Quarterback has been a position of strength for the Lancaster football team. Starting with the Mansell brothers leading the way to five straight Section VI championships, the passing game has been there for the Legends during the Rupp Era.
Alex Krupka is the next man up and the junior is ready for the challenge of quarterbacking the Legends to an eighth straight sectional championship game appearance.
"I have to fill in some big shoes," Krupka said. "There have been some great quarterbacks in our program and now I just have to step up to the plate and get better every week."
Krupka threw for a pair of touchdowns and the Legends moved to 3-0 with a 35-0 win over Frontier on Friday night at Foyle-Kling Field. He's thrown for 533 yards and nine touchdowns in the first three games.
"I think Alex is learning and getting better every week," Legends coach Eric Rupp said. "He's more than capable of making the big throws when we need it and we're very encouraged by his starts."
Senior Colton Jayden (nine catches, 131 yards, three TDs) and junior John Gang (10 catches, 130 yards, two touchdowns) have been Krupka’s top targets.
He threw for 154 yards and two scores, both to Gang, in Lancaster’s third straight blowout win to start the season against the Falcons, who return to Class AA this season. Senior running back Chris Gill added 177 yards and two more scores on the ground for the Legends.
The schedule gets real in the coming weeks for Lancaster, starting with Friday’s game against Orchard Park at Foyle-Kling, followed by road games against Bennett and Jamestown, the reigning Class AA and Class A sectional champs.
“It’s nice to get some league wins to start the season but we still have a lot of work to do,” Rupp said.