River Hawks Jr High Football Team is Ready To Go

by Jake DeLuca

Some people say the most crucial time for a kid to start playing football is around the 7th grade, and the Armstrong River Hawks Junior High football squad looks to set themselves up for a bright future in the game.

With scrimmages out of the way it is finally time to get to some regular season football for the Armstrong Junior High squad. River Hawks Head Coach Markeis Allensworth went on to say what he was most impressed and surprised with in their scrimmage against Fox Chapel.

“The passing (impressed me the most); we didn’t think the passing would be ready, but we have three good quarterbacks who I would like to see go the whole way through (to varsity). The quarterbacks are learning to read (defenses) real well and throw cross patterns, outs, and two of them can throw a nice fade (route),” Allensworth said of his signal callers.

Most of the time in high school and certainly in Junior High, the passing game is underdeveloped and takes a back seat to the rushing attack, but Coach Allensworth believes his team will have a nice mixture of both.

“(We want to) use the fast pace of the spread offense, but still with some old school tactics of hitting the middle heavy with a big back. That gives us flexibility because we have a lot of young athletes and I can move them in and out (of play),” Allensworth said.

This year the River Hawks Jr. High team is “split” into two squads, one being 7th graders and the other being 8th graders, however there is a catch. Coach Allensworth went on to explain the 7th and 8th grade teams.

“We have to run a double schedule this year with 7th and 8th grade. We only have seven 7th graders so the kids who don’t get in the 8th grade games will move down to help fill out the roster. We were going to have five 7th grade games - but now we have three, but what you will find is that we have quite a few 7th graders who are starting (on the 8th grade team),” Allensworth explained.

The number one thing that Allensworth is trying to do for these kids is to get them ready for the varsity level if they decide to go that route. He went on to say that the biggest thing he and his coaching staff teach these young players is the playbook and basic fundamentals.

Coach Allensworth didn’t want to name any players specifically who may have stood out, because he wants to mask it from the competition, but he did say this.

“We run and pass, tell them to be ready.”