[tps_title]Penn Wood Patriots [/tps_title]
Bob Raines–Digital First Media
Penn Wood quarterback Javon Lindsey-Terrell hands off to Answered Gleplay during the Sept. 17, 2016 game at Norristown.
For Fraser, Penn Wood…time to make the donuts
LANSDOWNE >> The goalposts on the north end of Penn Wood’s practice field — the ones the offense attacks during reps — are still upright, while those on the south end have seen better days. Only a base there; no uprights to be seen.
Intentional or not, the ruin provides a glimpse at the Patriots’ collective attitude going into the 2017 season. If it were up them, their opponents wouldn’t need goalposts at all.
“Donut,” said defensive lineman Shane Fraser. “We don’t want (anybody) to score on us, basically. We’re going into the games to shut everybody out.”
Fraser, a senior, is just one of many big, strong athletes Penn Wood employs on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary is long and fast. The line is experienced and tough. And more than anything, this is a group that has learned how to win. After spending so much time as a doormat in the Del Val, the Patriots are coming off back-to-back third-place finishes in the league, capped by last year’s 7-4 final record and a berth in the District 1 6A playoffs.
“When I first started, I didn’t think we were a team my freshman year,” Fraser said. “We had a bunch of talent, but we weren’t together. As my seasons went on, we were getting better. Everybody was riding for each other.”
Even an offseason coaching change did little to deter Penn Wood. Ato Troop took over for Nick Lincoln, who left to take the head coaching position at Imhotep Charter. Lincoln was a popular man on campus. He turned around a program that went 0-11 during his first year in charge back in 2014.
“The kids were upset initially because Coach Lincoln had a really good relationship with a lot of them,” Troop said. “I understood. I gave them time.”
The players, as fond as they were of Lincoln, were comfortable with Troop. He had served as the defensive coordinator last season and was a rock following the tragic death of 2016 senior linebacker Zion Vaughan. The team retired his jersey number, 33, and established a scholarship fund in his name.
“It brought the team closer,” Troop said. “We’ve come a long way since I first got the job.”
It helped that Troop had already bonded with the core that should carry the Patriots in the early season. Fraser and David Rush will pressure the quarterback, leaving Penn Wood’s talented corners free to make plays. But it’s more than that. This is about maintaining a winning mindset.
“We try to start off with everybody clapping, staying in straight lines,” Rush said. “When we go to compete, compete with each other, but also help each other as a unit.”
Although Penn Wood looks promising when it comes to details and defense, there’s one big question mark on the offensive side of the ball: quarterback. Brian Parker and Desman Johnson, Jr. will audition for the open spot with each offering a unique skillset. Parker, a baseball player, has a big arm, while Johnson presents a more physical, running threat.
Still, whoever gets the snaps will have plenty of options once the play starts. All-Del Val running back Answered Glepay returns, as does All-Del Val receiver Rahiem Bowens. And there’s no controversy about sharing the ball.
“Me, Kennedy Poles (and) Tayshon Harmon, we’re always with each other,” Bowens said of his fellow Patriots receivers. “We hang out a lot, so all we do is talk about the season, expectations and everything.”
Those expectations are high but only in the short term. Troop likes his guys to stay in the moment.
“The one big thing we’re talking about this year is to not focus on the scoreboard,” Troop said. “Focus on winning the rep, focus on doing what you’re supposed to do.”
And yet, contests with Del Val frontrunners Academy Park and Interboro loom large. Wins over those teams — and handing them donuts in the process — would cement Penn Wood’s status as a legitimate contender. There’s no time better than now.
“Academy Park, I’ve never beat them or Interboro; middle school or anywhere,” Bowens said. “It’s my senior year. Have to beat them.”
By Dillon Friday; For Pa Prep Live
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