FURY TO FAITH
After an offseason of controversy, first-year coach Steve Beatty and Fleetwood expect to keep winning
The circumstances surrounding Steve Beatty’s arrival as Fleetwood football coach were hardly ideal.
He stepped into a bubbling cauldron of controversy after a popular assistant coach was turned down for the head coaching job, causing unrest within the Tigers football community.
Beatty was hired in late April, a month into the coronavirus outbreak. It was nearly three months before he met and could evaluate his players in person.
No problem, said the pragmatic, 60-year-old, retired postal worker.
“Nobody ever gets an ideal job, do they?” he asked rhetorically. “You always walk into either a really bad team or a bad situation. I got very lucky. I got a good football team. I could’ve gotten a job where I got a doormat. I don’t (have that); I have a very good football team.”
Indeed, Beatty takes over a program at its zenith. After nearly two decades of mostly futility, the Tigers broke through with an 8-3 record a year ago and reached the District 3 Tournament for the first time.
Eleven starters return from that team.
That’s a large reason the Fleetwood football community didn’t want to see the positive momentum get interrupted. When head coach Sean Gaul resigned following the season they wanted offensive coordinator Matt Hoffert, who engineered the league’s No. 1 offense, to take his spot.
It would have made for an easy transition, and the school administration supported Hoffert’s hiring. These kind of things are usually rubber-stamped; this one wasn’t. Hoffert was rejected by the school board.
The fact that someone with virtually no high school coaching experience ended up with the job further fueled the anxiety.
In the months since Beatty has done his best to quell those fears and win over the players. They may have been uneasy at first but everyone appears to be on the same page now with the season set to kick off Sept. 18 against Conrad Weiser.
“It was a little shaky at first,” admitted senior guard Addison Boice. “We were upset about the situation, and not sure about the new coaches until we got to know (them) and started practicing. (Our) confidence is high (now); we believe in our coaching staff.”
“We have a real positive, upbeat vibe,” Beatty said of his approach. “(We want a) confident team. That’s the way we run things. We’re constructive, and (the players have) taken to this.
They’re very comfortable with us at this point. They’re starting to trust us.
“It took a little while; they were used to doing things a certain way. They’ve seen the interest the coaches have in making them better, and I think we’re coming together. We’re getting that football family (feel).”
The Tigers felt the pinch of graduation, losing seven allleague players, including quarterback Charlie Maddocks.
Maddocks and his younger brothers, Owen and Tanner, were at the center of a rapid turnaround that saw the Tigers go from 2-8 to 8-2 in the regular season.
Charlie threw for 1,692 yards, third-most in the league, and played with a swagger that lifted the guys around him.
He’ll be replaced by Tanner, an all-league pick at wide receiver as a sophomjore. He’s bigger, a better runner and has a bigger arm than his brother. Coaches on last year’s staff already were raving about his potential at quarterback, saying: “Wait till you see this kid.”
Beatty echoes those thoughts. “He’s sharp,” Beatty said. “He’s been groomed for years to play. He’s got a cannon, this kid. Not taking anything away from Charlie, but this is a kid that’s a natural.”
Tanner Maddocks will have plenty of good targets. Owen Maddocks shared the team lead in receptions with him last year at 25. Wes McCalpine averaged 25 yards on his 16 receptions. Matt Peirce averaged 22.8 yards per catch.
“He’ll be good,” said Owen Maddocks of his younger brother. “I have confidence in him; he’s a good quarterback.”
“We expect to be up at the top of the county in passing,” Beatty said. “That’s not hoping; that’s our goal. We’re gonna pass the ball a lot.”
It will take more than that for the Tigers to produce another winning season. They allowed 35, 49 and 44 points in their losses to Wyomissing, Berks Catholic and Conrad Weiser, all winners in the playoffs.
“Our No. 1 priority is defense,” Beatty said. “Defense is what cost them a playoff game last year (to Weiser). (Allowing) 23 points a week doesn’t cut it when you get to the playoffs. We have got to get down to around 18; that’s our goal. They’re buying into it, but we have some work to do there.”