Sophomore Gavin Sidwar brings experience, added muscle into Year 2 as La Salle’s QB

La Salle coach John Steinmetz couldn’t recall another freshman starting quarterback in his 45 years of coaching – only Gavin Sidwar last season.

The Warrington native immediately showed he was special. Sidwar’s first two passes in his debut against North Penn went for touchdowns and he finished the 37-28 win with 204 yards and four scores.

He played in six games as a freshman before getting sidelined with a broken collarbone early on against St. Joseph’s Prep. On the season he completed 68-of-108 passes for 651 yards and seven touchdowns while adding a score on the ground.

Now a sophomore, the game has slowed down and Sidwar is seeing the field better. He’s back and ready to be the centerpiece of the Explorers offense.

“It was a great learning experience for me playing as a freshman against the competition I played against,” Sidwar said, “but this year we want bigger and better things as a team. Obviously me as a player I want better things, but I’m just focusing on the team and what we can win as a team this year.”

Steinmetz sees the offense relying on Sidwar and the passing game to set up the run. The passing attack will keep defenses out of the box and allow running back Stevie Davis and company to capitalize on five-man boxes.

“He is wiser than his years,” Steinmetz said. “He’s fine. I’m not worried about putting too much on him.

“I like two things about him. Physically, he’s got a lot of tools, which is great. I like the way he works at his trade, so to speak, but then I also like his passion for the game and his passion to be successful. He doesn’t want to be individually successful – he wants the team. He’s really got a passion for making us a better football team and I think that’s a great leadership quality.”

“He has an arm and he definitely came out and saw the field,” Davis said, “which I think is huge for a quarterback. Another thing is – he can definitely take a hit. In that North Penn game last year, he had pressure in his face, took some hits and still made beautiful throws. The sky’s the limit for him. He has so much potential.”

Sidwar, who already has two Division I offers from Maryland and Virginia Tech, spent the offseason improving his game with two-time Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith and Level 82’s 7-on-7 team.

“That helped me a lot playing against the best talent in the country every week,” Sidwar, who put on 20 pounds heading into this year, said, “just playing football and being able to see the field against speed every week.”

“He’s trying to get bigger and stronger,” Steinmetz said of Sidwar’s improvements coming into this season, “but his command of the huddle and leadership around the kids… He’s doing a great job of trying to mature as a leader.”

The 6-foot-3 175-pound signal caller will kickoff his sophomore campaign Friday Aug. 25 when the Explorers travel to face North Penn.

STRONG UP FRONT

Sidwar has the benefit of playing behind an experienced offensive line. He’s got three returning starters up front with second team All-Philadelphia Catholic League Red Division selections in center Andrew Brennan and left tackle Lukas Donahue and another strong returner in left guard Tiernan McNichol.

“Our left side of the line is pretty solid,” Steinmetz said, “which is great. All three of those guys, especially Andrew Brennan, are leaders. Donahue and Tiernan are just leaders in their work ethic and how hard they worked all winter. Andrew is a natural-born leader. He does a great job.”

Davis also profits from the strong offensive line. The returning first team All-PCL Red running back gets to run behind the guys up front as he puts on an encore for his 711-yard, four-touchdown junior season.

“I can’t give them enough props,” Davis, who will be playing lacrosse at Penn in college next year, said. “They stayed pretty healthy all season long, knock on wood. Even if they’re banged up, they’ve never given up. They’re always solid. We can always count on them to get a push. That’s our strong side.”

“I can’t say enough about the leaders on this team,” Sidwar added, “especially the o-line and Stevie. They help every single day in practice leading. We know if we need a couple yards we can rely on them – rely on Stevie, Lukas, AB and Tiernan on the left side of the o-line.”

DEFENSIVE HURDLES

La Salle heads into the 2023 season already short-handed on defense. Kelby Hampton, a 6-foot-1 185-pound senior cornerback who earned first team All-PCL Red last year, will miss the season with a torn ACL.

“Unfortunately we lost Kelby for the year,” Steinmetz said, “which is a HUGE loss… Kelby’s a really good, all-league corner in a league with a lot of very good corners. He was just as good as anybody else. That’s going to be a big loss for us.”

Steinmetz pointed to defensive end Kieran Campbell, linebacker Dylan Clair and safety Chris Felippo as players he’s expecting big seasons from on the defensive side of the ball.