Indians look for fast start
Shamokin Area got a little bit of a break from the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference schedule this season, starting with two home games against Mifflinburg and Jersey Shore.
That doesn't necessarily mean two guaranteed wins, but it is a bit easier than opening the season against Southern Columbia and Mount Carmel back to back, which the Indians did last season.
But when you're coming off a 3-7 season and trying to establish a program, you can't take anything for granted, according to Shamokin head coach Dan Foor.
"It doesn't really matter who our opponent is," Foor said. "If you're 1-0, it brings a lot more momentum going into the second week than if you're 0-1. Mifflinburg is a good football team. Coach (Jared) Dressler has that program going in the right direction. They're looking at the same things we are.
"We're sort of similar. It's my second year here, it's his second year there. They were 3-7 last year, we were 3-7. We both want to get off to a good start. I'm expecting this to be a pretty good football game."
The Wildcats have five starters back on offense and four on defense, including fullback-linebacker Michael Wiand and junior quarterback Alex Vidunas. The Wildcats expect to run out of multiple sets and will try to throw and run equally.
Defensively, they'll run out of a 4-4 set.
Foor was pleased with his team's performances during its scrimmages against Williamsport and Athens, especically since the Indians are unveiling a new Wing-T offense.
"The kids really responded to the challenge of a quality football camp," Foor said. "The kids bought into it and we had a great camp. We had a real benefit by going against two good opponents and I was really pleased with our two scrimmages. We were able to move the ball pretty consistently in both scrimmages with the new offense.
"But then again, they were just scrimmages. Teams use their base defenses for the most part. It's still a question of how we'll react to stunts and shifts and things we're not accustomed to yet."
A key for the Indians will be how well a veteran offensive line performs.
"We're putting a lot of stock in our offensive line," Foor said. "That's a veteran group."
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