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FORT WASHINGTON – Steve Amen has a simple philosophy when it comes to winning.
“You always have to expect to win,” the Upper Dublin senior said.”If you don’t go on the field expecting to win, you shouldn’t be out there.”
Amen and teammate Frank Yurick have been part of a winning program since they set foot on the varsity field as sophomores. The Flying Cardinals shared the American Conference championship with Wissahickon in 2007, and last year they were co-champs with Upper Moreland.
“We weren’t here years ago when they were 0-11,” Amen said. “The coaches always tell us about it, but we don’t know what it’s like.
“I don’t want to find out.”
“There’s no point in finding out,” Yurick added.
This year’s team has a decidedly different look than last year’s championship squad. Gone is all-everything running back Josh Mastromatto, who finished the season with a school record 25 touchdowns and is now playing at Kutztown University.
The Cardinals also lost quarterback Derek Gianetti (Ursinus), wide receiver Chot Kelly (Randolph Macon) and standout defender Mark Visco (Widener).
“It’s different, I’ll tell you,” Yurick said. “It is different, but I like it. I like what we have now.
“It’s not like last year. Last year we were a quick-score team, and our defense gave up a lot of points. This year we’re going to be one of those teams that drives down the field – running plays and short passes.”
“It will be more like two years ago,” Amen added. “Pound the rock and then play defense.
“You always miss the guys from last year, but it’s exciting for the new guys. It’s always fun.”
Several ‘new guys’ will be thrust into prominent roles, most notably sophomore Andrew Derr, who will call the signals at quarterback. Last year, Derr was the jayvee quarterback but received a varsity letter for special teams.
“He’s been in the mix a little bit, and I think that’s going to help us,” coach Bret Stover said.
“I’m really excited about our quarterback,” Yurick said. “He’s probably the second biggest kid on the team, and he has an arm that’s pretty fast.
“We also have a running back, Anthony Williams, who’s really good up the field.”
Several players saw spot duty on the varsity last season, including Brian Laskin, who played outside linebacker and tight end, and wide receiver/free safey Evan Saltzman, who filled in when Mastromatto went down in Upper Dublin’s playoff game against Conestoga.
But the responsibility for leading a young Flying Cardinal squad will rest squarely on the shoulders of the team’s two veterans – Amen and Yurick.
“We’re going to have to rely on them to carry us early,” Stover said. “We need them to bring our young players along.”
Amen and Yurick have embraced their new role as leaders.
“You have to have fun with it but at the same time you have to be serious,” Yurick said. “When it comes time to work, you have to give it your all, give it everything you’ve got and push these kids.
“You lead by example basically.”
Yurick says he took a week off after the Flying Cardinals’ season-ending loss to Conestoga in the opening round of the district playoffs last fall, and then he was back in the weight room. His goal was simple – win another championship.
“The last few years it has been a great feeling coming out Friday nights and winning games,” the senior lineman said. “We want to win the championship every year, and that’s our common goal right now. We’re a young team, a lot of inexperience. The most we have are four or five players who played varsity, but I think we can do it.
“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people like we did last year.”
Last year, the Cardinals returned just two starters from their 2007 championship squad.
“We think we have a nice blueprint of a program, and the kids are filling in nicely – doing what we’re asking them to do,” Stover said. “It’s up to us now as coaches to pick the best package for this group.
“What can they handle without overloading them? We’re trying to do that one practice at a time, one game at a time. That’s going to be our philosophy – to get better every day.”
Stover’s game plan for this year’s team is play for field position and don’t turn the ball over.
“We have a nice kicker in Casey Boyd, so we think we can play field position with most teams,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “We want to make big plays when we can, but it’s not going to be as much a part of our offense as it was last year with Josh, Derek and Chot.
“You can’t force it if it’s not there. It will happen, but it’s got to happen naturally. We’re going to have to rely heavily on our defense and special teams.”
Ask Stover the key to the season, and he has an immediate response.
“An early victory,” he said. “We have some tough teams in Perk Valley and Upper Perk early. We need something positive to happen before we hit our league because our league is loaded.
“There are some good backs – (Upper Moreland’s Chris) Smallwood, (Wissahickon’s Brandon) Gunn and (Myron) Ross. We need to get some momentum and confidence early.”
A strong showing in the team’s scrimmages when the Flying Cardinals’ defense allowed just one touchdown gave the young squad’s confidence an early boost.
“We had some success against bigger programs,” Stover said. “We were happy with the way we came out of those, but we need to get a whole lot better if we want to compete in our conference.”
The Flying Cardinals will travel to Perkiomen Valley on Friday night for their season opener.
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