Football Preview: Upper Darby’s Improvement will start on the defensive end

UPPER DARBY >> For many years, Richie Gentile’s biggest problem at Upper Darby was finding a way to field a winning team.

The Royals seemingly have always struggled to find themselves on the right side of .500, and even when that happened, they never made any playoff noise. That’s why the next playoff win will be the first one for UD football.

In the past two seasons, though, the wins have started to come together. With a young and talented staff by his side, Gentile has every reason to believe the Royals can be a viable contender in the Central League on an annual basis.

There was an eight-win campaign two years ago led by All-Delco quarterback Chris Rossiter, and last year, the Royals went 6-6. Not great, but not a losing season, either.

Now’s the time to really make noise. There’s a lot to like about this year’s Royals, including what might be the most explosive offense in Delco, but they’ll be the first to tell you that nothing’s going to get done unless they can fix the defensive problems that plagued them last season.

“This year, we have a brand-new scheme to help support the run. We weren’t really good at that last year, but now, we have a solid defense with our excellent coaching,” linebacker Dane Burke said. “Everybody’s coming downhill. It’s fast. Coach emphasized to stop the run, so that’s what we’re trying to do this year and become a great defense in the Central League.”

“We changed our defense,” added Gentile, who runs a base 4-3 defense. “If you know where you’re going to line up and you’re aggressive, that’s it. I thought at times last year, we were not lined up correctly. The kids were more concerned with where to line up and if they were lining up correctly than actually playing. This year, we’ve kind of streamlined it a little bit. It’s basically three fronts and we can just go play football.”

Fast is the operative word with the defense. Gentile thinks that front to back, this defense is as fast as he’s ever had. Speed is all fine and dandy, but nothing sets a defense’s identity quite like physicality does.

“The biggest thing coaches stress is us being physical up front,” two-way lineman Shawn Page said. “I do feel that we weren’t physical last year. It’s an attitude and I think we have that this year.”

The good thing for UD is that it’ll be able to make noise even if the defense is just OK. Senior quarterback Christoff Minott is back for his second year as the triggerman in the Royals’ wide-open offense. UD spreads defenses out with multiple receiver sets, giving Minott plenty of options in the air, but he and Isaiah Bruce also make up a dynamic rushing duo.

“We’ve got a lot of speed, so we can get to the edge and use that speed,” said Minott, who threw for more than 1,200 yards, added more than 500 on the ground and had a combined 26 touchdowns. “Not a lot of people can compete with that. If you’ve got speed, you’ll be going far. I think (Isaiah and I) can be a deadly backfield. I think we can be a big problem this year for a lot of teams.”

Bruce nearly hit the 900-yard plateau last year and had nine touchdowns at a robust 7.9 yard-per-carry clip. With seven starters back on offense, it stands to reason that he’ll be good for his first 1,000-yard campaign. Senior wide receivers Calvin Fielding and Brandon Morton, along with tight end/receiver Tyler George, give Minott a strong core of pass-catchers. The Royals have averaged more than 30 points per game over the past two seasons. They’re a good bet to make it three straight. Will that translate into a playoff berth and beyond?

“I think we’re more focused this year,” Minott said. “I think last year, we were too young. I was a first-year starter. I was there, but I wasn’t really into the game. This year, we have a lot of returning starters and I think that’ll help us get over that hump.”

It would be a history-making leap.

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