Meyersdale coach Chris Schrock thinks tonight’s District 5 Class A playoff game with Tussey Mountain could turn into a shootout.
If not, it could very well be because of the defensive play of Ian Edwards and Justin Hoover.
The outside linebackers will have the unenviable task of containing Tussey Mountain wingback Dane Diehl. The speedy senior is averaging 10.36 yards per carry this season for the Titans (5-4).
“Once he gets into the open field, he’s extremely dangerous,” Schrock said of Diehl. “We have to be able to contain him.”
Schrock compared Diehl – who has scored on 17 of his 89 carries this season – to a player the Raiders (5-4) have already faced this season: North Star’s Josh Kuncher.
“He’s very much like the Kuncher kid from North Star,” Schrock said of Diehl. “They use him differently, but those two kids are carbon copies of one another.”
That’s not necessarily good news for Meyersdale. Kuncher ran for 226 yards in a losing effort as the Raiders beat North Star 35-21.
Diehl, who is used on a lot of jet sweeps around the end – which puts the pressure on Edwards and Hoover – isn’t the only offensive weapon for Tussey Mountain. Levi Neuder is also dangerous, as evidenced by his 609 yards and four touchdowns, and Schrock said the 198-pound senior is one of the best fullbacks the Raiders will face this season.
Jeff Wentz also has 339 rushing yards this year for Tussey Mountain while quarterback Chris Foore has thrown for 630 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think that, offensively, they’re very fast,” Schrock said. “They have a couple of running backs that are as fast or faster than anything we’ve seen so far.”
Meyersdale, which lost 46-34 to Windber last week, has given up 33 or more points in each of its losses.
“Our defense has been our Achilles’ heel all year long,” Schrock said. “Hopefully we can step it up a little bit.”
If not, the pressure will shift to the Meyersdale offense, which is led by Ben Lohr, who has rushed for 1,091 yards and nine touchdowns this year.
Hoover and Edwards also give the Raiders a deep stable of running backs, as Edwards has
10 touchdowns on the ground and Hoover has nine.
Matt Bittner has also given Meyersdale the ability to throw the ball. He has passed for
770 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
“We’re a run-first team,” Schrock admitted, “but we like to think that when it’s time to open it up and throw the ball a little bit, we have a quarterback that can do that and three pretty decent receivers to throw it to.”
Brandon Miller, Detrick Peterman and Spencer Cross each have more than 100 receiving yards on the season, as does Edwards out of the backfield.
Schrock is counting on a home-field advantage working in his team’s favor in two ways tonight.
“It’s huge, especially when you’re looking at the travel,” he said. “It’s a hike from Meyersdale to Tussey Mountain. The fact that we don’t have to get on a bus at 3 o’clock (this) afternoon and make a two-hour bus trip, that’s huge for us. Not to mention the playoff atmosphere you get playing at home.
“Playoffs, everything goes to the next level, from the play on the field to the fans in the stands,” Schrock said. “There’s always a little more electricity in the stands come playoff time.”
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