District 4 'A' title contenders Tigers, Eagles square off in opener

Saturday night has been long awaited since Line Mountain and Southern Columbia announced they'd open the 2010 season against each other.

The Eagles and Tigers have met in the postseason for the past four years. There have been some slobberknockers, close calls and an occasional blowout.

Saturday evening, the Tigers return to the scene of their 42-12 win in last year's District 4 Class A title game.

After meeting in that game last season, both the Eagles and Tigers saw integral pieces of the team graduate.

Southern stayed the course and fitted players into the system, while Line Mountain on the other hand revamped its offensive approach.

Line Mountain's Mike Carson has returned to the spread style offense the Eagles featured during Carson's previous tenure. The results in preseason scrimmages have been mixed, according to how the receivers caught the ball.

"I'm not satisfied yet," Carson said. "It's a work in progress. We had way too many drops in the last scrimmage, and like any offense, if you have receivers open they have to catch the ball. I do think we're getting an understanding of the offense."

Unlike the past, when just about all of Line Mountain's plays were based on the veer option, and defenses had to adjust accordingly, the running game is primarily based off looks and formations more closely affiliated with the passing game.

Joey Hukill saw the most time at tailback last season and will be backed up by Kyle Troutman and Tim Clouser. Hukill ran for 672 yards in the veer option, but will get plenty of touches in the spread offense, as will quarterback Marty Beninsky, who is used to taking a pounding in the option.

"Joey and Kyle Troutman ran tough," Carson said of his running backs in the Eagles' scrimmage with Lewisburg last Friday. "The running game is set up off the throwing game. If we can't throw the ball, then we may have a tougher time running, since most of the running game is based off throwing the football and spreading people out. We do have a bigger than normal o-line for us, and if we can get a body on a body we should get space for our runners."

Southern Columbia's Jim Roth has seen the change in Line Mountain's offense, but from a preparation standpoint, preparing his players for a spread offense is no easier than teaching them how to defend the option, just different.

"Both offenses take more preparation than a typical offense around here," Roth said.

"We have some inexperience on defense that needs to get better. We looked better against Milton in terms of pursuit. Our pass defense will get tested pretty well, but it's not like Line Mountain has disregarded or abandoned the run."

Southern Columbia has the exact opposite situation with its top two rushers from returning from last season, but experience along the offense line lacking.

Jake Morton ran for 1,488 yards and 20 touchdowns, while Tyrell Thomas ran for 957 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Tigers.

Carson has been impressed with the way the running duo has performed in the offseason.

"They're where they normally are at this time of year," Carson said. "Morton seems to be finding any crack and runing through, and Thomas is running better than last year and catching balls out of the backfield.

"If we can make them earn what they get, then our defense will have done its job."

The pair has been solid in the eyes of Southern Columbia coach Jim Roth, but his primary concern is the play of his offensive line.

"We're set right now," Roth said of his starting lineup. "Guys that have been there since the beginning are playing well. Jake Townsend has thrown the ball well. Our backs look solid. Our big question was up front, and they've done a good job in the first two scrimmages. We're not the biggest, but they're playing well."

The loss of junior Tom Schetroma, a starter on defense as a freshman and sophomore, to a knee injury in the team's first scrimmage against Shikellamy will hurt in a variety of ways.

"It's not just the ability we lose with Tom, it's a lot of experience too," Roth said. "He would have been one of our main leaders on defense. Another place Tom's injury hurts us is on the offensive line. He would have seen time there too."

Cameron Flore will take Schetroma's place on defense.

Both coaches also downplayed any added importance to the game after butting heads in the playoffs, because the game is still, after all, a regular season game.

"Ending last year and opening this year with them offers us a barometer to see if we've made an improvement," Carson said. "I hestitate to put too much importance in this game because it's only week one and we have nine other games. I want to see our kids play well and not put too much emphasis on the outcome as they do on playing well play to play."

With an already tough schedule lined up, Southern didn't need another quality opponent with seven other playoffs teams already on the schedule.

"They have some issues in their conference and as a result they've had some bizarre games," Roth said. "It's not that we needed another tough opponent, but we'll play them."