JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

He’s not the biggest dude in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

But Joe Strangarity, all 5-10, 195 pounds of him, might have the biggest ticker.

Garden Spot’s inside linebacker makes plays. His motor is always going, and it seems like he’s always got a full tank of gas.

If you’ve been to a lot of Spartans’ games over the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard this phrase uttered over the PA system quite a lot:

Strangarity with the tackle.

A Section 2 First-Team All-Star pick last fall, Strangarity – his friends call him Jo-Jo – will be back to anchor Garden Spot’s 5-2 defensive scheme this fall.

The Spartans will be looking to rebound from last year’s 3-7 season – one season after reaching the District 3 Triple-A playoffs.

These seniors were sophomores back then. And according to Strangarity, this group of seniors is ready and willing to wipe out some of last year’s mistakes and get back to the postseason.

Losing skill kids like QB Tyler Horst and WR Sean Beahan will be tricky to overcome at the outset. But the Spartans have a pretty good nucleus returning – including the ball-hawking Strangarity – and have the potential to make some serious noise in the Section 2 hunt.

In this Podcast, hear Joe talk about the Spartans’ 5-2 defense, and how that unit hopes to limit opposing offenses; about his ticker, and why he gets such a rush out of playing linebacker; about some newcomers to Garden Spot’s lineup, and how the Spartans will overcome the loss of guys like Horst and Beahan; and about his college plans.

Oh, and about his nickname.

To listen, kindly click on the ‘play’ button above.

And if you’d like to download a copy of this Podcast to use on your favorite mp3 player, please click right here.

Be sure to stay tuned for more audio Podcast interviews.