After a huge loss of starting players, the question on everyone’s mind was, would the Phantoms football team be any good this year? That question was answered when Phoenixville Phantom Football team went 7-2 Pac-10 and 8-4 overall. After graduating ten of the starters from last year, it was easy to see why Mr. Furlong, the head coach, was worried about this year’s season, but to his pleasure the season went well. He said, “I didn’t know how well the season would go and it ended up exceeding my expectations.” The team was headed by Mr. Furlong, along with assistant coaches Don Jackson, Dave Nester, Bubba Gray, Sean Arnold, Nick Rotondo, and Billy Thornton.

Possibly the team’s biggest accomplishment was qualifying for districts. The team was seeded eighth and in the first round they played Upper Moreland, the first seeded school. Mr. Furlong explained that, “The boys started off a little nervous, but once they saw they could play they did really well.” The team was up with only five minutes left in the game, when Upper Moreland ended up scoring a touchdown and winning the game. Although the loss was a big disappointment for the team, they came really close to beating the number one seed at districts. It was almost a really huge upset!

Overall, the boys played well as a team and they worked well together. The boys were able to sacrifice their individual goals and put their team goals first. Although they didn’t have team captains, they had game captains, but many of the players were captains often. They included Anthony Nattle, Abdul Kelly, Mike Cress, Dave Eggeling, and Will Killeen.

Some of the standout players this year included: Mike Cress, Anthony Nattle, Abdul Kelly, Vince Ciaverelli, Ricky Yenchick, Derek Ryan, Sam McQuiston, Dave Eggeling, and sophomore Tom Romano, who really progressed as quarterback. The seniors on the team were Anthony Nattle, Abdul Kelly, Dave Eggeling, Mike Cress, Khalil Ervin, A.J. Ryan, and Will Killeen. Senior Abdul Kelly commented on the season and gave some advice: “The season was good. It was just disappointing that we got to the same point this year that we did last year. Teammates: It’s been real. Work hard.” Senior Anthony Nattle was awarded the Sportsmanship award. The award was voted on by the referees who said that he had the best sportsmanship in the Pac-10. Anthony Nattle also commented on how the season went: “It was really surprising, because everyone was saying how we weren’t going to be good and we ended up being third in pac-10.”

The biggest challenge for the team was its small size. Numbers were small and there were a lot of positions to fill. The team consisted of only thirty-two varsity and JV players, which created the challenge of keeping all the players healthy and keeping everyone injury free. Luckily, the team was able to overcome this challenge, and none of the varsity players missed a single game all season. This dedication was definitely crucial to the success of the team.

Next year seems promising with many up and coming stars, including Ricky Yenchick, Vince Ciaverelli, Kenny Cenci, Tom Romano, Matt Viscuso, Derek Ryan, and Sam McQuiston. The experience that all of these players got this year should go a long way next year. Many of the juniors and sophomores show good leadership skills which will be important for making the playoffs next year. Mr. Furlong is confident that the team will make the playoffs next year and hopes they will also advance past round one. In order to accomplish these goals it will take off season commitment from the whole team.

The JV team gained a lot of valuable skills and playing time despite a 2-7 record. The freshman team had a lot of success this year with an 8-1 record. So congratulations to all three teams on a great season!

Posted by:
Rebecca McCulloch