JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Podcast interview with former Manheim Township standout and current Juniata d-back Andy Miller
Andy Miller was a standout wideout and d-back for Manheim Township in 2005, when the Blue Streaks shared the L-L League Section 1 title and went to the district playoffs with Pat Bostick under center.
Miller moved on to Juniata the next fall, and he’s been in the Eagles’ starting lineup as a cover corner since early in his freshman season.
He’s a junior now, and he’s establishing himself as one of the top DB’s in the conference. In three games this season, Miller has a pick, nine total tackles and he’s broken up three passes.
Miller will be making a homecoming on Saturday, when he and Juniata visit Franklin & Marshall for a CC game at 1 p.m. at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.
Miller will see some familiar faces: Three of his former Streaks’ teammates play for F&M – wideouts George Eager and Jay Ridinger and backup QB Mark Mellinger.
I chatted with Andy this week about coming home to play F&M and about how his college career is going so far at Juniata.
You can listen to that interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.
You can also download the Podcast and listen to it on your favorite mp3 player by clicking right here.
And please continue reading for my F&M-Juniata preview capsule here …
THE GAME: Juniata (0-1 Centennial Conference, 0-3 overall) @ F&M (0-1 Centennial Conference, 1-2 overall), Saturday, 1 p.m., Sponaugle-Williamson Field, Lancaster.
LIVE: B2 Networks. Go to GoDiplomats.com for more information. Old friend John Brickley will call the play-by-play with Max Cole on color commentary.
THE SERIES: This is the fifth meetings between the Diplomats and the Eagles, and F&M leads the series 3-1. … This will be the second time F&M and Juniata will meet in a Centennial Conference game; F&M is 1-0 against Juniata in the CC. … F&M is 2-0 against Juniata in Lancaster. … First meeting was in 1924 (F&M won 27-0). … F&M won 27-12 last year at Juniata.
THE COACHES: F&M’s John Troxell is in his third season with the Diplomats. … Juniata’s Darrell Alt is in his fifth season with the Eagles, who are 4-42 overall and 0-10 in the conference under his watch.
ABOUT F&M: Coming off a 34-20 loss at Dickinson, as the Red Raiders captured the Conestoga Wagon Trophy for the fifth year in a row. … Manheim Township grad George Eager caught seven passes for 82 yards and also returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD against Dickinson, which out-gained the Diplomats 470-260. It was the 1,000th game in Dickinson history, and the 100th meeting between the Diplomats and the Red Devils. … Freshman QB John Harrison completed 18-of-26 passes for 191 yards with two TDs and two picks against Dickinson. … Eager earned CC Special Teams Player of the Week honors last week. … F&M has made eight trips into the Red Zone in the last two games, but has scored just three times. … F&M has a bye next week.
TROXELL SAYS: “We need to create ways to run the football. We’re progressing on the line, but we need to get a better push up front. … We need to execute better on offense and play as hard as we did on defense. Those guys are flying around to get to the football. It comes down to this – we need to make plays on both sides of the ball.”
ABOUT JUNIATA: Eagles are coming off a tough loss to Ursinus, which scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6:19 to play in a 21-17 victory over Juniata. … Against Ursinus, senior QB Jay Leonard completed 22-of-54 passes for 212 yards, and became Juniata’s all-time career passing leader with 6,305 yards. It was the 18th time he passed for more than 200 yards in a game, and Leonard needs 13 more completions to break the school record in that category. … Lampeter-Strasburg grad Abe Mellinger – who helped the Pioneers win the District 3 Triple-A title last season – is a freshman reserve wideout for the Eagles.
TROXELL ON LEONARD: “He’s a great football player on a much improved team. They played a heck of a game at Ursinus, and are going to come to Lancaster believing they can win. We’re going to have to give him some different looks and keep their offense off the field. We know that the ball is going to be in the air an awful lot, and we need to go after it.”
THE PICK: Sounds like this Leonard guy can wing the ball around at a good clip. So F&M’s defense will be under the gun to make some plays and keep the Eagles out of the end zone. It might be wise for F&M’s offense to chew up some clock and get some first downs, as well, because the Diplomats’ D will have to be fresh, especially in the second half. I think F&M bounces back here after a couple of otherwise forgettable weeks. Diplomats get back in the CC race, 24-10.
