[tps_title]Pencnrest Lions [/tps_title]
PETE BANNAN DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Penncrest Chris Mills hauls in a pass during August training camp.
Penncrest’s Pidgeon standing behind his new dudes
MIDDLETOWN >> John Cosgrove has fond memories of watching his older brother, Kevin, play football at Penncrest.
In 2008-09, the Lions were a dynamic squad. They competed for Central League titles and had two of the best offensive teams Delaware County has seen since the turn of the century. 
“I grew up watching them. My brother was (an offensive lineman) on the 08-09 teams,” said Cosgrove, a senior running back/linebacker. “I remember Jerry Boyer running for 245 yards in the Downingtown (East) game (in the district quarterfinal playoffs). I remember sitting up on that hill, watching all those guys, all those great players. It was unbelievable.”
First-year coach Andrew Pidgeon knows first-hand how good those Penncrest teams truly were. Pidgeon earned All-Delco quarterback honors at Ridley in 2008, when Penncrest posted eight wins and qualified for the District 1 Class 4A tournament. It was the year after Pidgeon graduated from Ridley that Penncrest really took off. The Lions led the county in both scoring offense and total offense in 2009, paced by a trio of All-Delcos players: running back Jerry Boyer, quarterback Matt Atkinson and wide receiver Matt Bundy.
Cosgrove wants to leave behind a legacy similar to his brother’s teams. Despite qualifying for the District 1 Class 5A postseason last fall, the Lions stumbled to a 3-8 overall record. Although many won’t consider Penncrest a favorite in the Central League, the Lions have the talent to take a big step forward.
“Last year, we came into the season ready to go, but things didn’t go our way and we had a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “We had the talent, but we didn’t have the mindset. We made the talent with three wins and that was embarrassing. the community wasn’t behind our backs. That put a chip on my shoulder, especially my senior year. I’ve only got 10 games left.”
Rebuilding the Lions starts with Pidgeon, who most recently was an assistant coach at Cardinal O’Hara, but has coaching experience at the college and professional levels. Pidgeon has familiarity with the Central League, too, after spending a few years coaching offense and quarterbacks at Lower Merion.
“I think we can shock some people,” he said. “Our defensive backs will be some of the best in the league, I think. We have two seniors in (Chris) Mills and Caleb (Mahalik) at safety. I think it will all depend on how much the guys buy into the next two weeks. Can we be ready for Pope John Paul (II)? I think we can. I think we have a good group of guys here who are tired of the losing, and we have the talent to win some games.
“We have some dudes.”
Mills returns as the starting quarterback, while Mahalik will be the Lions’ No. 1 running back. While Mills enjoyed modest success in a part-time role at QB, Mahalik amassed 758 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
“The biggest thing we have going right now is we’re close and we all have the same goals in mind,” Mills said. “With the new coaches coming in, I think it’s been a big factor that we have came together so quick.”
Mahalik, Cosgrove and junior Vinny Brown will make a formidable trio out of the backfield in Pidgeon’s spread offense. The Lions have four returning starters on the offensive line in seniors Bryan Dewar, Brian Steiner, Jake Quinn and Nick Polumba. Pidgeon is very excited about his new receiving corps led by junior Jay Brown, and seniors Sam Sav and Eric Aruffo.
PAINT BY NUMBERS
A huge part of Pidgeon’s job is recruiting from within the school district and building a thriving program. With the decrease in student participation, that is a difficult task. He said the overall number of players in summer camp was somewhere in the mid-30s.
HEAVY HEARTS
Penncrest will play the 2017 season in honor of coach William “Billy” Adams, who died in late July. Adams was hired in the offseason to take over the freshman program. A graduate of Cardinal O’Hara, Adams was coached for many years in the Rose Tree Colts youth organization. He also had coaching stops at O’Hara and Williamson Trade School.
By Matt Smith; mattsmith@21st-centurymedia.com
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