Football Preview: Mehn doesn’t mind playing a leading role at Glen Mills

THORNBURY >> As the Glen Mills players moved from drill to drill, one of the first players to arrive at each designated station was junior running back/defensive back Darryl Mehn.

As the only returnee with starting experience, and the team’s leader, that is what is expected of Mehn this season and he takes his role seriously.

“Sometimes, people have the mentality that they can’t do it or don’t want to do it and I try to push them through it,” Mehn said. “It’s my job to make sure they do every drill at 100 percent so our team can have a successful season.”

How much success the Bulls have depends on how quickly the newcomers develop, but that has always been the case at Glen Mills. Player turnover is high every year because of the nature of the school so it’s not unusual for head coach Kevin Owens to only have one or two players back, as he does from last year’s squad that went 4-6 overall, 3-2 in the Del Val League and suffered three of its six losses by a touchdown or less.

“For us, every football player we have is a senior, whether he’s a ninth-grader or a 12th-grader,” Owens said. “We don’t get three- and four-year players like other teams. It’s a new team every year and that’s where our job as coaches comes in. We have to put the team together and coach them so that they can perform to the best of their abilities.”

With so few returnees, that’s where Owens relies on players like Mehn to show the newcomers what is expected of them.

“He’s done a great job as a leader,” Owens said of Mehn. “He’s a quality young man. He plays hard on every rep and never complains where we put him, and we move him around quite a bit. He’s a tremendous leader for us.”

While turnover is an annual theme at Glen Mills, so is size and speed. Once again the Bulls will be big and athletic. How that translates into wins and losses remains to be seen, but it’s not a bad place to start.

Mehn will have the benefit of playing behind a massive, yet inexperienced, offensive line led by tackles Brian Womack and Basil Simms. That’s a good place to start for a team that traditionally has one of the best running attacks in the county.

But do not expect the Bulls to be one-dimensional on offense. Owens likes what he sees in quarterback Javon Thomas. Rasheem Rochwell has sprinters speed and the versatility to play running back or slot receiver. Tyrique Lyons, one of the best high jumpers in the county last spring, gives Owens a receiver who can go get the ball.

“I think we’re going to have good balance,” Owens said. “Our quarterback is doing good things. Our receivers can catch the ball and run with it. What we need to work on most is the offensive line. If they can hold up, I think we can be a pretty good offensive football team.”

Expect the defense to be fast and aggressive, as usual. Mehn and Rochwell will see time at cornerback, too. DaQuan Dantzler also will be a key figure in the secondary. Semaj Robinson is expected to anchor the defensive line and Quadir Gibson will see time at linebacker and fullback.

“We’ll be physical,” Owens said of his defense. “We’ll smack you hard. That’s our history. And we’ll make mistakes because of our aggressiveness. We’ll have kids jump offside and teams will take advantage of that until our guys gain some experience, but we’re still going to be aggressive defensively. That’s the way we play.”

It has been a successful formula for many years, one Mehn thinks will continue.

“We’ll battle for the Del Val League title,” Mehn said. “I think we’re going to have a good team.”

This story appears in the Delco Times Football Preview, available on newsstands Friday.