CARNEYS POINT – When you’re coming off an 0-9 season and have a new head coach on the sidelines, the only way to go is up and everything is wide open. That was the message Damian Ware conveyed when he became the Red Devils’ head coach over the winter.
The Red Devils struggled the last two seasons, winning just two games and going winless for the first time in modern memory last year, but seem to have embraced the idea of building something from scratch.
“We’re starting from the ground up, honestly,” Ware said. “We’re starting from scratch. Half the team probably hadn’t played football since they were 8.”
That’s because the feeder program has been on the shelf the last couple years until it was revived this year.
| PENNS GROVE RED DEVILS |
| Sept. 4- at Buena, 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 12 – Lindenwold, noon |
| Sept. 19 – Pitman, 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 26 – at Woodbury, 11 a.m. |
| Oct. 2 – at Pennsville, 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 9 – at Schalick, 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 – Woodstown, 11 a.m. |
| Oct. 24 – Clayton, noon |
Young Roster, New Focus
It is a young team with 16 freshmen, 15 sophomores and only three seniors – quarterback Brayden Lattig, running back Terrell Thomas and receiver Nehemiah Armstead.
But because they’re young, they’re moldable. There’s going to be a whole lot of teaching going on.
“The challenge is getting kids to understand how hard you have to work to be successful,” said Ware, who had been as assistant to each of the previous three Penns Grove head coaches. “That’s the main thing we try to preach, it’s the work. When you put the work ethic into it your results are going to come from it. We’ve been trying to get these kids back and get them more structure, more organization. The last couple years they’ve been all over the place, not putting the work in, not putting the effort in; that’s the main thing we’re doing, teaching them how to work.
“It’s not so much what we’re doing, it’s how you do it. It’s the how in everything and the why in everything. You can tell a kid what to do until you’re blue in the face but if they don’t understand why and how to do it … it doesn’t matter. It’s more about teaching. I tell them all the time you’ve gotta be a sponge and you’ve gotta soak things in the long term memory. We’re trying to get them to be sponges, take in all the information, get them an understanding of how to play the game more than just yelling and screaming at them and telling them what to do.”
Embracing Team Unity
The players have accepted the new approach and have embraced the expectations of being better.
“It’s been good,” defensive back Savior Allah said. “Last year everybody was trying to be separate players, not team players. I feel like we are together this season. It’s going to be a much different year. It’s a new year, we’re going to leave all that (from last year) in the past. We’re worrying about what’s in front of us.”
“We’re thinking big this year,” added JaKai Ingram, a returning first-team Diamond Division lineman and linebacker.
Finding an Offensive Spark
Defense was the Red Devils’ strong suit the last two years and is expected to be again this year with the likes of Ingram and Terrell Thomas at linebacker, Omari Robinson at defense end and Jerry Wooten and Allah in the secondary.
The trouble was an offense that couldn’t get going. The Red Devils scored only five touchdowns in nine games last year and came within a minute of losing a game 2-0. Ware expects more success this year with Thomas and freshman Jaivon Thomas in the backfield and a solid set of receivers and line. Ware calls Jaivon Thomas a “future phenom.”
“I feel we’re going to put more points on the board,” Allah said.
Quarterback Competition Underway
The key, of course, is finding a quarterback to run it all. They have three vying for the spot – returning senior Lattig, first-time junior Damion Robinson and freshman Avery Batts. Luckily, the Red Devils don’t have a Week Zero game so they have a little more time to figure it out before the games start counting on the record.
“Right now we’re working to get the quarterbacks up to speed,” Ware said. “They’re getting better. They’ll be rotating until somebody locks it down and takes it.”
Hungry for That First Win
The Red Devils already have gotten a taste of victory, having beaten Wildwood 31-6 in their game scrimmage last week. The real success will come when they win a real game.
When that happens, Ware said, “it will feel like relief, like, finally, they did it.” The players are looking forward to it and believe it’ll come sooner rather than later. Allah said they might even break out a song and get Ware to bust some of his salsa moves.
“We’re really looking forward to the first game, get that first win out the way and then go from there,” Ingram said.