by Jake DeLuca
The West Shamokin Wolves (3-3) varsity football team will look to bounce back this week after suffering their third loss of the season at the hands of the undefeated 6-0 Ligonier Valley Rams 42-0.
That was the first shut-out that the Wolves have suffered since their 2013 loss to Avonworth, but this Friday the Wolves will travel to Saltsburg - a team that West Shamokin shut-out 20-0 last season.
“We’ve moved on from the tough one against Ligonier, we know what we have to do to bounce back, so we’re looking forward to Saltsburg”, Wolves Head Coach Jon McCullough said.
With the exception of last weeks game, the Wolves are averaging 25 points per game, rushing for an average of 246 yards and passing for an average of 68 yards per game.
The Wolves defense has also been stout, with the exception of last weeks shut-out they are allowing just 14 points per game while averaging 67 tackles a game.
Saltsburg heads into this match-up with a 1-5 record, with their only win coming in week 4 against Blairsville.
The Trojans are averaging just 17 points offensively this season while their defense is allowing 42 points per game.
McCullough says that even though the Trojans are getting beat on average this season by 25 points, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
“Their quarterback is a real good athlete; I think he’s one of the better athletes in the conference. He does a great job at extending plays, so we have to contain him because he can run around and make plays with his legs. All four of their last were from him extending plays and getting the ball down the field.” McCullough said.
The Wolves will look to improve to 4-3 as they currently sit in fourth place in the Heritage Conference standings.