By Scott Huff
Are you ready for some football?
The 2011 football season for both the Bensalem Owls and the Wissahickon Trojans will showcase a pair of new head coaches that have aspirations of turning around programs that have not enjoyed recent success in the Suburban One League.
Bensalem did not renew the contract of former head coach Dan McShane after a 2010 season that saw the Owls finish 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the SOL National Conference. Bensalem went 38-68 during the McShane tenure.
The new head coach is the former head coach of the Conwell-Egan Eagles – Kevin Kelly. Kelly resigned last November at Conwell-Egan after the 2010 season and was 52-55 in his nine-year stint as the head coach of the Eagles.
“It was obvious to me that a change was needed (at Egan) for both myself and the school,” said Kelly. “I knew that I wanted to still be a head football coach, and the Bensalem job was a unique opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. I was going to be a member of the Neshaminy football staff this season, but now I get a wonderful chance to do what I really wanted to do.
“Coaching in this conference with the quality of programs that are here is going to be a tremendous challenge,” added Kelly as the Owls will compete with the likes of Neshaminy, Pennsbury, Abington, and Council Rock South. “But right now we have to compete against ourselves to get better and get ourselves to that level.”
One player that is clearly at that superior level is senior Bill Labadie - a 6-foot, 4-inch – 250 pound powerfully built offensive and defensive tackle. Labadie has had letters of interest from Division One powers Wisconsin and West Virginia.
“I love to play the game of football – I love to be able to hit people,” said Labadie. “Being able to play on both offense and defense is great because I get to play as may plays as possible. I just have a heart to compete.
“Our goal as a team is to improve and be able to at least make the (district) playoffs,” continued Labadie. “The (coaching) change was a shocker, but Coach Kelly has been very straightforward with us and talked about us having a winning season.
“We play in a very good league, but I feel that we have the talent to keep up with them,” added Labadie. “And we have a coach that thinks the same way.”
Kelly clearly returns the respect to Labadie.
“Bill is a big and strong player and is without question our anchor on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball,” said Kelly. “He is a good leader who takes the time to speak to the other players individually and get them on the right track. He goes hard all the time and sets a great example for the rest of the team.”
Wissahickon head coach John DeSimone concluded his nine-year stretch at the helm with a 1-9 season. The Trojans – who finished with a 1-5 mark in the SOL American Conference – have not had a winning record in the last three seasons. Wissahickon was a District One playoff team with an 8-3 record in 2007.
The new head coach is last season’s offensive co-coordinator for the Trojans – Jeff Cappa. Cappa is a 34-year old who played quarterback for Clarion University and comes from a family where his father and two brothers also coach football.
“We came into this season with the idea of making a complete change in program,” said Cappa. “We want this to be a brand new feel – from the middle school to the high school. We want this to become an entire football program within the entire district.
“The biggest adjustment from being the offensive coordinator to the head coach is the responsibility from day to day,” added Cappa. “I will still be calling the plays, but there is obviously much more I have to deal with both on game day and every other day.
“We feel that we have a great opportunity to be successful in our conference this season,” added Cappa as the Trojans compete in the SOL American Conference with Norristown, Upper Moreland, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Upper Merion, and Upper Dublin. “The enrollment parity in our conference should give us a good chance to compete with those teams. But our mindset is to train to be the not only the best team in our conference, but the best team in the state.”
The amount of success this season for the Trojans may come on the play of superlative senior Anthony Delegall. The diminutive 5-9 inch – 160-pound running/defensive back had a terrific 2010 season with close to 1,000 yards rushing.
“I have some personal goals, but most of the goals I have this year are for the team,” said Delegall. “We want to win a league title, a district title, and a state title. Those goals are very hard to reach, but right now we are going to try and get them.
“We are being coached up really well by the new coaches,” added Delegall. “It seems like we practice a little harder, have more contact, and practice a little longer. Things have been different, and maybe, a little better.”
“Everyone knows how good an athlete Anthony is on the field, but maybe people don’t know what a tremendous leader he is off the field,” said Cappa. “Last season he was more of a quiet leader, but this season he is much more vocal as one of our five captains.
“He had really good numbers as a running back last season, and we will take advantage of those talents again this year,” added Cappa. “But he is a shut down corner on defense - in fact, he may be a better defensive back then a running back. And that says a lot.”
Bensalem and Wissahickonhad a morning scrimmage on Saturday, and both the Owls and the Trojans - as expected - had reviews in both the positive and negative columns.
“I thought we did a great job in the secondary getting to people and making tackles,” said Kelly. “And I thought that a few individuals played very well.
“But we had far too many problems offensively, and we wasted at least eight plays in the game situation part of the scrimmage,” added Kelly. “In the league we play in, we can’t let those issues continue.”
“I thought that we showed a lot of effort and showed that we were in good condition,” said Cappa. “We looked strong, we looked fast, and we looked like we were ready to play.
“But we have some concerns about missing assignments,” added Cappa. “But we have enough time to figure that out.”
The Owls will have a second scrimmage this Saturday as Bensalem hosts Central Bucks East. The Owls will follow with three non-league games – at Overbrook (9/2/11), against Pennridge (9/9/11), and against Archbishop Ryan (9/16/11). The Owls will open SOL National Conference play with a home game versus Pennsbury (9/23).
The Trojans will have a second scrimmage this Saturday as Wissahickon will travel to Phoenixville. The Trojans will follow with three non-league games - William Tennent (9/2/11), against Archbishop Ryan (9/9/11), and against Central Bucks West (9/16/11). The Trojans will open SOL American Conference play with a home game against Plymouth Whitemarsh (9/23/11).
Are you ready for some football?
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