TWO-A-DAYS: With new coach Coffey, Avon Grove hopes bigger things are brewing in 2020
Joe Coffee is Avon Grove’s sixth head coach since bringing football back in 2004. And even though the Red Devils are coming off a frustrating 1-9 season, Coffey isn’t running away from the program’s past.
“Last season we battled, but things just didn’t shake out,” he said. “We don’t need to rebuild anything, but we’ve got to put our kids in the right position to be successful.”
A defensive coordinator under his predecessor, Harry O’Neill, Coffee understands that Avon Grove is in the Ches-Mont National with powerhouses Downingtown West, Coatesville and Downingtown East. And even though the team went 20-42 in six seasons under O’Neill, the Devils were much more competitive than in the prior years.
For his head coaching debut, however, Coffee wants his squad to focus less on the opponent and more on itself.
“We can’t worry about who we play,” he said. “We are trying to get our kids to focus on us. Hey, nobody (in the Ches-Mont National) invented football. We’ve kind of adopted a ‘find a way’ attitude. We are not going to change who we play. That’s the easy way out.
“If something happened and we didn’t have to play both Downingtowns and Coatesville, hopefully we’d do really well. But in that scenario, you are going to have to play them at some point anyway.”
For 2020, Avon Grove has a couple proven skill players in Colby Riddell and Sean Glatts, a terrific tight end and a great kicker. There are, however, thin spots up front.
With Riddell running the football, the dynamic Glatts in the slot, and 6-foot-2, 220-pound tight end Josh Reuter, the Devils have weapons. You can also add 6-3 wideout Rowen Hershey to the mix.
“We have a good amount of skill guys back and they provide a lot of versatility,” Coffey said.
But the only returning starter along the offensive line is senior Bryan Cassidy. And the starting quarterback is still up for grabs between senior Raul Lopez and junior Connor Walsh.
“We need to stay healthy up front,” Coffey said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if we see both (quarterbacks) early on.”
Avon Grove should be better on defense, but quite a few key cogs are two-way starters. Like the 5-7, 165-pound Glatts, who is also the free safety.
“He is a kid that will probably never come off the field,” Coffey said. “I call him ‘Mighty Mouse’ because pound-for-pound, he’s really a tough kid. He’s kind of a throw-back kid.”
Senior captain Nate Belsiore is the leader of the linebackers, but the coaching staff is also high on junior Connor Clukey. The strength of the defensive line is on the edge with ends Reuter and Hershey. Nate Fish is another two-way lineman who will play.
“We are going to put the game plan in place and if we are wrong, that’s on the coaches,” Coffey said when asked about the defense. “But we don’t want to have our kids have to think because that will just make them that much slower. We want them to react.”
But the Red Devils most impactful individual performer could wind up being kicker-punter Bobby Smith. He is a four-star college prospect, and according to Coffey “can hit from over 50 yards.” He established the school record last season with a 49-yard boot.
