The man whose snap will start every offensive play for Garden Spot football this fall likes his team’s chances.
“I’m really excited to see us reach our full potential,” senior center Ryan Miller (top photo) says. “I think we’ve grown as a team over the summer, and I’m real excited to see how far we’ll go.”
Miller’s thoughts echo those of his coach, Matt Zamperini (left, below), who also sees the same potential in his Spartans squad for 2025.
“We have a strong roster,” he says, but “it’s a matter of finding the right positions and putting the things together the right way and making sure hearts and minds are committed to mission and winning on Friday nights, and doing those sorts of things.”
The Spartans finished 4-5 last year, with a conference record of 2-4.
Zamperini knows full well the importance preparation plays in his sport.
“Football is one of the sports where you don’t play it all year – baseball, basketball, you actually do your sport,” he notes. “In football, you only do half of your sport” while preparing in the offseason.
“It’s very different for that reason. Once camp starts, it becomes the real sport.”
Running back Andrew Pemberton (center, below), like Miller a senior, adds the word “chemistry” to “potential” as he looks ahead to the season.
“As we begin to grow and build that chemistry that we should have, I think it will drive us to have a good season and a winning record,” says Pemberton, who likes NFL backs like Bijan Robinson and David Montgomery.
Another senior, current slot receiver Gabe Martin (right, below), notes that the team graduated more than a dozen seniors from last year, but he likes the “big, big freshman class we have coming up.”
Martin, as a quarterback last year, was named Section 3 Back of the Week after rushing for two touchdowns and passing for another in a win over Manheim Central.
Seniors like him have to be patient, he continues, as the younger guys “are getting where they need to be, and hopefully by the season they’re ready to go. I think it’s going to be a good season.”
LNP | LancasterOnline hosted Football Media Day at its downtown Lancaster office to connect local media with Lancaster-Lebanon League football players and coaches.
