With just one week to go before the section openers, this is everyone’s last chance to dot their i’s and cross their t’s before the real fun starts.
Here are four fun non-league games to keep an eye on:
THE GAME: McCaskey (2-0) at Coatesville (2-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
LAST WEEK: McCaskey soared past York 31-14; Coatesville crushed Germantown 44-0.
KEY MATCHUP: Coatesville’s defense, led by dominating end .000Derrick Morgan, against McCaskey’s multi-purpose offense, which is averaging 363 yards per game.
Morgan, a 6-4, 260-pound senior, is the 90th-ranked blue-chipper in the nation by Rivals.com, which also ranks him No. 1 in the state, just ahead of Manheim Township QB Pat Bostick.
Morgan, who also plays running back, is considering Penn State, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Miami (Fla.), Georgia Tech and Boston College.
NOTABLE: Coatesville edged McCaskey 34-29 last year in Lancaster.
QUOTABLE: McCaskey coach Scott Feldman — “Derrick Morgan is a monster. If he pins his ears back and keeps coming, it’s going to be a long, long night. So we must protect (QB) Jared Johns.”
THE GAME: Warwick (1-1) at Ephrata (0-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m. (Blue Ridge-TV live Friday; PCN-TV tape delay, Saturday, 9 p.m.).
LAST WEEK: Warwick outlasted Conestoga Valley 37-24; Ephrata fell to Susquehanna Township 47-28.
KEY MATCHUP: Trench play will be in the spotlight, with Warwick’s linemen blocking for the Warriors’ 1-2 rushing punch of Ty Steffy and Trevor Sell, and Ephrata’s linemen trying to keep QB Blake Crowther upright.
NOTABLE: The winner of this annual backyard scrap gets the George Male Trophy, which Ephrata has won three years in a row. The Mounts nipped the Warriors 24-21 a year ago in Lititz on a TD with 1:01 to play.
QUOTABLE: Warwick coach Bob Locker — “(Ephrata) is a very good 0-2 team. They run the midline (option) very effectively, and the quarterback is an outstanding athlete. We will have our hands full with their offense.”
Ephrata coach Ken Grove — “This is big for our community because this game is for the Male Trophy. … Warwick is coming off a big win against CV, so they have the momentum. For us, it’s gut-check time.”
THE GAME: Manheim Township (1-1) at Elizabethtown (1-1), Friday, 7 p.m. (WPDC-AM 1600).
LAST WEEK: Township lost to Governor Mifflin 42-21; E-town fell to Lower Dauphin 32-6.
KEY MATCHUP: E-town’s secondary against Township’s pass-happy attack. In case you missed it, Bostick completed 30-of-40 passes for 389 yards in the Streaks’ 42-21 loss to Mifflin last Saturday.
NOTABLE: This is the first meeting between the Blue Streaks and the Bears since 1995, when E-town won 27-6 in Township’s final season in Section 2.
QUOTABLE: Township coach Mike Melnyk — “(E-town) is very aggressive defensively and will be a handful for us to block. I can see why people like them to be near the top of Section 2.”
E-town coach Jeff Polites — “(Township’s offense) is dangerous from anywhere on the field, so controlling the ball against them is the key to having a chance to be in the game. … Both teams will be licking their chops after Week 2 losses.”
THE GAME: Garden Spot (1-1) at Lampeter-Strasburg (2-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Garden Spot dropped a 26-20 decision to Columbia; L-S topped Penn Manor 34-21.
KEY MATCHUP: L-S, which is yielding 295.5 yards per game, better buckle up against Garden Spot’s rushing attack, spearheaded by Ross Shober, the league’s leading rusher (333 yards, 6 TDs).
NOTABLE: This is the first meeting between the Spartans and the Pioneers since 1993, when Garden Spot blanked L-S 42-0 in the Spartans’ final season in Section 3.
QUOTABLE: Garden Spot coach Matt Zamperini — “L-S has a pack of athletes that make nice plays, and they throw and catch well and their players can get down the field. They mix up the run and the pass, and that’s why they’re hard to defend. They don’t let a defense find any rhythm.”
L-S coach John Manion — “Garden Spot is big and tough up front and I’m worried about Shober’s speed. We usually have the fastest players on the field, but that is not the case this week — and we need to have a plan for that.” 