[tps_title]Springfield Cougars [/tps_title]
Springfield head coach Chris Britton, left, and coaching staff members oversee a recent football practice at E.T. Richardson Middle School on a 50-yard field. Springfield’s field is under construction, forcing the team to play its home games at nearby rival Strath Haven High. (Media News Group Photos)
Rebuilding Cougars to adopt ‘road warrior’ posture
SPRINGFIELD >> The training-camp practice at E.T. Richardson Middle School ended just around dark, and the Springfield football players were ready to do what soon will become ordinary.
Gathering off to the side of the 50-yard field, the Cougars retrieved their water bottles, equipment bags and other personal items, then crammed into cars for the short but inconvenient ride back to school. So it must be in what figures to be a season of building in so many ways.
With the football stadium and practice fields being reimagined amid a reconstruction of the high school, the young Cougars will spend a season traveling. Each day after class, they will board a bus for a seven-minute, two-mile trip to the Church Road Field near the edge of Morton for practice.
And on game nights, they will be bussed to Strath Haven for their home games.
Road warriors?
“That’s what we are going for,” quarterback Kevin Rechner.
They have no choice, for construction projects of any kind take time. And few are more aware of that than coach Chris Britton, who will have to make due with only 12 seniors on a team of 65 players. Pardon the dust.
“It’s just a light year, one of those years,” Britton said. “The numbers are still there. I think we had 40 freshmen. The senior class is not a big athletic class. So it’s going to be a lot of kids’ first time playing varsity football.
“It’s going to be interesting.”
On one level, the simultaneous building is timely. The challenges of playing in the ever-rough Central League without a true home field should strengthen the young Cougars, enabling them to return to scheduling normalcy next season in peak condition. But more immediate satisfaction is also possible.
“It’s tough,” Rechner said. “It’s really tough because I always wanted to play under the lights at my own stadium. But I think with the difficulties, it will make us all stronger, because we can learn to adapt to different situations.”
That task will begin with Rechner, a 6-3, 195-pound first-year starter charged with replacing Jack Psenicska, an honorable-mention All-Delco who last season passed for 1,661 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“He was behind Slinger Jack,” Britton said. “He’s a smart, well-rounded kid. He can do a little bit of everything.”
Rechner will rely heavily on junior running back Jack Clark, who flashed enough excellence as a sophomore to bump into a starting role late in the season.
“If you are starting as a sophomore, you must be doing something right,” Britton said. “He is a really good lacrosse player. So he is a multi-sport athlete.”
Center Nick Cariola returns to anchor the line, and will also play some at guard. Classmates Nick Marascio and Gavin Atchison will provide Rechner with veteran cover, as will tight end Aidan Shandley.
Speedy Alex Williams, a 6-2 senior, will create opportunities in the passing lanes.
Defensively, the Cougars will count heavily on junior inside linebacker Michael Grapin, senior defensive end Devin Allen and the 6-3, 220-pound
Shandley, who has been receiving some college attention for his pass-rushing skill.
“Everybody has to pay close attention to detail, really know their task, know the signals,” Shandley said. “We are doing a hurry-up offense and defense this year, so there’s going to be a lot of signals on the sideline. There will be a lot of mental stuff.
“We’re just changing it up and trying something new.”
Everything is new about the Cougars, who were 6-3 last season and 9-0 in the Central League in 2017. But the cement has been poured for the new home-field stands … and a foundation is developing for a football team strong enough to eventually regularly keep them filled.
“I want to thank Strath Haven for giving us their field this year,” Britton said. “We have a lot of building to do, but I think it will help us in the long run.
“You have to embrace challenges. I think they are life lessons. Sometimes it’s not the way you want it but you have to persevere. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. You have to get through these times to better times.”
Offensive Player to Watch
Kevin Rechner, Quarterback >> A first-year, senior starter, he says he’s prepared for the task.
“I’ve been waiting on the sideline watching every play,” Rechner said. “I’m sure my teammates have confidence in me and I have confidence in my teammates. I think we can be something special this year.”
A do-everything type, Rechner’s veteran leadership will be key to a young team.
“We all need to believe in each other,” he said. “We always pick each other up. If we work together, we can have a special year.”
Defensive Player to Watch
Aidan Shandley, Defensive End >> With an ability to double at tight end, the big, two-way force has received interest from Army, Temple, Delaware and Villanova.
“He’s a great kid,” Cougars coach Chris Britton said. “He was hurt the second half of last season but he got honorable mention All-Central League both ways.”
A lacrosse player, Shandley’s athleticism will help in many ways.
“We lost a lot of seniors, a lot of guys we leaned on,” he said. “But we have a lot of good guys coming in, a lot of juniors that we can trust and we can be a good team.”
By Jack McCaffery, jmccaffery@21st-centurymedia.com
