The Allentown High School football team has its sights set on successfully defending its state playoff championship.
Allentown remains a strong candidate to retain the Central Jersey, Group 4 state championship even after the Redbirds fell to Trenton Central High School, 26-6, on Oct. 28 in Trenton.
Allentown got on the scoreboard first when freshman quarterback Daniel Merkel tossed a 51-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receive X’zavier Harris. However, the Redbirds then surrendered 26 unanswered points.
Merkel completed the game with 135 passing yards, while Harris collected six catches for 98 yards.
The loss dropped Allentown to 5-3 on the season, but the Redbirds still have a good chance at making the playoffs with another opportunity to pick up a victory in their next game.
“Trenton is a very good program,” Allentown coach Jay Graber said. “We just wanted to stay on track [and] continue to do the things that we did well on defense in the second half of our game against Steinert [High School on Oct. 20] and play with a lot of pace on offense.”
The Redbirds defeated Brick Township High School, 41-6, in the Central Jersey, Group 4 finals last season.
Graber said his team must remain focused on the games ahead.
The Redbirds will end the regular season at home against Princeton High School on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. The NJSIAA sectional playoffs begin the following weekend.
“We never really have long-term expectations,” Graber said. “It’s always short term. We just concentrate on the next game, so every single week we just focus on the game at hand. Trenton is a very important game for us.”
Graber hopes the team can improve in certain areas.
“I think we just need to tighten up on everything,” Graber said. “Our special teams just need to continue to improve. Our offense needs to continue to play faster. And our defense needs to keep trying to stop the run.”
While Allentown prepares for its next opponent, the Redbirds are still thinking about the playoffs.
“The expectation is always to win the final game of the season,” Graber said. “We’ll see where we end up in the playoffs, but we expect to win that last game.”
Junior two-way lineman Harrison Hill, Merkel and Harris don’t feel the pressure of repeating as a state playoff champion.
“There’s no pressure at all,” Harris said. “We’re just trying to get our defense improved, trying to get back to the playoffs and see what happens from there.”
“This is my first year, so I wasn’t part of last year’s team,” Merkel said. “But I heard about the great things that they did, so I’m just trying to do the same thing, if not better.”
“No pressure at all,” Hill said. “Most of the guys on this team were on the team last year, so they know what it takes to win it all.”
The players are also on board with their coach’s desire to improve in certain areas.
“Shutting out teams on defense [is] the biggest thing for me,” Harris said. “[If] we do that, we’ll be in good shape.”
“Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball,” Hill said. “We have to run it.”
They all have big expectations.
“I expect the defense to shut teams out,” Harris said. “And our offense will put up a lot of points on the board.”
“We’re going to win a state championship,” Merkel said.
“The defense will stop anything to come at us,” Hill said.
