Shamokin Football Video vs. Williamsport

NOW FOR THE SCRIMMAGE

I traveled to Williamsport to catch the Shamokin Indians final scrimmage before the opener with Southern Columbia. There were a few things outside of football that did play a part for both teams. First, last night was one of the most hot and muggy nights. Overall I thought the Indians held up well. Second, the grass at Williamsport was 8 to 9 inches high. (NOTE: There were heavy rains there all week just by watching the LLWS). It made walking difficult.

OFFENSE

The offense at times were able to run the ball and it looks like Brent Forbes will be the feature back. Receivers did open. Line played well, but had some breakdowns on pass blocking. Marc Persing starting at quarterback for his third year, didn't look too bad. The offense will not be as flashy as a team, but should improve week to week.

One negative is the lack of a true burner on offense. This is evident at wideout and in the backfield.

DEFENSE

The defense played a base 50 with some blitz packagers thrown in. The Indians were able to get to the quarterback and tackles some running backs in the backfield. There was an improvement in man coverage in the secondary. Williamsport's first touchdown was a freshman mistake made by a player on his first defensive play. Run support by the secondary was really good especially on the outside.

One negative is a question. How much did the secondary improve? We will find out soon enough with the blitz packages being used.

SPECIAL TEAMS

After one touchdown, Marc Persing kicked the extra point. Persing did play soccer when he was younger. Don't expose your 3-year starting QB. Look younger, Persing will be gone after this year.

OTHER

One thing that stood on a hot, muggy was the Shamokin bench. It didn't seem water was readily available. HELP WANTED: Managers!!!! It must have been a long bus ride for the Indians in a school bus. With major construction in the Williamsport area, the players had to be on the bus and hour and half or better. Could you say Junction Boys.