Last year, in Jason Thurston’s first season coaching Greencastle-Antrim, the Blue Devils picked up four wins, primarily on the back of All-Mid Penn Colonial Division selection Blake Reuter. Reuter is now suiting up for Albright College, leaving Thurston with the question of how he replaces a 1,000-yard back.
The answer: Use more than one guy.
“We have a nice stable of running backs,” Thurston said. “We have two fullbacks we can plug in, a couple halfbacks and two or three wings. The challenge will be to try and figure out how to get all these kids involved.
“Last year, everyone knew Blake was going to get the ball. We don’t have a Blake this year, but we have a good stable.”
Thurston didn’t have the luxury of a full offseason heading into his debut season on the Greencastle sideline last year. This year he does, and he hopes it pays dividends.
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"Going into this season, I took over the weight room duties and kind of changed the work out plan,” he said. “I implemented more Olympic-style power lifting, which will hopefully create more explosiveness in our players.”
The full offseason has also been crucial for installing his schemes, evidenced by the team’s performance in summer camps.
“Offensively, we are so far ahead of where we were last year,” he said. “We went to [Lebanon Valley College] for team camp. Last year, we were installing our system so we kept things very basic. This year, I was able to run basically anything in our playbook.”
Defensively, expect to see a different look when the Blue Devils line up.
“We have a lot of athletes, and because of that, we’re switching from a 3-4 for to a 4-2-5 for our base defense,” Thurston said. “Our defensive coordinator – last year we had several goal-line stands, including three in one game vs. East Penn – our defensive coordinator has my full faith. He suggested we look into trying this to use more of our athletes. I said, if this is something you think will help us, let’s just do it.”
This spring, the Greencastle baseball team won the Class 5A state championship. While Thurston’s team doesn’t feature many of those players that now carry a championship pedigree, it has galvanized the school to bring more titles to town.
It contributed to a rise following the spring season as summer workouts commenced.
“Our weight room numbers were kinda low, once spring sports ended, they started showing up,” Thurston said. “I didn't see what I see now, how passionate they are about the season. There’s a fire.”
He’s hoping everything comes together early.
“A couple times [last season] we lost our composure, and it affected us, it affected our outcome,” he said. “Beating Waynesboro Week 1 is a big deal. We feel this year, we got all the pieces in place. If we can go out and get the win, that can set us off on a good note.”
In the Blue Devils' huddle
Head coach: Jason Thurston, 10th season overall, second season at GA.
Key returnees: Elijay Ambrose (OL/LB, sr.); Loki Huffman (DL, sr.); Wyatt Hull (TE/OLB, sr.); Gavin Knable (OL/DL, sr.); Sam Petruska (WR/DB, Sr.); Ethan South (ILB, sr.); Iverson Stoner (WR/DB, sr.); Blake Whitmer (K, sr.); Ben Jansen (OL/DL, Jr.)
Key newcomers: Dominic Angelini (WB/DB, sr.); Landon Kagarise (FB, sr.); Gavin Logsden (QB, sr.); Cole Burkholder (OL/DL, jr.); Luke Hull (WB/SS, jr.); Spencer Long (HB, jr.); Tyler Myers (OL/ILB, jr.); Zach Russell (TE, jr.); Ryan Schick (WR, jr.); Damien Johns (LB, so.); Dane Medina (WB/DB, so.); Jeremiah Murray (WR, so.).
Last season: 4-6
Offense: Hybrid Wing-T
Defense: 4-2-5
Classification: 5A
Last District 3 appearance: 2023
Last District 3 playoff win: 2010
District 3 playoff titles: zero