As Brice takes over WC Henderson, Warriors hope to regain consistent success
WEST CHESTER >> During the second week of training camp, first-year head coach Bob Brice sat with the leaders of his team in between practices, emphasizing the importance of consistent focus and energy.
Bad practices won’t get West Chester Henderson above .500 for the first time since 2016.
Brice, who was head coach at Chichester from 2019-2021, before taking an assistant role at Henderson last fall, is hoping to become a stabilizing force for the Warriors.
After Joe Walsh and Steve Mitten were the only Henderson coaches from 1992-2017, Brice is Henderson’s third coach in five years. Taking over for John Lunardi, Brice’s job isn’t so much to completely overhaul the culture, rather inject new life into it. Lunardi is still on staff, coaching safeties.
“I think what John did with this program the last three years was remarkable,” Brice said. “He was kind of thrown into the tornado in 2019 and the program was in a pretty bad place at that point. What he did and accomplished in that environment was absolutely tremendous. Together I think we picked each other’s brains to see where we were gonna put this vehicle in motion and he’s a tremendous asset and I’m happy to have him.”
Along with retaining Lunardi, one of Brice’s biggest staffing moves was bringing on Mike Costill as a strength and conditioning coach.
What started as a weight room partially filled while members of the team chose to workout elsewhere, transformed into a packed gym full of teammates cheering each other on and growing, physically and as a team.
“We really just formed together as a team in the offseason,” Henderson senior Cole Foster said. “As long as I’ve been at Henderson, we never had that before. We really came together, working day in and day out, really becoming a team, becoming that family and I feel like that’s reflecting great on the field because we have connection and chemistry and we’re moving as one now.”
The camaraderie will be important as it will be a team effort to find wins this season.
Foster will get carries at running back, as well as fellow senior, Tavis Wills, and underclassmen, Seamus Murphy, Danny Garcia and Jake Ball.
Junior Aaron Nelson won the quarterback competition and will be a first-time starter there. Junior tight end, Logan Goodwin, is a breakout candidate in the Ches-Mont League and could become a reliable weapon.
“Your success is my success, that’s what we like to say,” Goodwin said. “If one of us is doing good, we’re all doing good. As long as all of us are doing our 1/11th, we’re going to win.”
Goodwin will be a key contributor on defense, from the outside linebacker position and he likes the way the defense has been shaping up.
“We’re mean,” Goodwin said. “We’re aggressive. We’re violent. We’re going to hit.”
Henderson’s best players will be asked to go both ways, as Foster will play inside linebacker, Murphy will play cornerback, Evan Kearney is at safety and Mike Boden is a leader on both the offensive and defensive line.
“Mike Boden has really stepped up and kind of taken some guys under his wing and I’m really proud at how he’s stepped up like we asked him to,” Brice said.
With a 4-6 regular season record, Henderson made the District 1-5A playoffs last season, and while the extra game was a nice accomplishment, it hardly satiated the Warriors.
“Making it to playoffs was cool, but I’m not satisfied with that,” Foster said. “I know this team has the talent and the camaraderie to take it further than that and that’s my goal.”
The Warriors elected to play a second scrimmage in lieu of an opening-week game, but the extra preparation may be needed with a challenging September schedule. Henderson opens its season at West Chester Rustin and also has home games against Kennett and Downingtown West.
If playoffs are in the cards, the final stretch of away games against Oxford and West Chester East, which sandwich another challenge from Unionville, could determine the Warriors’ fate.
For now, October isn’t even a thought for Brice, as he embarks on a new chapter at Henderson.
“I think the kids have bought into what we’re doing,” said Brice. “The kids are playing hard and they’re being coachable so everything I can ask for.”
West Chester Henderson schedule
Fri., Sept. 2 — at West Chester Rustin, 7 pm
Fri., Sept. 9 — vs. Kennett, 7 pm
Fri., Sept. 16 — at Sun Valley, 7 pm
Fri., Sept. 23 — vs. Downingtown West, 7 pm
Sat., Oct. 1 — at Chester, 11 am
Fri., Oct. 7 — vs. Great Valley, 7 pm
Fri., Oct. 14 — at Oxford, 7 pm
Fri., Oct. 21 — vs. Unionville, 7 pm
Fri., Oct. 28 — at West Chester East, 7 pm
