Indians travel to Clarke County

Berkeley Springs High School kicks off the 2010 football season this Friday, August 27, looking to improve on last year’s disappointing 2-8 record. The Indians will take on Clarke County, a team that Berkeley Springs lost to last year by the score of 45-0, so it should prove to be a tough test for the Indians and could set the tone for the remainder of the season.

A winning season a trip to the postseason playoffs would be nice. Even though Berkeley Springs Head Coach, Angelo Luvara, does not like to talk about wins and losses, he concedes that one of the team goals is to make the playoffs, and if enthusiasm and effort make a difference the Indians should be in good shape.

"Practices are going well," said Luvara. “The kids are really working hard and have had great attitudes."

Coach Luvara was also pleased with how the team performed in their first scrimmage of the season against East Hardy.

"We thought the kids played real well, and that the defense was outstanding" Luvara said. “We believe the defense will be improved this year and we are really excited about our linebackers and defensive backs. We have a lot of depth at both positions and there was nothing in the scrimmage that changed our minds. The defense could be one of our strengths this season."

On offense the Indians will be led by junior quarterback Zach White. White started all 10 games in 2009 and gained valuable experience, that all quarterbacks need to succeed. He suffered a shoulder injury over the summer, but seems to be fully recovered.

"Quarterback, wide receiver and running back should be our strengths on offense," said Luvara. “We feel real good about those positions. Zach, we thought, played really well for a sophomore and we expect him to be improved this year."

The Indians have a pretty tough schedule which includes four Class AAA schools, according to Luvara.

"We think there are some tough teams on our schedule, but we really don't know how good they're going to be right now," said the veteran coach. “We do play four AAA schools including our first two road games against Clarke County and South Hagerstown. If we can win those first two games it would put us in a good spot because we play six of our final eight games at home."

Luvara believes the Indians can succeed, but only if they work hard everyday.

"Our goal every year is to get better each and every day, said Luvara. “I know it sounds like ‘coachspeak,’ but that is our primary goal. If we can achieve that, the rest will take care of itself."