by The Chambersburg Trojans traveled a few miles down I-81 to take on the Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils to open their respective 2021 seasons. While this game is traditionally the first game for each time, this particular rendition of the rivalry was something nobody saw coming.
Everything I read in the previews of the game that Greencastle was going to bring experience, and they were going to bring the power. Let me tell you they absolutely delivered. They were huge among the offensive line. They were going to project to be a smash-mouth ground and pound game, and run the ball they did. Chambersburg had a lot of inexperienced players stepping up.
Greencastle started with the ball and they got going right away. From the opening drive, they just outmuscled the Trojans defensive line and bullied their way into the endzone for the 7-0 lead. David Niebauer was huge on this drive for the Blue Devils as he was unstoppable coming out of the backfield. He ended up running for 116 yards on 20 carries on the night. Chambersburg drive stalled and was unable to get anything going.
Now here is where the crazy starts. Greencastle picked up a few first downs, but they found themselves in a 4th down on the Trojans 40. Coach went deep into the bag of tricks for this one. Firstly, he went for it, and it paid off huge. They ran a double flea-flicker! It caught Chambersburg and they were able to connect on a huge 40-yard bomb with no one in view. Greencastle doubled the lead 14-0.
The teams would trade punts for the rest of the 2nd quarter. Chambersburg did have one drive brewing where quarterback Jermere James broke a big run, but nothing came of it. However, this did show that the Trojans had some life.
Chambersburg had the ball to start the 2nd half. They began their drive at 20. It ended in the endzone about 2 minutes later. The play that really jumpstarted the drive was when James pitched it to Brice Flenory. This drive Chambersburg was able to spread Greencastle and was able to use their speed. The drive ended when James broke off another scramble and took it in himself for 6.
One of the keys for Greencastle in the first half was that they won the field position battle. It seems that they were always starting on the right side of the 50. This flipped on the ensuing kickoff where they made a mistake and the kick returner caught the ball and was unable to stay in bounds. This pinned them back to their own 10. This flipped the field for Chambersburg which would be huge.
There were a few more punts until Jermere James that he could beat the Blue Devils with his arm too. He hit Flenory for a huge completion, down the middle of the field. This led to Flenory punching it in himself. Chambersburg just needs to convert the extra point to tie the game. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. They decided to go for 2, they were denied. Greencastle had a 14-13 lead.
Greencastle would punt on the next possession, from this point on the game truly becomes wild. Jermere James gets stripped and Greencastle pounces on it. They take over on about the 25. Greencastle’s quarterback Taylor Conrad takes off for an apparent touchdown. Not so fast it gets called back for holding. Just a few plays later Greencastle coughs it up and Chambersburg has a huge run back. Which sets them up for a field goal that gives them the 16-14 lead with 5:52 left in the game.
Greencastle gets a little bit of a drive going but they stall and are forced to punt. The defense holds and then Chambersburg lines up to the punt. Greencastle comes busting through the line to block the punt, which they recover and give themselves great field position at about the 15. They quick snap it and hand it off. The running back takes it toward the sideline and it seemed like they got the TD. Not so fast, it was ruled a fumble out of bounds in the endzone. Chambersburg ball. James is able to break one more run, which allows the Trojans to line up in victory formation and escape with a 16-14 victory.
The player of the game must be Jermere James, the quarterback for Chambersburg. He was 7-14 through the air for 96 yards. He ran 15 times for 89 yards and 1 touchdown. He was a consistent threat all night running and throwing. When every Chambersburg needed a big play it was him.
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