(Note:  all statistical data pulled from MaxPreps as of 11/25/09)

The Trojans will take on the Selinsgrove Seals Friday night in a PIAA playoff contest.  It is only the second PIAA inter-district playoff game the Trojans have played in program history.  The first was five years ago, also against Selinsgrove.  To say the Seals' program is impressive is an understatement.  They have won the District 4-AAA title six years in a row and eight of the last ten.  They have won their conference (formerly the CSC, currently the Heartland) seven years in a row.  

They come into this game with a 12-0 record and are led by Coach Dave Hess.  Hess is in his second year at the helm of the Seals and has compiled an impressive 25-2 record thus far.  He took over for the venerable Bill Scott who coached the previous 36 seasons, compiled a career record of 267-145-1 and won numerous conference and district titles along the way.  

But Hess was no stranger to this program, prior to him being named head coach, he was on the Coach Scott's staff for 24 years.  However, it was in his rookie campaign as head coach that the team went farther than they even had, advancing past the state quarterfinal round.  This earned Hess AP honors as Coach of the Year.  They have reached the state quarterfinal round every year since 2004 but only last year did they advance to the semifinals.  They lost last year to Archbishop Wood in that round.  From 2004 to 2007 they were knocked out of the quarterfinal round each year, three times the lost to the team that would eventually win the state title (Thomas Jefferson in 2004 and 2007 and Franklin Regional in 2005).

That is all ancient history though, so let's fast forward to the present.  The Seals are 12-0 and top ranked Class AAA team in the state and when you look at them on paper, it's hard to find a weakness.  They have outscored their opponents 576-76 and only two teams have scored double digits points on them.  They have pitched five shutouts on the season.  Offensively, they have scored over 60 points once, over 50 points five times and over 40 points four times.  They average 48 points a game and hold their opponents to an average of 6.3 points per game.  Their lowest points scored for one game on the season is 34.  Needless to say, the running clock has been their friend this year!

According to some critics, one of the things that has dogged the Seals in the past is a weak regular season schedule.  Some feel this has hampered them and been a reason it took them so long to get past the quarterfinal round and to advance to a state title.  Former Coach Scott said as much in a postseason radio interview a few seasons back.  That being said, earlier this season I heard Harrisburg Patriot-News scribe Andrew Shay during halftime of a PCN Game of the Week that this could be the Seals team that goes to state.  This is such a topic of interest that it's actually a web poll on the Selinsgrove website.

The combined record of the teams that Selinsgrove has played thus far is 64-68.  For the sake of argument, Johnstown's isn't that better as their opponents on the season are 57-60.  However, the Trojans can boast that two of three teams that beat them are both undefeated and will be playing for the District 6 titles in Class AA (Forest Hills) and Class A (Bishop McCort) this weekend.  

The Seals and Trojans are in very similar circumstances in having a small and relatively weak field in district play.  There are only seven 4-AAA schools but only Selinsgrove and Shikellamy have winning records.  As we know in the Trojan Nation, only four teams compete at 6-AAA and the Trojans were the only team left with a winning record and two of the teams didn't even enter postseason play.  

I am not going to opine on what is the case here because I'm not taking anything away from the Seals this year.  The fact of the matter is they've taken care of business.  I respect and can see both sides of the argument.  

Now, to some individual analysis.  First, the offense, led by quarterback Cory Briggs.  Briggs in an extremely accurate 103-for-188 for 1,551 yards and 24 touchdowns.  He's only been picked off three times on the season.  Briggs has a very good arm and is permitted to audible quite a bit at the line.  With that kind of intelligence, it's no surprise that he's going to play at Harvard.  The Seals run multiple sets and have taking up running some shotgun formation the past few weeks.  The stats say they pass more than run, but that is probably an effect of them blowing so many teams out.  

The workhorse of the running game is Kyle Reinard with 982 yards and 12 touchdowns on 106 carries.  Backing up Reinard is Cameron Benner with 56 carries for 384 yards and six touchdowns.  Other contributors in the running game have been Grant Fleetwood (65 carries, 519 yards, 5 TDs), Matt Wenrich (30 carries, 315 yards, 7 TDs) and Seth Lauver (35 carries, 246 yards and 5 TDs).  The latter two backs play primarily as fullbacks.  

Following that running back committee type approach is an excellent receiving corps led by Ryan Keiser.  The senior is headed to Penn State as a preferred walk-on and leads the Seals with 41 receptions for 752 yards and 12 touchdowns.  The next best option has been tight end Kyle Schuck with 27 receptions for 354 yards and seven touchdowns.  Schuck is questionable with an injury and may not play against the Trojans.  Rounding out Briggs' options are Matt Ruby (15 receptions, 234 yards, 3 TDs) and Reinard (10 receptions, 120 yards, 2 TDs), who will both catch passes out of the backfield and line up split.  

Switching gears to the defense, the Seals still run the 3-5 which has become their trademark and they execute it to near perfection.  All 11 guys are very athletic and can move all over the field.  They swarm the ball as a unit and blitz from all over the formation.

