Norristown hoping to carry momentum from 2021 into new season
Reclaiming momentum after a long period of time can be a big challenge.
In this case, it’s nine months. But that’s the task Norristown is taking on in preparation for the 2022 football season.
The Eagles put a satisfying stamp on 2021 by winning their final two games, putting the stop on an oh-for-the rest of the campaign. Picking up from that point this summer is very much in the team’s sights.
“We’re playing for each other, not being selfish,” Tyjon Giddens, a senior and two-way lineman, said.
The team is focused on reversing its 2-8 record (1-4 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division) from one year ago. The 2021 season was made even unique by the fact it started only a couple months after the program completed a COVID-influenced spring campaign.
“There wasn’t the commitment the past couple years,” head coach Joe Milligan noted. “We had injuries — starters were injured — and eligibility issues. We had a third-string quarterback (senior Chris Carter) playing at the end of 2021.”
The turnaround came on Oct. 22 when Norristown celebrated Homecoming by outlasting Boyertown, 33-28. The Eagles then finished off the season with a 29-0 shutout of Pottstown.
“That was the first game we were able to fight back,” Milligan said of the Boyertown contest, where his gridders rang up all their points to erase the Bears’ initial 21-point lead.
“The team put it together for Homecoming,” Giddens added. “We didn’t want to let them (fans) down. We were playing for the seniors and the people in the stands.”
One area of emphasis for Milligan is to make his players understand the importance of winning early and not letting up. That point was driven home by the team’s first game of 2021, in which the Eagles forced into overtime before ending in a loss.
“We stressed that the first game last year,” he said. “Winning that game probably would have changed our season.”
Norristown looks to have stronger players with the school’s weight room being available for use after almost two years.
“The weight room is back for the first time in two years,” Milligan said. “It was out of service from March 2019 to Jan. 2022.”
“We’re going to be strong, fast and big,” Bocar Dieng, a sophomore wide receiver/free safety, added.
Dieng and junior Rashon Giddens will be wideouts for an offense which lists senior Robert Miller and sophomore Brendan Farrell at quarterback. Meyon Ferrell, who rushed for 497 yards and three touchdowns in 2021, is at running back along with senior Jamal Griffin.
“He’s getting better every week,” Tyjon Giddens said of Ferrell.
The roster includes Julian “Jules” Arthur, a junior who’s worked at wide receiver and safety. Arthur was a second team All-PAC Liberty wide receiver in 2021, collecting a team-best 21 catches for 280 yards and four TDs.
On defense, Griffin and Farrell will be at linebacker. The secondary has Rashon Giddens at safety and Dieng, a second team All-PAC Liberty selection his junior season, at free safety.
“Defense is our strong area,” Griffin said. “We have a lot of toughness.”
“As a team, we’re stronger,” Tyjon Giddens said. “We have a lot of new guys. They give us depth, and they’re the program’s future.
Norristown will again open the season against Bensalem, making the trip to Bucks County Friday, Aug. 26. It will then continue the “Battle of the Bridge” tradition with neighboring rival Upper Merion, the non-divisional PAC game taking place on its home turf Friday, Sept. 1.
“We want them to come out and have fun,” Milligan said.
For Brendan Farrell, the focus is starting out and maintaining a season-long goal.
“We’re not going to let up. We’re going to play to the end,” he said.
