Salisbury football head coach Andy Cerco remembers last year’s ending against Pen Argyl vividly. The Green Knights scored a last-second touchdown to secure a 17-16 win over the Falcons. And it was on a play that Cerco and the Falcons expected Pen Argyl to run.

“You think about it all the time, but you have to move on,” Cerco said. “We knew it. Our kids knew it. We just didn’t make the right choice at that particular time.”

Cerco and the Falcons got their chance at redemption early in 2019 with a Week 1 matchup against Pen Argyl. The pieces, however, were a bit different from the team that took the field last fall and finished 2-8 in the Colonial League.

“Practices have been going really well,” Cerco said. “We’ve been progressing. As a team they’re kind of finding their chemistry and getting used to playing with different people. We had a scrimmage against Blue Mountain and our kids performed really well.”

One of the most noticeable changes will be under center. Quarterback Jacob Kamp has graduated, leaving a competition between senior Trey Weber and junior Quintin Stephens to fill that void.

“It’s a total toss up,” Cerco said. “At the scrimmage they were actually completely equal again. We didn’t get a ton of reps. I don’t even know how many balls we threw. They both had the same number of completions. They’re still equal. Right now we just have to figure out who is going to take the first snap.”

Whoever is lined up under center will do his fair share of handing the ball off to running backs Timmy Buda and Chad Parton. Buda, a senior who missed six games last season due to injury, will be relied upon heavily to help replace the production lost from last year’s leading rusher Delano McKenzie.

Parton, a junior tailback, also provides plenty of speed and is another playmaker out of the backfield. Senior Kyle Pingarelli returns after dealing with injuries the past two years, while seniors Blake Lettko and Kade Simononis will get their opportunities as well at tailback.

Senior Kyle Killiri and sophomore Ben Krauss will suit up at fullback.

“The kids have a very good perspective on last year,” Cerco said. “They understand that when you have nine starters out, at different points and the same point in a season, it doesn’t bode real well. They saw the positives in the season. But definitely they are ready to go.”

The trio of Weston Schaffer, Jacob Ziegler and Patrick Foley, all seniors, will line up at wide receiver. Rounding out the Falcons’ offense is a solid front that includes: senior center/guard Gavin Strelecki, junior guard Matt Butz, and tackles Gaige Marcks (junior), Anthony Scarcia (sophomore), Brandon Brotzman (sophomore) and Krauss.

Despite having little to no live contact throughout practices thus far, many of those players have executed the coaches’ teachings during that Blue Mountain scrimmage. One thing that stood out was the way the Falcons were able to tackle.

“Our younger guys tackled really well,” Cerco said. “We have a certain standard with tackling and the way that we tackle, but we haven’t done any live contact throughout camp.

“Through two weeks and the double-sessions, we do zero live contact as far as tackling. It’s proven that if you drill it every day in a limited contact situation, when they have to go live on game night they are good.”

Cerco and the Falcons are seeking a winning record after just two wins last season, four the prior year and two back in 2016. The last time Salisbury finished with a winning record was in 2015 when it qualified for districts and went 7-3 in the Colonial League.

Opening night was Military Appreciation Night at the Falcons’ home field last week.

Salisbury faces Northwestern on Thursday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Northwestern High School.