With 30 seniors, veteran Conestoga finds strength in numbers

Thirty seniors dot Conestoga’s football roster this fall, many of them part of a hardhitting defense grateful to be getting one last shot at a high school gridiron career in 2020.

“We have experienced, smart seniors in the secondary, and very strong senior linebackers who are physical, downhill tacklers,” Conestoga head coach Matt Diamond said. “We’ve had a terrific turnout for the voluntary practices since July 1 — we’d get more than 50 kids week after week, all of them following the (CO

VID-19 safety) protocol. Our team is ready and so excited to have an opportunity to play this fall — even a small handful of games is better than nothing at all.”

The leader of Conestoga’s defense is senior middle linebacker Pat Nichols, who led the Pioneers with 45 tackles last fall during a 3-7 campaign. A two-way threat, the 6-foot,

200-pound senior will also line up at slot receiver and will handle the Pioneers’ punting chores. Nichols received second team All-Central League honors for his punting last fall.

“Pat won’t leave the field very often,” Diamond said.

Joining Nichols on the linebacking corps are two returning starters, seniors Fred Mucklow and Michael Ippolitti. The Pioneers’ secondary includes cornerback DJ Penske and free safety Michael Brosso. The latter received All-Central honorable mention last fall.

“Michael is one of our top tacklers, in my opinion,” Diamond said.

Other Pioneers slated to see playing time in the defensive backfield are seniors Max Austin, Travon Richardson, Joey Allen, Albert Marshall and James Baker.

Diamond said the Pioneers’ strength on offense is their speed at the skill positions.

“Our wideouts have been running clean routes, and our two quarterbacks have been delivering the ball accurately to them,” Diamond said.

The Pioneers’ top two pass-catchers are

Nichols and junior Peter Detwiler, who had a promising 2019 season.

“We’ll try to get the ball in (Detwiler’s) hands as often as we can,” Diamond said.

Sophomore Brody Eaton and junior Ryan Mackey will share the load at tight end. The Pioneers have two candidates for the starting quarterback position — senior Michael Costigan and junior Calvin Shirley — and Diamond noted that both have been performing well in practices. The running back chores will be spread among seniors James Condi and Nico Arbes, junior Chase Kelley and sophomore Jon Quici.

The Pioneers lost offensive linemen to graduation but return several experienced blockers, led by senior guard Connor Whitlow, senior tackle Isaiah Willis, senior center Dillon McGroarty and junior guard Richard Diaz.

Harriton snapped a 14-game losing streak last season by beating intra-district rival Lower Merion, 20-0, in Week 6, the Rams’ only win of the campaign. But many of the key faces from that squad are back.

Will Brannau, who split snaps under center a season ago, will assume the job full time as well as working at middle linebacker. The backfield duo of Daral Cresswell, who burned Ridley for a 100-yard game, and Teddy Molineaux is preserved. Brannau has those two plus Seth Fliszar, Max Copley and Nick Tevis to aim at in the passing game. Copley is a playmaker at linebacker.

Lower Merion endured a winless season, scoring just 72 points in 10 outings. They were shut out three times and scored a total of 32 points over their last six games, an amount only so high for sneaking 20 points past Upper Darby in Week 9.

The biggest figure, literally and figuratively, for the Aces is Phil Cook, a three-sport standout who at 6-3, 223 pounds will feature at tight end and middle linebacker. In a nod to the future, two of the team’s four captains — running back/linebacker Jay Zheng and quarterback/safety Jack Lledo — are juniors. Dshawn Jemison is the fourth captain; he’ll contribute on the defensive line and the offensive backfield.