Football
By GORDON GLANTZ
Casey Walsh describes his parents – Melanie and Tim – as the “two hardest working people” he knows.
That being said, come Sundays in the fall – and hopefully into the winter – the Walsh household is transformed from work to play.
That is, if you considered being fanatical about the Philadelphia Eagles – more than five decades removed from their last NFL championship -- a tension-free recreational activity.
“We’re big Eagles fans,” said the Hatboro-Horsham senior quarterback. “My whole family loves the Eagles.”
There were no teddy bears that he remembers. Walsh was likely handling a football when he was in diapers. Midnight green diapers.
“It’s the truth,” said the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week and H-H all-time passing yardage leader. “Ever since I’ve been alive, it seems like I’ve been playing, watching or thinking about football. I’m just all about it.”
His family’s tradition of following the Eagles has led Walsh to model his game after a player whose Eagles’ career began and ended before he was born.
That player is none other than the ultimate weapon, Randall Cunningham.
It is the reason he believes a true quarterback needs to be a dual threat.
It is the reason he wears No. 12.
Some of his contemporaries go to YouTube for music videos, but Walsh goes there to watch plays like Cunningham’s 95-yard touchdown pass to Fred Barnett after slipping several would-be Buffalo sackers in his own end zone.
“Growing up, for me, it was all Randall Cunningham,” he said. “I watch the highlights. He was so elusive and had a howitzer for an arm.”
Kid Gloves Removed
Perhaps H-H coach Michael Kapusta was watching old Cunningham clips himself when he decided to turn Walsh completely loose this season.
“He’s a weapon running the ball,” said the coach. “We told him that we were going to take the kid gloves off this year.”
That approach was fine with Walsh.
“I pride myself on my elusiveness,” he said.” I love running the ball.”
While it leads to electric moments, injuries are also a concern.
Those fears, though, are eased by Walsh’s natural instinct to avoid a pounding.
“He is a very tough player,” said Kapusta. “He is extremely quick. It is rare that he gets hit square. He’s just very elusive, very quick.”
No. 12 was called upon a few games into his sophomore year, when senior Jack Morris went down with an injury.
Walsh responded with two touchdown passes against C.B. South in his first start and then proved he was the program’s quarterback of the future the following week, leading a dramatic overtime win on the road at Quakertown.
He engineered a scoring drive before halftime and another at the end of regulation, forcing the extra frame.
“I definitely remember that, it was my second start,” he said. “(The other teams) may have seen a sophomore and said, ‘Who’s that little kid in there?’ But my own team caught on pretty quick, and that’s what really matters.
“I was never nervous. I always knew what I could do. But after that, it was like, ‘Wow, maybe I can really get this thing going.’”
But that would have to wait.
The Hatters had one of those years where they couldn’t catch a break a year ago, his first full year as a starter, but are on the right track in 2015. They lost their first three games, all non-league games against formidable foes, and are now riding a two-game winning streak.
“We definitely had a few tough losses in the beginning, but now we are doing better in our league,” said Walsh. “We are feeling pretty good about ourselves, but we have to keep it going. We have some seniors, but we also have some sophomores and juniors who are picking it up.”
While he sees himself as a leader by example, Walsh knows his role has evolved – just like his body has grown from 130 pounds as a sophomore to 165 at present – as a leader.
“It’s definitely different,” he said. “I know I need to step up, both as a senior and as the quarterback. Still, when the bullets are flying, my job is to be poised.”
Looking Ahead
When his idol, Cunningham, entered the NFL, he was still fighting the stigma of African-American quarterbacks making a mark at the highest level.
For Walsh, it is the preconceived notion that his size – he is only 5-10, several inches shorter than ideal, regardless of stats and records and will to win -- could prevent him from succeeding at the college level.
While it is too early in the process to see where the chips will ultimately fall, it would appear that Division III schools are a fallback plan for the desire to play at the Division II level.
“I don’t think of myself as being a small guy at all,” he said.
The problem is that schools might.
“He will play in college,” said Kapusta, “but his size is an issue. It could be Division II or Division III. If a Division II school takes a chance on him, they are going to get a good quarterback. He will be playing college ball somewhere next year. I know, for a fact, that a lot of coaches like Casey. Will he get offers? Probably not. But he will find a spot somewhere.”
With a solid B average, Walsh realizes he needs to factor in the academic landscape. It would be nice if a program runs a spread offense, for example, but a drawback if they don’t offer his major (he is shadowing a nurse for his senior project and is considering that as a career path).
“Division II is what I want,” he said, adding that he would play Division III “if it came down to it.”
Because the other option -- putting his lifelong passion of playing football on the shelf -- is not an option at all.
“I definitely want to play football,” he affirmed. “I would love to play Division II, but I definitely want to play in college.”
He is involved in no activities or sports, even though he is said to be a dominant player in Hatboro-Horsham’s intramural basketball league (his younger brother, Noah, is a basketball player looking to make an impact as a freshman at H-H).
“It’s all football for me,” he said. “I spend a lot of time training, or with the coaches. It’s all based around football.”
Said Kapusta: “He is football, through and through, for sure. If you go around the school, there is a good chance you are going to run into Casey Walsh throwing balls to any receivers he can find.
"He plays other sports for fun, but any time of year, Casey can be found on the practice field throwing passes to anybody that is willing to catch them. Additionally, Casey has dedicated himself to the weight room and the track to increase his physical power and speed, which has paid off greatly so far this season."
So focused on the moment, it was until between games earlier this season that he learned he was the school’s all-time passing leader.
“It was after a game, a few days later, when they added up the totals,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome. I’m not going to lie.”
That vibe is shared by his coach, who has watched him develop as much through hard work and determination as through obvious natural skill.
“Even back then, in the beginning, you could see he had an extra something,” he said. “He’s a gamer.
“It wasn’t all peaches and cream, but now we’re experiencing some success. This is kind of his story.”
