Talented Cougars too much for Pioneers

SPRINGFIELD » The last thing Springfield head coach Chris Britton did before he left the field Friday night was pack up the endzone camera.

“I’m not sure how much I’ll like what I see from this,” he said, referring to the film of the Cougars’ 35-7 Central League victory over Conestoga.

Springfield (2-0, 1-0) rolled up 202 yards on the ground and 173 yards through the air while limiting ’Stoga to 83 yards of total offense. The Cougars intercepted three passes and recovered one fumble.

What offset some of the positives was four turnovers — three fumbles and an interception — as well as a couple penalties at the wrong times that Springfield committed.

“There were some good things about the game, and I have to be happy with a win,” Britton said. “But we’ve got work to do. Conestoga’s a good team, and we can play better than we did against them tonight. We have some things that we have to work out.”

Conestoga (0-2, 0-1) got its points in the last minute of the first half with the help of two major penalties called against Springfield. Quarterback Nick Braendel scrambled 14 yards to the end zone 29 seconds before halftime.

“I saw things that I liked,” Pioneers head coach Marquis Weeks said. “We played with toughness, were aggressive, and we showed some fight.

“We know we have to play a tough Haverford team next week that just beat Ridley. But I know we’ll look forward to that challenge.”