[tps_title]Valley Forge Military Academy Cadets [/tps_title]
A Valley Forge Military Academy wide out hauls in a pass from quarterback Max Kauffman (8) during warmups last week. (Thomas Nash – Digital First Media)
Cadets looking to let loose again this season
A day in the life of a Valley Forge Military Academy cadet is worlds different than that of a regular high school student.
“These guys,” said head football coach Mike Korom, “they’re up every single day at 6 a.m. and out there marching in the morning. They’ve gotta have their shoes shined and their beds made before they head out the door every morning. All that on top of homework and everything. 
“There are just so many other things outside of football that these guys have to worry about every single day. I think football is great for all of them.”
Needless to say, a little time on the football field is a way for the players to cut loose from the daily grind and get a little mud on their cleats. It’s a place to hold nothing back.
The Cadets are coming off an outstanding 2016 season where the program earned its first District 1 Class AA title in school history. At the forefront of it were three-year starters Audley Isaacs (now at Temple University) and Michael Rosa (Clarion University) — both of whom controlled the offensive backfield and the defensive interior linebacker positions.
“Those two guys will obviously be very hard for us to replace,” said Korom. “Audley was a fantastic football player — he rushed for over 1,000 yards then played in the Big 33 Game. Both of them were great for us the past three years.”
Now the question becomes who will fill in the shoes of Isaacs and Rosa?
Junior backs Elliott Calloway and Naseer Gilbert will be the top dogs in the VFMA backfield, running behind stocky 6-3 quarterback Max Kauffman. It’s a dual-combo backfield that Korom promises will be seamlessly interchangeable throughout the season.
“We’re two-deep at the running back, fullback and halfback spots,” said Korom. “With our two starters, Calloway and Naseer, we can switch them back and forth.”
Do-it-all junior Eddie Davila, from Cinnamonson, N.J. looked plenty solid during the team’s practice Wednesday. He turned heads in the defensive line drills then as sure-handed as any during offensive run-throughs later in practice, including a sprawled-out, one-handed catch from Kauffman.
The entire right side of last year’s offensive line is back for another year, though their will be some new faces on the left side. Barring injury, Kauffman should see solid protection up front all season.
Korom expects a climb back to the top of the Bicentennial League to be anything but simple, especially with typical league powers New Hope-Solebury, Bristol and Jenkintown in the mix. Last season was the first time in school history that Valley Forge Military Academy had ever beaten Bristol, a 14-13 win in late-October. Similarly, VFMA has only beaten New Hope one time in program history.
The Cadets’ schedule does them now favors, mixing in tough early matchups against Harriton (Central League) and Bishop McDevitt (Catholic League) before closing up with a home game against Nativity B.V.M.
“We’re up against a tough schedule, so we’ll see how we fare early on,” said Korom. “I think that will go a long way. We have a competitive league and then our non-league games are tough, too.”
By Thomas Nash; tnash@pottsmerc.com
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