Coaching football at the high school level is markedly different than at the college or professional level. Not only do you have to come up with game plans for each opponent, but you have to instruct, nurture and motivate young, developing athletes.
Not to mention, maybe most importantly, you do not get to pick your players. In high school, you are at the mercy of enrollment.
The smaller schools have the biggest problem as injuries or defections mean that you actually lose two starters when a player goes down because that player likely plays both offense and defense.
One of those small schools is the Kennett Blue Demons, who only have a 41-player squad this season. Kennett does not have two of its best players, seniors Jon Pardo and David Lillis, who are both Division 1 athletes in other sports.
The pair is concentrating on their main sport in their senior year. One would expect the Blue Demons to be at the bottom of the Ches-Mont League American Division a year after they won the division tile for the first time in 2022.
Not so fast. The coach is former NFL and Canadian Football league player, Lance Frazier. He saw time with the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys before heading to the CFL. The mere fact that Frazier in charge of the program suddenly levels the playing field for the Blue Demons.
They were a moribund program until Frazier arrived in 2018. He took them to a 9-1 mark in 2019 and has led the Blue Demons to their first district playoff wins and their first American Division title last season. This season has seen Kennett post a 2-1 mark after three games, the last win a 15-14 second-half comeback over West Chester Henderson.
Not only does Frazier and his staff expertly prepare the undermanned Blue Demons week in and week out, the staff motivates and does not let the players feel down about the small numbers on a roster that features just five seniors and has 18 freshman playing significant minutes in an unforgiving Ches-Mont League.
I do not personally think the Blue Demons can repeat as Ches-Mont champions because West Chester Rustin looks to have another of its many strong teams under head coach Mike St. Clair. The two teams clash on a very short week for the Blue Demons and Golden Knights, who both played last Saturday and will come back on Thursday.
Frazier knows there will be more games to play. When you have a roster the size and senior challenged like the Blue Demons, you take no one for granted, but the Rustin game is a very big one that may very well decide who wins the American in 2023.
Frazier is one of the best coaches not only in District 1, but the entire state. What this staff has done is nothing short of impressive. Not known for having a very strong feeder program, Frazier has put Kennett football on the map. And he does it without the slightest bit of big timing anyone, where he could because of his professional resume.
No, Frazier does it for the kids, not himself. After the comeback against Henderson, he told his kids how proud he was of them and how hard they fought and clawed their way to the win. There were no lamentations about who was not on the roster or how small the numbers are. No feeling sorry for themselves.
No, Frazier was teaching them about how to overcome the obstacles life will throw at them.
He talked to the kids about keeping their heads up and persevering and staying together and keep working for each other. He was teaching and coaching more than football. Not only has he put Kennett football on the map, he has taught his kids to fight and claw for the entire 48 minutes, no matter the obstacles they will face.
They may not be able to hang with Rustin and powerful Downingtown East, the following week. But know this, under Frazier, the Blue Demons will not quit. They will not roll over and run away from adversity. They will also conduct themselves in a manner that will bring pride to anyone who calls themeselves a fan.
People said that you cannot win football games at Kennett because there are too many obstacles. And for the first four coaching staffs, those people were right. But, Frazier never ran away from a fight. That is why he played Division 1 football at West Virginia University and in the NFL and CFL. He is teaching the kids to strive to be the best players and best people they can be, no matter the obstacles.
For that, I will say that the program is in good hands and is one of the best in the state. No matter how young or small the roster is. Leadership starts at the top and Kennett has the right man leading the young men.
Peter Di Giovanni covers scholastic football for the Daily Local News. He can be reached at p
