[tps_title] Norristown Eagles [/tps_title]
Norristown’s Baubacar Diawara rose up as Methacton’s Ryan May approached to tackle of Saturday afternoon’s game against Norristown.
Eagles ready for bounceback season
NORRISTOWN >> The Eagles’ first season in the Pioneer Athletic Conference wasn’t what they had planned.
Now, in 2017, Norristown looks to reverse course from a 3-9 season and start making improvements in an ever-tough Liberty Division.
Status update so far? Promising, says senior tackle and defensive end Jeremiah Bynum. 
“The big difference from last year is everyone is more connected than they were last year,” Bynum, a Pottstown Mercury All-Area Honorable Mention selection in 2016, said. “With the linemen, we all get along, work hard and communicate better than we did last year. That should get us off to a better start this season.”
Trying may be too soft an adjective in describing last year’s start. A roster composed of only four seniors, the Eagles lost their first eight games in unspectacular fashion, all but one by two possessions or more. It wasn’t until Week 9’s victory against Boyertown that the team started to veer in the right direction, winning three of their last four games including a thrilling 35-28 victory over rival Upper Merion on Thanksgiving Day.
Now, with a depth chart returning eight starters on both sides of the ball, the Eagles believe they’re poised to make the next step in 2017.
“We have a lot more experienced players on our roster than we did last year,” Bynum said. “We lacked leadership last season. This year our upperclassmen are trying to step up and show the underclassmen how we need to get it done. I like to lead people through example, as do others, and I feel like our efforts are starting to rub off on them.”
Of those experienced players are ones like Bynum, Mercury All-Area second team defensive back Koran Butler (league-high five interceptions on defense; 402 yards receiving with four touchdowns on offense) and leading rusher Kirk Wilson, who rushed for 471 yards and three touchdowns his sophomore season.
All are poised to make last season’s three-win season a distant memory.
Aerial Attack
Izaiah Webb returns at quarterback after throwing for 1,118 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He will have Boubacar Diawara to throw to even more so this season. Diawara was lethal while lining up in the slot last season, his penchant for the highlight-reel catch adding some flavor to the Norristown offense.
“I feel like with the receivers, we had another year to jell together and make sure we were on the same page,” Webb said. “This should be a fun year for us.”
Fun fact >> Of the three wins Norristown had last season, all came with Webb throwing for more than 150 yards.
Needs Improvement
Passing Defense >> The Eagles ranked 11th in the league last year in passing yards allowed (2,232). Against a pass-heavy Liberty Division, the secondary will need to continue to step up.
By Sam Stewart; sstewart@pottsmerc.com
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