To view photos of the Cheltenham/Wissahickon game, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Damin Finley lives by a simple philosophy, a philosophy instilled in him by his mother.
“My mom wasn’t ever a really big football fan, but she became a fan because her son played,” the Cheltenham senior said. “The number one thing she always stressed to me was that school came first and whatever I did to do it to the best of my abilities.”
Finley’s ‘best’ was nothing short of sensational last Friday night when the senior running back rushed for 290 yards and three touchdowns in Cheltenham’s 28-21 win over Wissahickon.
Angel Finley, who lost her battle with cancer on Aug. 17, 2008, wasn’t in the stands to watch her son’s dazzling performance, but it’s a safe bet she would have been immensely proud to see Damin putting into action the life lessons she taught him.
“I try to take what my mom told me and remember that every time I step onto the field,” he said. “I try to take what she taught me and just apply it to everything in life.”
Coach Joe Gro, for one, believes that Finley is simply reaping what he has sown.
“Damin worked incredibly hard in the offseason,” the Panthers’ coach said. “He did some things in the weight room with us that have been phenomenal.
“I like to believe we’re going to hopefully see a lot of him in the second half of the season because he’s worked very hard. I was proud of his efforts. When a kid works like that, you hope they’ll get something out of it.”
Finley is the most recent in a long line of outstanding running backs to come through Cheltenham’s program.
“We’ve had a lot of showcase backs,” Gro said. “A common trait in outstanding backs is they work harder than anybody else. That’s the common trait every one of them has – they’ve outworked everyone else.”
Finley has been a three-year starter for the Panthers. Last year, he rushed for over 1200 yards, and the Panthers were looking for even bigger and better things this time around.
The script didn’t exactly go as planned.
In the Panthers’ second game of the season against Bishop McDevitt, Finley – a two-way player – was injured during a frightening collision.
“I was on the defensive side of the ball, and I was going to make a tackle,” Finley recalled. “I had a head-on collision with a blocker.
“I became dizzy, and the next thing I knew I woke up in an ambulance and a guy is sticking a needle in me for an IV. It’s scary.”
Finley suffered a concussion and, as a precautionary measure, sat out Cheltenham’s game against Quakertown the following week.
“I felt fine,” he said. “I had a headache when I woke up that night, but the next day I felt fine. I had no headaches after that.”
Although he admits it was a frightening experience, Finley isn’t about to let the injury slow him down.
“I try not to worry about it,” he said. “I realize football is a game of contact. Things like this do happen. I just try not to think about it too much, just go out and play the game.”
In Friday’s win over the Trojans, Finley had TD runs of seven, 26 and 48 yards. His longest run of the night was for 64 yards, but that’s not what had Gro smiling.
“People go crazy about a 60-yard run,” the Panthers’ coach said. “I go crazy sometimes on five and six-yard runs when you do everything correct fundamentally – you move your feet, you lower your shoulder when you have to, and you make adjustments in your movements. Those are the things I look for.
“I’d love to have an 80-yard run every play, but when you do all the fundamental things, all the little things correctly, I’m happy. Damin did a lot of those things and had some eight and 10-yard runs which maybe a couple of weeks ago would have been a two-yard run. Those are the things that really made me happy.”
Finley admits he had a good feeling even before his first carry in Friday’s game.
“Before the game, I felt good,” he said. “I just felt relaxed and calm going into the game. We got our offensive line motivated before the game.
“They came out, and they blocked really well, opened up lanes for me to run and make the reads for the cuts I needed to make. From there, I just had to run my hardest.”
Finley’s big performance propelled the Panthers to a win that brought a halt to their four-game losing streak.
“We got off to a rough start this year,” the Panthers’ running back said. “To come out and have a successful night like that feels really good.
“Everyone is in a good mood – the team, the fans. We haven’t had that feeling in a long time, and to have it again felt really good.”
While the Panthers had a decidedly rough start this season, it paled in comparison to the start Finley’s junior season had when – during the middle of summer camp – he received word that his mother had been hospitalized.
“I was taken out of practice, and everything happened so fast,” Finley recalled. “She passed away a week later.
“I wanted to be there for my team, but knowing I had a sick mother – my coach understood that. It was tough trying to keep my mind focused on trying to have a successful football season and school year. It was a tough road, but I had a lot of support from my coach, my teammates and my family, and I was able to get through it.
“As time went on, it got a little bit easier. Even to this day, it’s still hard to cope with sometimes, but it’s gotten easier.”
Gro understands at least in part what Finley is going through.
“My father died when I was relatively young but not that young – I was in my 30s, and it was devastating,” he said. “I’m looking at a 16-year-old boy and how difficult that is.
“He went through the year coping with that, coping with a lot of things, and I was really proud of him. He handled it extremely well. Still, it’s just a year ago. He goes day to day. He still has some growing up to do, but I’m proud of a lot of things he’s done.”
Finley has his sights set on playing collegiate football. Temple, Pittsburgh, Villanova and West Chester have expressed interest in acquiring his talents.
“I’m speaking to a few schools,” he said. “I’m also considering prep school for a year to give myself another year of exposure.”
He also has to settle on a major – he is considering marketing, accounting or criminal justice.
For now, Finley is focusing on his final high school season, and he is hoping his team’s big win over Wissahickon will be a springboard for the remainder of the season.
“I think it can carry over not just my success but also the team’s success,” he said. “That game motivated a lot of individuals on my team, and hopefully that can translate to everyone else.
“If we come together, work hard and play as a team, we can have success.”
That success will undoubtedly begin with the Panthers’ star running back who is simply playing to the best of his abilities.
“I like to believe Damin gained some of his confidence back, is feeling better and is ready to run the second half of the season,” Gro said.
And that can only mean good things for the Panthers.
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