Mercury Football Preview: Experienced Pottstown poised for bounce back
It wasn’t the best football experience of their lives.
But they went through it together.
A year after taking quite a few lumps out on the football field, the Pottstown Trojans have picked themselves up and are ready to show they’ve grown from those tough times.
Following an 0-4 campaign during a season with anything but ideal circumstances, an experienced Trojans squad is ready to bounce back in 2021.
“I think honestly our biggest strength was defeat,” said junior offensive and defensive lineman Blaze Sensinger. “Last year, it was kind of like, ‘Yea, we got destroyed.’ There wasn’t much to say. This year we’re ready to put the work in. When people are ready and determined to be better, that happens.”
Pottstown’s 2020 season got off to a late start — even by the standards of last year’s abnormal, COVID-impacted season.
Read the Owen J. Roberts football team preview next here
By the time the school board approved the return of fall sports Oct. 1, all but one other PAC school had started their seasons or preseasons.
The Trojans’ 2020 campaign began with three straight blowout defeats before nearly knocking off Phoenixville in the final game of the season despite a multitude of injuries.
“Last year, we weren’t really prepared,” senior running back and safety Malachi Neely said. “This year everyone came in the summer, did what they had to do so we were ready for camp and ready for the season to start.”
Consistency and preparation is something Pottstown coach Jeff Delaney feels is different about this group in his third season as head coach.
Delaney took the job at Pottstown in March 2019 and said things like the weightlifting and conditioning program weren’t put in place until May of that year, leading to his team being a little bit behind when football season began in the summer.
Last year, after a promising winter and start to spring, COVID prevented his players from a full offseason and limited them to a condensed season and preseason.
The Trojans returned to the weight room — which they upgraded with fundraising and grants — in February and have had a full offseason heading into this year.
They also have all but two seniors and one transfer back from the 2020 team — a far cry from last offseason when Pottstown had to replace 15 seniors from a team that went 5-5 the season prior.
“Last year, everybody besides Malachi and the two seniors really hadn’t played before when we had 15 seniors,” coach Jeff Delaney said. “And this is the first real year for all of these guys where they’ve had a year to prepare, to get involved. … It’s the first time we’ve done it the whole entire time. The same language is there.”
Pick up The Mercury’s Thursday (Aug. 26) edition for the 2021 High School Football Preview
The Trojans graduated two important seniors in Jahzeel Watson (15 catches, 200 yards, TD) and Sincere Strimpel and lost another starter Jared Hewitt (Daniel Boone) to transfer. Other than that pretty much everyone else is back.
Junior quarterback Mason Miller completed 16-of-34 passes for 222 yards, one touchdown and an interception in his first season under center. Neely was second on the team in rushing with 20 carriers for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Even with a similar group, Delaney said there’s good reason to expect different results in 2021.
“Pretty much everybody is back this year,” Delaney said. “Offensively we only lost one starter. Pretty much, the whole offensive line is back. We put a couple different people in different spots. Same thing on defense. It’s the same names, a couple people have grown now or lost weight, moving around to different spots.”
With most of the players already familiar with each other, Neely — the most veteran player on the Trojans’ roster — said this is the closest team he’s been a part of during his time with the program.
“We’ve all grown mentally and physically stronger together,” junior offensive lineman and linebacker Gary Allan said. “Everyone has improved very well with their speed and working together. We all support each other when we need to on the field and off the field. We’re a huge family.”
The Trojans hope all the work they put and camaraderie built translates into results on the field.
“The mindset is really to just be better than what we were,” Sensinger said. “Everybody you can tell when they’re around if you’re going through the pain you gotta fight through it. It applies in the weight room and on the field. Even mentally when you want to give up.”
POTTSTOWN
Head Coach – Jeff Delaney
Key Returners
(2020 stats in parentheses)
Offense
QB – Mason Miller, Jr., 6-1, 180 (16-of-34, 222 yards, TD, INT)
RB – Malachi Neely, Sr., 5-11, 200 (20 carries, 110 yards, TD)
WR – Anthony DiPietro, Sr., 6-0, 180
WR – Nyles Bunn-McNeil, Jr., 6-5, 215
T – Josiah Wilson, Jr., 6-4, 290
G – Chris Chhern, Jr., 5-9, 195
C – Jestyn Snyder, Sr., 5-9, 230
C/T – Johnny Cranford, Sr., 6-5, 300
G – Gary Allan, Jr., 5-11, 245
T – Blaze Sensinger, Jr., 6-3, 255
TE – Gabe Hicks, Jr., 6-1, 185
Defensive Starters Returning:
SS – Malachi Neely, Sr.,
CB – Anthony DiPietro, Sr. ,
OLB – Nyles Bunn-McNeil, Jr.,
CB – Rashean Bostic, Jr., 6-2, 185
LB – Chris Chhern, Jr., (1 INT)
LB – Devon Green, Jr., 5-8, 185
LB/DT – Jamiere Williams, Jr., 6-1, 205
LB – Gary Allan, Jr.
DT – Blaze Sensinger, Jr.
OLB – Gabe Hicks, Jr.
Special Team Starters Returning:
K/P – Adam Green, Jr.
Key Newcomers
RB/DB – Chris Thomas, Fr.
WR/DB – Dillon Mayes, So.
DL – Future Lynch, Sr.
DL – Dylan Hampton, Jr.
