Jake Corwell

You see the 0-5 record attached to the Cumberland Valley football team, and your reaction is likely … wait, what?

The Eagles have been a bastion of consistent success in the Mid Penn Commonwealth, so that record is kind of shocking. Not only that, but CV has been outscored by an average of 39-12.

Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll find that the Eagles’ five opponents so far in 2018 have a combined record of 21-4.

Add in the fact that CV has not lost to Chambersburg in 21 years, and you should come to the conclusion that the 4-1 Trojans cannot afford to think lightly of the Eagles, who they play Friday night at 7 p.m. at Trojan Stadium for Homecoming.

“They have played some really good teams, so we have to keep that in perspective,” Chambersburg coach Mark Luther said. “They’re 0-5 and looking for their first win, and I’m sure they’ll know that we haven’t beaten them for a long time.”

The Trojans absorbed their first loss last week at State College, but came away feeling they could play with the undefeated Little Lions. What they have to do is avoid the kind of start they had last week when they fell behind 21-0 after 4 1/2 minutes.

Luther said the offensive line played well last week, and cited Brock Harmon and Jake Corwell.

“Brock was really getting after it, and Jake, at right tackle, was very aggressive,” Luther said.

Quarterback Brady Stumbaugh completed only 4 of 13 passes for a paltry 3 yards, but he did have two passes dropped in the end zone and he ran for 71 yards. Stalwart back Keyshawn Jones paced the “O” with 176 yards.

On defense, Tanner Hunt and Carmen Pompeii got a lot of playing time at linebacker with Terrell Williams out for the season.

Luther said, “It was a tough game to put them in, and they made some mistakes, but they did some good things out there.”

Carmen Pompeii

For Cumberland Valley, QB Jared Plessinger has completed 36 of 67 passes (54%) for 484 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. Maximos Dell’anno (26-155) and Jake Hart (39-135) are the top rushers, and the leading receivers are Logan Ramper (16-198, 1 TD) and Stone Huffman (7-102).

Huffman at defensive end and Michael Barrick (25 tackles) are defensive leaders.

“CV presents a challenge because it runs a wing-T offense, but at least this year we’ve already seem one team (South Western) that runs it,” Luther said. “They’ve been throwing more this year because they’ve been getting behind, but you know what they want to do is run the ball.”

Homecoming week always brings distractions, but Luther thinks his team has handled it well so far. What hasn’t been good this week is the weather, which has wreaked havoc with the practice schedule.

Luther said, “There are a lot of things going on this week, but I think we’ll come out with a lot of emotion. I just hope we get a good practice in and come out playing well from the start.”

NOTES: CV has lost to Bishop McDevitt, Central York, Coatesville, Central Dauphin and Harrisburg …  In the 21 straight wins for the Eagles over Chambersburg, the average score has been 36.4 to 9.5 … The Trojans’ last win in the series was a 27-19 victory in 1993.

TROJAN LEADERS: Passing — Brady Stumbaugh 38-80 (47.5%), 673 yards, 9 TDs, 6 int. … Rushing — Keyshawn Jones 88-882 (10.0 avg.), 8 TDs; Stumbaugh 52-165 … Receiving — Jones 8-112, 1 TD; Kevin Lee 6-222, 2 TDs; Tucker Perry 4-59, 1 TD; Garner Funk 4-35, 1 TD … Fumble recoveries — Perry 4; Sacks — Tucker Karn 2.