Vikings looking to sustain early momentum
With its ground game humming behind sophomore feature back Alex Achenbach — 400-plus rushing yards and four running touchdowns the past two weeks in wins over Pine Grove and Schuylkill haven — unbeaten Williams Valley (3-0) will try to make it four straight when the Vikings visit Minersville. Junior quarterback Isaac Whiteash, who completed 7-of-13 passes for 152 yards and three scores, appears to be rounding into form as well. Whiteash spread the ball around, targeting Brady Evans, Achenbach and Nathan Cole for touchdown tosses.
Minersville (2-1) has rebounded from its season-opening loss to Tri-Valley by blanking Marian Catholic and Shenandoah Valley. QB John Adams was 8-of-15 passing for 246 yards and three touchdowns as the Miners prevailed 43-0 Sunday. Like Whiteash, Adams’ TD passes were spread around to Lorenzo Yourey, Jason Cullen and Jared Graeff.
PG looking for first victory; hot Tri-Valley on idle
Searching for an offensive spark as well as consistency, Pine Grove’s fourth-year head coach Frank Gaffney inserted freshman Carson Lengle in at quarterback in the second half of the Cardinals’ Week 2 loss to Williams Valley. Well, Lengle received the starting nod last weekend against Tri-Valley, targeting 10 of his 27 aerials for 105 yards in the Cards’ 34-0 setback — Pine Grove’s third straight loss. Junior Mason Kroh, who had been the starter at QB, moved to the flanks and caught several Lengle passes. Dalton Geesey also was involved, catching several balls as well.
Gaffney’s bunch also picked up 100 rushing yards on 16 carries from sophomore Lane Lehman. … Uncorking its most efficient outing in last week’s conquest of Pine Grove — 217 yards rushing and 219 through the air — Tri-Valley (3-0) is dealing with a COVID-19 flareup, and that means Jeff Sampson’s Bulldogs will not meet Shenandoah Valley. Senior quarterback Jonas McGrath was 10-for-16 passing for 219 yards, with TD passes going to Jake Tietsworth, Layne Yoder and Levi Murray. Yoder was McGrath’s favorite target, catching five passes for 109 yards.
