Football Preview: Ewing, Cardinal O’Hara hoping to rebuild around unified line

MARPLE >> The opportunity to coach the football team at Cardinal O’Hara had swung open, and Mike Ewing Jr. knew he was prepared.

It wasn’t just because he had been on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Ridley, which had just enjoyed a satisfying season.

It wasn’t just because he had learned while on the staff at Academy Park under head coach Jason Vosheski, one of the most respected coaches in Delaware County and beyond.

It wasn’t because he was a captain at Ridley under coach Ralph Batty, or that his late father, Michael Ewing, was a longtime assistant at O’Hara.

It wasn’t even because his legendary grandfather, the late Bob Ewing, once coached O’Hara to three Catholic League championships.

It was because of all of that that the younger Ewing has become the first-year curator of a program he’d spent a lifetime appreciating.

“I grew up here,” he said, before a nighttime training camp practice. “Obviously, I went to Ridley, but when this job came open, it was a no-brainer. So I put my hat in the ring to see what would happen. I know there were a lot of good candidates, and I was fortunate to be selected.”

Now?

“This place,” he said, “can be a sleeping monster.”

Since it had been under his grandfather and others, Ewing knows it is possible. But the Lions were 3-6 last season and 6-14 over the last three, suggesting that the rebuilding will require more than nostalgia in the ever-competitive Catholic League.

“We have a lot of good coaches here who are putting the time in,” Ewing said. “And the kids are doing everything we ask. It’s going to take some time because we are so young. But it is a matter of time.”

Through camp, the O’Hara coaches were trying to choose a quarterback. That freshman John Welde and sophomore Jay Borelli were high in the mix hinted Ewing intends to rebuild with patience. While no projected Lions starter played one offensive snap last season, 6-4 left tackle Nate Kutufaris, 6-0 guard Kendan Temple-Hudson, 6-2 Dillon DiBattista, 6-1 Edmund Wisseh and 6-6 right tackle Joey Gillin are large enough to plow running room and provide pass protection.

“All five of us have to be together,” Wisseh said. “We’re learning that right now. We’ll see how it goes, but I definitely like the way we look. It’s a really athletic offensive line. Guys came from a lot of different positions to play on the offensive line, and I think that is going to help us a lot this year.”

Wisseh, an honorable mention defensive line All-Delco as a junior last season, will anchor an attacking-style defensive system Ewing plans to import from his years at Academy Park. That will include versatile senior Xavier Tran, returning senior linebacker John Shelton and defensive backs C.J. Stolzer and Gavin LeSage, whose junior season ended early due to a knee injury.

“We have a great team coming in,” said LeSage, who will share captain duties with Wisseh, Stolzer and Shelton. “I think we’re looking good with the new coaches. We all like them. They are great coaches. And it’s one big family.”

Sophomore Khalil Epps, a 6-1 transfer from Ridley, will help supply points as a wide receiver. Notable two-way newcomers will include running back and linebacker Kobena Okyne, linebacker and running back Connor Myers, tight end Ethan Schulcz, linebacker Sidique Kamara, lineman Hakeem Allah, wide receiver and defensive back Logan Laloney, running back Exavier Torres and back Zion Knox.

“I just think everything has to gel together,” Stolzer said. “We are still getting used to playing with each other. But if we can all mesh and play well, I think this season’s future is bright.”

It has been done before at O’Hara, not just generations ago, but as recently as 2016, when the Lions were 10-1 under previous coach B.J. Hogan.

“You hear about how dominant O’Hara was,” Shelton said. “That’s why Coach Ewing is here, to try to get back to that. That’s the goal. We want to be that dominant force in the PCL and in Pennsylvania. We want to put O’Hara back on the map.”