Lauver is the leading tackler with 53 and he's also chipped in with 3 sacks.  Dakota Wolf (47) and Dylan Elliot (46) are also key contributors on the unit as is Spencer Myers.  Myers, a Maryland wrestling recruit, has 45 tackles and 5.5 sacks to go along with his duties as one of the offensive line leaders.  Bryant Trautman, a fullback on offense, is an inside backer with Lauver and has 45 tackles.  Wenrich and Dan Bausinger each have two interceptions.  Wenrich also is among the team leaders in tackles with 44.  

Four of the five linebackers are 220 pounds or bigger, so not only do you have athleticism, but you've got good size at the position as well.  

Normally when I review special teams I simply review the kicking game and return game and I'll get to that, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Seals have blocked five punts and one field goal on the season.  Benner (6 KRs, 114 yards), Reinard (4 KRs, 209 yards) and Keiser (2 KRs, 119 yards) lead the way in the kick return game while it's Keiser (13 PRs, 167 yards) and Reinard (13 PRs, 135 yards) in the punt return side of things.

On the rare occasions when the Seals are forced to punt, Reinard has handled the bulk of those duties.  He's booted the ball 12 times for 435 yards and has dropped on inside the 20.  

The kicking responsibilities are shared, as Kyle Benner does the kicking off and does it quite well.  He has been busy too, with 73 kickoffs for 3735 yards and 10 touchbacks.  On the other hand, Spencer Hotaling handles the placekicking and he also performs high, with 65 PATs and one field goal.  

OK, now that you've had a chance to take a few deep breaths following all that, I'll give a few opportunities for advantage and an intangible.  Then, I'll close with an interesting anecdote.  

Offensively for the Seals, the line has been a question mark all season.  They really aren't able to protect well in a five and seven step drop.  Most of the passing game comes from three step drops, quick hitches, slants and fades.  The running game is primarily zone runs to the tailback or dives/traps to the fullback.  If the Trojans front four can put pressure on this unit, they could give them a challenge they haven't faced before.  

It is generally thought that the Seals' pass defense is a question mark.  One can't really call it a weakness because none of the Seals' opponents are particularly good at throwing the ball.  Not only that, I don't know if any of the D4 teams the Seals have faced have the kind of team speed the Trojans possess.  Stephens-Howling and Jefferson can get after it and you can't take for granted that you have one of the fastest kids (if not the fastest, I really don't know if the kids have been individually timed) playing quarterback and having his hands on the ball every play.  

One thing I feel that cannot be ignored is that the Seals will be on the bus traveling for a long period of time and then asked to get out and play in what will be a cold night.  I know some in Seal Nation might feel it not fair to be playing the game in the Trojans' backyard, but I would argue that the bigger injustice is this game not being played on Saturday afternoon.  When the Trojans had to travel to Selinsgrove in 2004, the game was on Saturday afternoon.  The team was able to travel Friday and stay in a hotel that night.  Although JHS ultimately lost, I maintain it was an advantage for them to get into town a day early and get comfortable.  

I'll close the review of this game by taking a trip back in time.  Nineteen years ago the Trojans found themselves in a similar situation to what they are in this year.  Actually the parallels are very familiar.  In 1990, the Trojans went to an opening round WPIAL playoff game with Brownsville with a record of 7-3.  This year the Trojans come into their first round PIAA playoff game with a record of 8-3.  In 1990, the Brownsville Falcons entered said playoff game as the #1 ranked team in the state while the Trojans were a huge underdog.  This year the Seals come into this playoff game as the #1 ranked team in the state while, again, the Trojans are the underdog.  Back in 1990 no one gave the Trojans a chance for a couple of other reasons too.  First of all, the game was played in Brownsville.  Also, the Falcons defeated the Trojans 35-21 in week two at a game at Point Stadium that really wasn't as close as that score might lead you to believe.  

Prior to that game in 1990 a Post-Gazette writer stated something similar to the following:  Brownsville beat Johnstown by 14 points in the second week of the season.  The Falcons have only gotten better since then.  Brownsville by 21.

That was all the motivation Jerry Davitch needed as he photocopied that clipping, enlarged it and placed in every player's locker prior to the game.

Final score:  Johnstown 20, Brownsville 3.

I'm just sayin'!



Finally, let's take a quick peek at the three LHAC teams remaining in the playoffs aside from Johnstown:

Bedford (6-6) vs. Karns City (10-2), Northern Bedford High School, Friday 7pm
The Bisons' season, and therefore Coach Smith's career (he announced his retirement at the beginning of the season) will end to the hands of the 9-AA champs.

Bishop McCort (11-0) vs. Bellwood-Antis (11-0), Altoona Mansion Park, Saturday 7pm
I think the Crushers' fantastic run comes to an end Saturday night at the hands of Bellwood-Antis.  The Blue Devils program is great, Coach Hayes always has the team up for big games, and this is without a doubt the best team McCort has faced in quite awhile.  B-A in a close one.

Forest Hills (12-0) vs. Tyrone (10-2), Altoona Mansion Park, Friday 7pm
I look for Don Bailey's Rangers to improve to 13-0 against John Franco's Golden Eagles.  This is a good Tyrone squad, but on the level of the great teams Franco has had in recent memory.  I think the Rangers' defense is far too tough and will definitely be up for the challenge.