PREVIEW: Sussex Hamilton Chargers vs. Brookfield Central Lancers

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Two favorites in the Greater Metro Conference matchup at 7pm Friday night at Brookfield Central High School. The Chargers from Sussex Hamilton (1-1) travels to take on the Lancers from Brookfield Central (2-0) to open the 2008 conference schedule.

Brookfield Central has won it's first two games of the year on the strength of a defense that returns nine starters on defense. They have given up only 16 points in the first two games, but have only scored 20 points on offense.

The Chargers lost a close game to a very strong Stevens Point squad 14-13 in a game that could have gone either way. Asked about how his team would react to the loss, Coach John Damato said "We wanted to go in to the Stevens Point game with confidence and come out with confidence and I think we did that."

The Lancers will need to stay strong on defense against a Hamilton running attack that has amassed 667 yards in two games, and a passing attack that has a completion percentage of 70 percent. Their defense is very solid, plays with a lot of emotion, and is sound fundmentally. "They do the little things, and play as a unit" said coach Damato when talking about the BC defense.

They will need a strong team effort as it is tough to key on any one of Hamilton's three headed running attack. Justin Rupnow is the leading rusher at the QB position, while Ryan Horne and Ken Zarske attack from the Running Back position. "We take what the defense gives us" said Damato, asked about whether they use the run to set up the pass.

The Lancers are a completely different story on the offensive side of the ball, with first year starters at all the skill positions. They are a very athletic group that is taking some time to find their groove in Doug Lange's new system.

"We don't recruit. We need to adjust our schemes to our kids each year" said Lange, when asked how he could replace the losses of Drew Herma last season. It's the third game that Brookfield Central will be playing under the new offensive scheme, which can be the time that the players really start to pick up the nuances of the system.

While the numbers seem disparate coming in, history shows that it will be a close game, with 4 of the past 5 contests between the two teams being decided by 10 points or less. Expect a close game that could be decided by one or two big plays, similar to the Lancers opener against Waterford.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach John Damato

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