Surely, Lampeter-Strasburg's football coaches will see something they don't like when they view the films of Friday night's 38-0 season-opening nonleague win over Hempfield at Pioneer Field.

It could be something as small as seeing one of their players zig when he should have zagged. But surely they will find something.

And why not?

According to senior Ethan Martin, who starred against the Black Knights on both sides of the ball as a wideout/outside linebacker, it was minute film study by the coaching staff that proved instrumental — decisive even, according to Martin — in the surprisingly one-sided win.

"Our coaches watched a lot of film," he said outside the Pioneers' raucous locker room. "They figured out what would work against them."

What L-S coaches — and head man John Manion in particular — figured was that they might catch Hempfield off guard by playing the first half in no-huddle, empty-backfield sets rather than their traditional Wing-T.

"We felt like we had to mix it up," Manion said. "We're a solid Wing-T team, but we can't just sit in it."

On defense, the Pioneers moved linebacker Alex Cintron to nose tackle to take advantage of the leverage his solid 5-foot-8, 200-pound frame affords, and also to make room at inside 'backer in their 3-3 Stack for sophomore Jason Lindsley.

The move paid dividends on both ends. Cintron helped control the middle for a defense that yielded just nine first downs and 181 yards of offense. Lindsley, teamed with fellow soph Jeff Pickel at inside 'backer, contributed some big hits and a fumble recovery.

"We worked well as a unit," said Martin, who contributed to the win by scooping a loose ball off the turf and scooting 33 yards to the end zone, intercepting a pass, and on offense, hauling in a 59-yard reception to highlight the Pioneers' second touchdown drive.

"I think (the final score) says that we can look pretty decent when we're clicking," offered Manion, who then added a sobering dose of reality.

"Hempfield," he said, "only has four or five seniors on their team."

The Knights are indeed young, and their youthful transgressions showed at times in missed assignments and costly penalties. Said mistakes were most evident in the first half, when L-S seized control by scoring on its first two possessions — and three of its first four — en route to a 17-0 lead at the break.

"We shot ourselves in the foot in the first half," Hempfield head coach Bob Forgrave said. "We put ourselves in a hole."

Hempfield did have some highlights. Sophomore back Joe Gamble may have been chief among them, sweeping the flanks for a game-high 68 yards.

Soph Michael Murr struggled at QB, due in part to pressure executed by Pioneer ends Dan Dorgan and Dan Makauskas and outside 'backers Martin and Christian DelRocini.

The Knights' counterparts, meanwhile, thrived. QB Nate Shank completed 7 of 10 passes for 179 yards, opened the scoring with a 23-yard scamper and also picked off a pass. Mike McNelis rumbled five yards for a TD, Andrew Stover covered 30 yards to paydirt on a counter and Dan Neff capped the scoring with a 21-yard run off a nifty double-handoff.

And then there was the brother-sister kicking tandem of Chris and Taylor Garraffa, respectively, who combined for eight points, including a 17-yard field goal by Chris.

"Pretty impressive," Forgrave said of the Pioneers. "They executed. We didn't."

Said Martin, "We didn't know what to expect tonight.

"But," he added with a grin, "we're pleased with our performance."

At least, perhaps, until they see the game films.