Thomas Jefferson prepares for unorthodox Lampeter-Strasburg running game

By: Liam Belan
Thursday, November 28, 2024 | 10:27 AM

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Thomas Jefferson tends to have a longer football season than most, so while most schools are preparing to kick off the basketball season Friday, the Jaguars are keeping it on the gridiron in Altoona for a state semifinal matchup against District 3 champions Lampeter-Strasburg.

The Jaguars (13-0) and the Pioneers (13-0) are set to kick off at 1 p.m. from Mansion Park, the same venue where TJ picked up a 35-0 victory over District 9 champ Clearfield last week to reach this stage.

For coach Bill Cherpak, Lampeter-Strasburg is a familiar program. Both these sides have their history, which provides some clarity in trying to game plan for an important matchup.

“We played Lampeter in the state semifinals in 2019, so we’re familiar with their program,” Cherpak said, referencing a 44-2 victory that year. “Obviously, they’re a good team being in the state semifinals. The thing with them is that they do some things that we would consider unorthodox in terms of formation and different things like that.

“But ultimately, they want to run the ball just like we do. It’ll come down to who is able to do that better.”

It’s been star running back Dom Brown who has done the majority of the running for the Pioneers, but quarterback Caileb Howse also does his fair share of running. The quarterback runs, along with the different usage of top receiver Danny Weichler, differs from the style of the Jaguars.

“They’ll run unbalanced one way, and then you have trips to the backside, so you can’t really overload a side,” Cherpak said. “They run with the quarterback as well as the running back which is different than we are in that aspect. It all comes down to, ‘Can you run and can you tackle,’ but I do think that you have to be aware of everything when you play them.

“They’ll send five receivers out crossing the field and doing all kinds of stuff, and it gets confusing for your defensive backs and linebackers. We can’t give them a lot of time to throw the ball. That’s the key.”

Thomas Jefferson has plenty of reason to be confident given its squad.

Running back Tyler Eber and quarterback Luke Kosko have eclipsed 2,000 rushing and passing yards, respectively, while top wideout Brayden White has more than 1,000 receiving yards. White has made big highlight plays over the past two wins, housing an interception and coming up with a long touchdown reception in the WPIAL championship victory over McKeesport while catching 57- and 51-yard touchdown passes in the win over Clearfield.

“We’re comfortable running and passing the ball. I told the kids at film, ‘If we have to run the ball 75 times to win, that’s what we’ll do. If we have to pass the ball 75 times to win, that’s what we’ll do,” Cherpak said. “The kids are all on board. Everybody has the same goal. There’s no worrying about who gets the ball or who’s getting the credit, they just want to win.”

It was a bit trickier for the Pioneers to get to this point as they come off a 30-27 overtime win over Wyomissing in the District 3 championship last week.

Lampeter-Strasburg trailed 14-10 at the half and needed a receiving touchdown from Christian Nolt with less than a minute left to force overtime. Brown, after posting a rushing score earlier in the game, made a massive special teams play by blocking a field-goal attempt from Wyomissing in the first possession of overtime. Needing any points to win and advance to the state playoffs, L-S kicker Peter Fiorello nailed a 22-yard field goal to win the district championship.

For the Jaguars to flip that result and knock Lampeter-Strasburg out of state title contention, they’ll have to limit the big plays, just as they’ve managed all season.

“We have to stop (Howse) and (Brown) running the ball,” Cherpak said. “We can’t give up any big plays to (Weichler). He makes a lot of big plays for them and he moves around inside, outside and out of the backfield. A big thing for us is not allowing him to make a big play.”

The winner of this contest will move on to the PIAA Class 4A championship next Thursday. The Jaguars or the Pioneers will meet District 12 champion Bonner Prendergast or District 11 winner Southern Lehigh at 7 p.m. at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field.

Tags: Thomas Jefferson