NS air game a work in progress

by dan burda (sports writer dan_b@newsitem.com)

Published: August 29, 2010

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FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - A layman would think that breaking in a new starting quarterback would weigh heaviest on a coach.

But North Schuylkill's Rick Geist is confident that junior Ryan Henning can handle the pressures of being a starting quarterback for a reigning district champ.

"I think we have enough older guys that Ryan doesn't have to try to win it all the time," Geist said. "He just has to manage the game.

"He can throw the ball, but hopefully we'll be able to run the ball."

With a stable of running backs who totaled more than 2,700 yards on the ground last year all returning, Geist's team should in fact be able to run the ball.

And Henning, who was close to winning the starting job last year, is a big, athletic kid, who knows his job.

"I'm going to go in there and get the job done," Henning said. "We won't do anything too different, but if we have to throw the ball, we're going to."

The real question facing Geist is who will be on the receiving end when the Spartans need to throw the ball.

Last year's top four receivers are all gone, with the leading returner having spent most of last season at running back.

Senior Scott Houser caught four passes for 58 yards last season out of the backfield, but he'll be jockeyed between running back, wideout and anywhere else on offense the Spartans could use an injection of speed.

"At every passing scrimmage we went to, Houser was there, and he was the best player on the field," Geist said.

Geist, however, also wasn't sure who else would be the starters when the dust settles before the Spartans host Shenandoah Valley to start the season.

"It takes a whole team, not just one guy," he said.

And with last year's starting wideouts also doubling as the team's starting defensive backs, the Spartans need to find players to man those positions also.

It also means that the team's scrimmages are of the utmost importance in seeing how the menagerie of skill players react to game situations.

"There's a lot of competition," Geist said. "What I would like to see is four kids win jobs on defense and two guys play well on offense to get more guys on the field.

"There's no one that much better than another one and we plan on playing all of them."

Geist then rattled off a list of names that will push Houser and vie for playing time.

They include juniors Jonathan Long and Mike McGrath, sophomore Ethan Motsney and a couple others.

The real key to who gets on the field is if they show a penchant for the big play, as Zach Hogan and Steve Ennis did a year ago during the Spartans' 13-1 run.

"Motsney and Long have talent, but they have to make plays like Hogan and Ennis did last year," Geist said.

"In the defensive backfield is where we have to play well. The guys in the front seven all started at least a couple games last year, but it's up to the d-backs."

And Geist's confidence in Henning has filtered down to Henning having confidence in his receivers.

"We have great talent at wide receiver with a lot of speed," Henning said. "They're going to run their routes, get open and I'll find them."

But Geist laughed when it was suggested that maybe he had an overabundance of options.

"We're moving kids around, there's a lot of options.

"The whole thing comes down to leadership and chemistry. We made plays when they needed to be made last year. Then you add in focus and intensity, and that's what I always tell the kids that if we have those four things we'll be able to win games. ...I just don't know how many."

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