To view a sample of the preseason photos in the Photo Gallery, check out a YouTube slideshow in the video gallery by clicking on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/videos/all/11
FAIRLESS HILLS – The players are stone-faced as they go through the ritual of posing for preseason photos, but the moment after the camera shutter clicks, the fun begins.
Players – so sober just moments earlier – ham it up, striking poses that hardly suggest these same young men will be intimidating opponents around the league when they line up on the gridiron this fall.
This year’s Pennsbury Falcon squad, according to senior Josh Mitchell, is different than most.
“The team is real close-knit, and that makes a huge difference,” the Falcons’ defensive lineman said. “It’s not really a team – it’s more of a family, and that helps with everything.”
When the Falcon ‘family’ takes the field for Friday night’s opener against Conwell Egan, they will begin what they hope will be a memorable journey. Expectations run high for a Pennsbury program three years removed from capturing a district crown.
The players have every intention of erasing memories of last season when the Falcons took a 6-0 league record into their season finale against undefeated Neshaminy and fell by a field goal, 16-13.
“We worked hard last year, we worked really hard, and for them to come out and beat us by a field goal – it still angers me today,” senior Eric Williams said.
Williams – a preseason all-state selection at defensive back – is just one of many reasons why the Falcons are picked by football prognosticators to leave their mark in both the regular season and postseason.
“Eric played more defense for us last year, but this year he’s playing on both sides of the ball,” coach Galen Snyder said. “He’s the real deal.”
Williams, a Division One prospect who measures in at 6-3, 200 pounds – runs a 4.5 40, and his speed is evident even on the practice field.
Joining him on the offensive side of the ball will be junior Brandon Pepper, a dangerous weapon at quarterback. Senior Dante Devine, who also plays nickel back on defense, is a gifted running back, and the trio will provide a formidable challenge for opposing defenses.
“Brandon had a really good sophomore year,” Snyder said. “Dante played wing back last year. This year we’re moving him to fullback in our wing-t.
“Those three should be big playmakers for us this season.”
But the Falcons’ talent doesn’t end with those three skill position players. Senior Mark Ciotti, who plays strong safety, is a force to contend with as a kick-off and punt returner, and the Falcons boast plenty of horses on defense, including one of the district’s premiere heavyweight wrestlers in Mitchell.
“We came up together freshman year,” Devine said of a strong senior class. “We love football.
“We had so much fun freshman year, and we had a lot of success. We figured if we kept moving up every year, our senior year would be one of the best. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
The Falcons are motivated by the bitter disappointment of losing the league title in the final game of the regular season as well as a 2007 season they would like to forget on the heels of capturing a district crown one year earlier.
“The first year I played was 2007, and that was a really frustrating year – not reaching any expectations whatsoever,” said Ciotti. “Last year we had a lot of potential. “We were really upset that we lost the league championship and how we had all that talent and really didn’t get far in the playoffs. It was kind of upsetting, so hopefully we’ll bring it back up.”
The seniors recognize that they will play no small role in determining the fate of their team.
“It’s weird, it’s so weird,” said Devine of being a senior. “I feel like it was only last year that I was a sophomore. Now we’re seniors, and everyone is looking up to us.
“We have to set good examples. Everyone is going to follow our lead. We have to work hard, and hopefully the young kids will see it, and they’ll work hard too.”
“There’s a lot of leadership and responsibility,” Ciotti added. “It’s all on our backs to win because we’re the seniors leading the team. We’re the ones with experience. It’s a lot different.”
For his part, Williams has been accustomed to assuming a leadership role.
“Last year I was still the voice of the team, but I wasn’t that senior,” he said. “This year when they say – who’s the team captain, I step up.
“I want to be that lead guy, that role model on defense and offense.”
And if Williams is feeling the pressure that goes with his preseason all-state selection, he isn’t letting it show.
“I rarely feel pressure,” he said. “It just excites me a lot. It makes me come out and practice harder, lift harder to become a better person, so I can meet those goals.”
The Falcons will take their first step toward meeting their team goals when the 2009 season opens on Friday night.
“This is it,” Devine said. “This is the time, and we have to make the most of it. We all worked hard in the offseason. Everyone is dedicated, everyone put a lot of time into the season, and everyone wants to win.
“No one is off track. There are no weak links. Everyone is working hard.”
The players share a singular goal – to win a title.
“Every senior wants to win a state championship, and that’s our goal,” said Williams, who has his sights set on the top prize.
“We want to win the league and hopefully a district championship,” Ciotti said. “We want to beat Neshaminy always.”
“I know a lot of the Neshaminy players,” Mitchell added. “It always comes up that they beat us. Definitely this year we want to avenge that loss and come out on top. “
“I want a league title,” Devine said. “I want that one bad.
“I want to beat Neshaminy this year. I just want to have a lot of fun, a lot of success.”
For now, they’re taking it one game at a time.
“I have all the games circled (on my calendar) because all the games are big games,” Williams said.
And the big games begin on Friday night at 7 p.m. when the Falcons take on Egan.
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