Aug 29, 2008 By Dave Stofcheck 4 min read

Mike Bosnic, Charles Harris, Jan Haiden and George Messich can take solace perhaps only in the fact they are sailing in uncharted waters together as captains of the same figurative ship. The four Greene County coaches face boatloads of uncertainty tonight when their respective teams kick off the 2008 high school football season.

Each will get his first look at how several unproven players will react in a game that finally counts.

“Win or lose, you want the kids to play hard and not roll over,” said Harris, the second-year West Greene coach. “This game will give us a chance to see where the kids are at. We’ll use it as a measuring stick.”

What Harris has in front of him is a backfield full of question marks. Sophomore Clay Mason will take his first varsity snap under center, and joining him in the Pioneers’ backfield will be two senior running backs, Dakota Riffle and Cody Stoneking, who have no varsity experience.

Harris began camp three weeks ago with 25 would-be players.

Now, the number has dropped to 23 after Adam Crawford tore ligaments in his right ankle during the team’s first scrimmage and Adam Horr wasn’t cleared by doctors to participate after undergoing off-season knee surgery.

Both players will miss the entire 2008 season.

“We aren’t asking anyone to replace either Adam, because that’s hard to do,” Harris said. “What we are asking is for the rest of the players to play up to their ability. If they do that, things will take care of themselves.”

West Greene hosts Chartiers-Houston in a non-section game. Last season, the Pioneers knocked off the favored Bucs in Week 1.

In Carmichaels, another sophomore signal-caller, Jonathan Krall, will start his first varsity game when the Mikes host Fort Cherry. Krall will step in for senior Joby Lapkowicz, who suffered an ankle injury during the state baseball playoffs in June and still is recovering from the subsequent surgery.

When training camp began, Krall and junior Anthonie Farrar both were taking snaps, but Krall eventually emerged as the Mikes’ starter.

“He’s done really well and he seems like he’s going to be pretty promising,” Bosnic said.

Farrar, meanwhile, impressed Bosnic enough to find a role of his own, and will receive his share of carries out of the backfield.

At Mapletown, Messich returns a talented offensive line, of which his son Mark is a member, and also has junior quarterback Cory Minnick back with a year’s worth of experience under his belt.

But unlike recent years, Messich will be looking for a workhorse running back or two after the graduation of Brandon Geisel and Nick Popernack.

Sophomore Zach Fecsko, who started as a freshman at linebacker, likely will get most of the carries, with junior Eric Greene starting at fullback.

Mapletown opens at home with Bentworth, a team that has become one of the Maples’ rivals in recent years.

At Jefferson-Morgan, Haiden has the task of replacing the area’s leading scorer last season, Justin Falcon.

In 2007, Falcon scored 24 touchdowns on his way to 146 total points.

The Rockets also lost their starting quarterback, center and fullback to graduation, so Haiden, like Bosnic, Harris and Messich, will find out if his untested players will rise to the occasion come game time.

Jefferson-Morgan is coming off its fifth straight playoff appearance, and is two years removed from a trip to the WPIAL semifinals. Tonight, the Rockets host Leechburg.

At Washington, Waynesburg Central second-year coach Scott Orndoff will be looking for his first victory with the Raiders.

Unlike most teams that open with at least two non-section games, Waynesburg jumps right into Interstate Conference play.

“You start right out in conference play and there’s no breathing room,” Orndoff said.

All games are slated for 7:30 p.m. starts.