Football
Favorite athlete: Vince Wilford
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Beating Garnet Valley in the second round of the district playoffs.
Most embarrassing/funniest memory while competing in sports: My brother cartwheeling down the field for a 15-yard penalty.
Music on iPod: Country
Future plans: Be rich and successful
Words to live by: “It’ll be alright, keep moving forward.”
One goal before turning 30: Build my dream house and start a family.
One thing people don’t know about me: I can fix anything.
By GORDON GLANTZ
Perhaps it was poetic justice that Jake Clark’s long association with the Abington High School football team ended on Thanksgiving Day against neighborhood rival Cheltenham.
Clark had a lot for which to be thankful.
His time with Abington, dating back to serving as a game-day ball boy while in grade school, became a dream realized.
But that does not mean there wasn’t a bittersweet feeling when the clock hit zeroes.
“I don’t like it all idea,” he said, prior to the finale. “I was just talking to my father about it, saying how weird it was going to be, not going to after-school lifting after doing it every day for four years. I’ll still be lifting, yeah, but I’m not a part of the team anymore. It’s going to be different.”
Clark is currently undecided about playing football in college. Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster County is a strong option, but he may feel ready to take his carpentry skills into the construction field.
Alas, there is always a possibility he may never wear the pads again.
Be that as it may, he will no longer be suiting up for Abington after prepping for the time and making the most of it when it arrived.
"His association here has been a long one," said one of Clark's biggest fans, that being his coach, Tim Sorber. "And it ends Thursday."
Clark has been a true rarity for larger schools. He has been a starter on the defensive line since his freshman year and a two-way lineman the last two seasons.
“He is big reason why we have enjoyed a lot of success,” said Sorber, who believes Clark has the ability to play at the Division II, state-school level and was proud to announce that Clark was named all-league first team on both sides of the ball. “From week to week, he has played at a high level on both sides of the ball."
Sorber, a standout lineman in his days at Abington, estimates that Clark played around 100 snaps a game since becoming a two-way starter, making him one of just three such gladiators in the Suburban One League's National Conference.
"It's very uncommon," said Sorber. "It doesn't happen a lot, and that's because it's very difficult to do."
All things considered, Clark -- who actually slimmed down to 250 pounds (from 285), a better proportion to his 5-9 frame, to handle the rigors of being a two-way horse -- wouldn't have had it any other way.
It has it minuses, but also it's pluses.
"It can drain you, but you also stay in the game," he said. "I grew to like to it."
Up to a point, of course.
Clark looked forward to breathers, and a chance for some Gatorade, when the special teams plays were happening.
That was until the three-game stretch this season when he was called upon to fill in for the regular punter.
Answering the call, though, was not an issue.
"If you have the right mindset, you can do it," said Clark.
And the right mental approach helped him to be an ideal leader for the Ghosts.
"It comes down to a desire to win," he explained. "I have lost 11 games in a Ghost uniform the last four years. I have been down in the dumps, and as high as you can be.
"I don't want to lose."
That it is certainly obvious to Sorber.
"He enjoys football," said the coach. "It's fun for him.
"For me, it makes coaching a whole lot easier."
What has impressed Sober is that Clark's commitment to football was maintained while working 40 hours a week in the summer at the township's public works department.
"He still never missed a workout," said Sorber. "His commitment and effort translated to his leadership skills.
"He is not afraid to talk to people. Leaders can't just be rah-rah guys. He'll get in a kid's face. At the same time, he'll give a kid a pat on the back. He's not afraid to do that, either.
"Winning and playing mean a lot to him, and he expects everybody to play the same way at all times."
Clark, who credits his parents -- Tim Sr. and Joyce -- with instilling a work ethic in him, says he began his Abington football odyssey going for broke.
"When I was a freshman, going into it, I just decided to go all out," he said. "I worked hard and put on weight going into my freshman year."
That translated into a starting spot in the defensive line, helping to fill a void created with his older brother, Tim Clark Jr., graduated after anchoring the line at nose guard.
What contributed to his readiness to immediately uphold the Clark name?
"I grew up playing pick-up games," Clark reflected. "I got beat up by my brother and his friends. But no matter how many times I got knocked down, I always stood back up again."
While brothers will always be brothers, and sibling rivalry goes back to Cain and Abel, the Clark boys share a special bond.
"He gave me a lot to watch and learn and look up to," he said. "Not much has changed. I always watched film with him. He hasn't missed a game."
And when the games end, whether it is now or after some college ball, there will always be the memories.
"He is one of the best players I have ever coached in my 14 years of head coaching," said Sorber. "Most of all, I will be forever appreciative of Jake's commitment, leadership, effort, and fun he has brought to the Ghosts Football program in his four years of playing."
