Check back tomorrow for Scott Huff’s ‘Players to Watch’ in the SOL National Conference. The American Conference will be highlighted on Thursday. Check out WNPV's North Penn football preview at the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/videos/all/99
By Scott Huff
Quakertown senior Jake Swearingen should be a dominant player this season in the trenches of the Suburban One League Continental Conference.
The 6-1 inch 230-pound offensive guard and defensive end will anchor both lines for the Panthers. Swearingen earned first team all-conference honors last season for Q-town as a defensive lineman.
“The juniors on last year’s team have waited their turn and are now ready to take over the leadership of the team,” said Quakertown head coach George Banas, who served as the Panthers’ defensive co-coordinator for the last five seasons before assuming the head coaching job this year. “Jack is one of those leaders both on and off the field.
“We have a core of players that have played together for the last three years, and with the loss of 24 seniors they are going to have to step up,” continued Banas. “Jack comes back with both the maturity and the experience to make a difference. We will count on him.”
Swearingen can be counted on both on the football field and in the classroom. The talented lineman is also academically talented and has considered Cornell, Lafayette, and Bucknell as most likely collegiate choices.
“As a team captain, one of the best examples I can show is by getting good grades in school,” said Swearingen. “I also feel that it is important to behave myself and be polite. I want the community to respect what we do on and off the field.
“We want to be a football team that plays hard every play, and we want the other teams to look up to us and admire the way that we play the game,” added Swearingen. “We always need to remember to work on the little things.”
Swearingen does not foresee any problem with the transition of former head coach John Donnelly to current head coach Banas.
“We changed our strength and conditioning some,” said Swearingen. “And with Coach Banas we might focus a little more on the defensive side of the ball.
“But Coach Banas was here last year, and so were most of the coaches,” added Swearingen. “The change has been comfortable.”
The change may be comfortable to Swearingen – but Quakertown’s opponents in 2010 will still have to deal with the hard knocks provided by the Panther captain.
North Penn senior running back Craig Needhammer remembers back to a time when he was a sophomore and stole the spotlight late in the season during the Knights’ run through the playoffs.
“I had a great role model in (captain) Tyler Smith,” said Needhammer, who will be one of the North Penn captains this season. “Right now I want to be the type of player that the younger players can look up to.
“Football is all about ‘team’,” added Needhammer. “If we go to Hershey and win the state championship – and I don’t score a single touchdown all season – that would be fine with me.”
But don’t expect that to happen.
“We expect Craig to be the man this year,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “He is a great running back and a great leader.
“We expect that he is going to be able to make the plays for us offensively,” added Beck of his 5-6 inch, 165-pound back. “And he is also going to be able to help us on the defensive side of the ball.”
Needhammer will start in the Knight defensive secondary at strong safety.
“Craig has a nose for the football and is a good tackler,” said Beck. “He is also very smart and always seems to be in the right position.”
Needhammer racked up some impressive numbers last season as the featured back in the North Penn backfield. He rushed for 1520 yards and 26 touchdowns and added three TD receptions for an additional 230 yards.
Both Needhammer and Beck want to be in that title game in Hershey at the conclusion of the season.
“We have to play one game at a time and continue to get better every week,” said Needhammer, who hopes to continue his football career on a Division II level next year. “If we do our job every night, there is no reason why we can’t end up playing for a state title in Hershey.”
North Penn opens the season with defending state champion LaSalle – at home – on September 3.
“We want to win the state title,” said Beck. “But first we need to beat La Salle.”
Central Bucks East senior running back Justyn White is more than energized for the 2010 season to begin.
“Football at CB East has made a complete 180 with Coach (John) Donnelly as the head coach,” said White in reference to Donnelly who became the Patriot head coach after a successful tenure as the head coach at Quakertown. “We have a new energy, a new attitude, and the feeling that we are going to be successful.
“We never really felt that we had a chance to compete for a championship, or even a (district) playoff spot,” added White. “But both are definitely an option for this team.”
White’s glowing words about his new head coach are matched by Donnelly in regard to White.
“I knew all about his accomplishments on the field, but he is just as great a kid off the field,” said Donnelly. “Justyn is a great player who can do a lot of different things to help your football team.
“Last year teams were able to put a bulls eye on him” added Donnelly as White was the back in a one-back offensive set. “We are going to try and support his talent by getting some other people the ball.”
White rushed for a team-high 1400 yards last season and scored 10 touchdowns.
“Justyn can be just as dynamic on the defensive side of the ball,” said Donnelly as White mans a linebacker spot in the starting lineup. “He is hungry to get to the ball and just as hungry to win.”
It is an appetite that both White and Donnelly hope will be satisfied.
Other Suburban One Continental Conference players to watch include … Joe Stolfi (Souderton), Brandon Cope (Pennridge), Rashaad Williams (Central Bucks West), Ralphie Reeves (North Penn) and Matt Johns (Central Bucks South).
- Log in to post comments
0
