in E-town’s Wing-T offense, but he too will need some time to get chemistry with his new receivers. He’ll face a McCaskey team in the team’s opener that finished in the middle of the road in the league in team defense last year, but the Tornado has a lot of speed. McNeil’s comfort level and decision making in the Bears’ first two or three games will set the tone for the season.

E-town had the second-ranked offense in the L-L League last year and, although they lost some very good skill players, still return a solid nucleus with a firm grasp on Polites’ Wing-T system that will put up its share of points.

The Bears have moved to Class AAAA this year, meaning they will play J.P. McCaskey, Muhlenberg and Manheim Township in their three nonleague games to start the season, but then it is right back to the grind that is Section Two.

E-town’s section is loaded with good teams, and it’ll be a battle every Friday for the Bears to repeat as section champions. Cocalico is filled with speed and handed the Bears their only regular season loss a year ago. Manheim Central looks like they will be back to playing their usual style of Baron football. Solanco, Ephrata, Garden Spot, Conestoga Valley and Lebanon are also all fairly strong and present different challenges and strengths that E-town will need to counter.

At the end of the day, though, E-town has been to the top of the Section Two mountain and knows what it needs to do to get back there. They have a solid group of playmakers almost everywhere you look and will be in the section title and district playoff races when late-October rolls around.