Brady Hughes (photo courtesy Pictures Plus)

It’s likely — but not assured — that Chambersburg will qualify for the District 3 Class 6A football playoffs, no matter the outcome of the Trojans’ game at Carlisle on Friday night.

But coach Mark Luther would much rather take no chances.

“We need a win Friday to avoid going to the playoffs on a losing note,” Luther said. “We haven’t played well the last two weeks, although we played two very good teams (Harrisburg and Central Dauphin).

“It’s as simple as this: If we win, we get to play again next Friday.”

Chambersburg (6-3, 3-3 MPC) is currently No. 7 in the district power rankings and the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. Should the Trojans win, they would clinch a spot, although it might not vault them any higher in the rankings.

The one bad scenario that could knock Chambersburg out is a loss to Carlisle (3-6, 0-6 MPC), and the No. 8 and 9 teams — Hempfield (5-4) and Dallastown (5-4) — both win. However, Hempfield plays No. 2 Manheim Township (8-1) and Dallastown plays No. 6 Red Lion (7-2), so the probability of all three of those results happening is not very high.

Luther said, “We can’t lose focus on this game and we can’t look ahead. Carlisle is a good football team, although this is a game we can win. But we have to play well and we can’t get in a big hole again.”

One thing that has Luther concerned is that the game is being played on grass — the first game for Chambersburg this year not on turf — and it’s possible the weather will be cold and wet.

“One element like the weather puts some complexity into the game,” he said. “Ball security will be key, and if passing is limited, then you can’t be getting into third-and-longs.”

The Thundering Herd opened the season on a 3-0 streak, but since then has lost all six of its Mid Penn Commonwealth Division games, including 64-10 last week to Harrisburg.

Quarterback Cole Wolaver has completed 69 of 139 passes (40.6%) for 615 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. Kurtis Ravenel is his big target, with 35 catches for 352 yards and two scores.

On the ground, Tristyn Sulich (6-foot-1, 185) has piled up 995 yards on 169 carries, and Ben Nix has 69 carries for 385 yards.

Luther said, “They use a veer option attack, and some spread. But I’d guess we’ll see more of the veer this week because of the weather and because they saw that CD ran on us last week. They’re capable of making some big plays and that concerns us.”

In the last two weeks, Chambersburg’s running game has been limited by the opponents, gaining just 86 yards total in those games. Carlisle isn’t as stingy on defense, but it will certainly key on stopping Keyshawn Jones.

That has made quarterback Brady Stumbaugh and the passing attack that much more important. In those same two games, Stumbaugh has completed 26 of 52 (50%) passes for 323 yards and a touchdown.

One of the key players on the receiving end has been senior Brady Hughes, who had been playing some defense and was the backup QB. In the last three games, he has made nine catches for 139 yards, and even threw a TD pass last week.

“He didn’t even work at wideout until the last few weeks, but he came to us and wanted to help the team,” Luther said. “He’s made some nice catches and drew an interference last week, and came in cold to throw that touchdown pass.”

In addition, Sam Vessah caught four passes for 55 yards and the TD from Hughes last week in his first meaningful varsity action.

Luther said, “Sam is a sophomore we threw in there and he made some nice catches. We feel we have eight to 10 sophomores good enough to really help us out next year and it’s exciting to see one of them come in and play well.”

NOTES: Backup Ryan Kemerer is the only Trojan injured last week who will not see action … Playoff pairings will likely be known after all the scores are in Friday night, but won’t be official until the weekend … The top teams will host first-round games next Friday.

TROJAN LEADERS: Passing — Brady Stumbaugh 73 of 151, 1,107 yards, 11 TDs, 11 int. … Rushing — Keyshawn Jones 160-1,331, 12 TDs; Stumbaugh 95-282, 8 TDs … Receiving — Jones 11-134, 1 TD; Garner Funk 10-149, 2 TDs; Hughes 9-139; Kevin Lee 8-242, 2 TDs.