Suburban One League 2019 Preview and Team-by-Team Breakdowns

[tps_title]Harry S. Truman Tigers [/tps_title]

New coach Johnson tasked with keeping Tigers on track

LEVITTOWN >> Ben Johnson has found himself in a very unusual position as he embarks on his first season as the head football coach at Harry S Truman High.

It’s not very often that a school will make a coaching change on the heels of the best season in the history of its program, but that’s essentially what’s happened at Truman, which claimed a share of the Suburban One League National Conference last year, toppled longtime nemesis Neshaminy, and came within a field goal of advancing to the last 16 of the Pennsylvania state Class 6A playoffs.

It’s rarer still that a new coach will be endowed with a roster deep in talent and experience at virtually every position group. But that’s the position where Johnson finds himself in his first head coaching gig following 16 years as an assistant coach, primarily in Delaware County.

Previously he was offensive coordinator at Penn Wood, as well as offensive and defensive line coach at Ridley, where he was part of a Central League championship. Now, Johnson has replaced Mike LaPalombara, a longtime Pennsbury High assistant coach who took over a 3-7 Truman program in 2017, surrounded himself with an all-star squad of assistant coaches, and helmed the Tigers to a 10-2 record, including a playoff win, in his second year.

“Coach LaPalombara and (his assistants) did a phenomenal job laying a foundation of what I want to do at Truman High School,” Johnson said. “The X’s and O’s are very important, but what we do inside the building is ultimately what I’ll be judged by.”