H.S. FOOTBALL FAN GUIDE: WEEK 5’S BEST BET, BEST START AND MORE
Damian Garcia latest in long line of school’s elite running backs
Damian Garcia knows all about lineage of great running backs at Saucon Valley.
Evan Culver, Alstan Wolfe, Zach Petiet and Ian Csicsek are among the Panthers who have had success on the ground in the past decade.
Garcia learned from Csicsek to keep pushing, to keep fighting for yards.
Four games into his sophomore season, Garica is doing it well.
He is second in the Colonial League in rushing with 626 yards on 59 carries, an average of 10.6 yards per carry, and coming off a 246-yard effort against Salisbury.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Garcia also has five touchdowns for a 3-1 team that has bounced back well from an opening loss to Southern Lehigh.
The Panthers, who have played in five consecutive District 11 championship games, travel to Northern Lehigh Friday night in one of the best matchups on the Week 5 schedule.
Garcia has made Brad Trembler’s first season as Saucon’s head coach enjoyable. His emergence is not totally a surprise since he gained 293 yards on 39 carries in a backup role last season and going over 100 yards in a game twice.
“He was a JV running back last year and he did very well on the JV level,” Trembler said. “But when he got time late in [varsity] games, he showed flashes. So we expected a lot of out of him coming out of the gate even though he’s so young.”
Trembler said Garcia was tentative early in the season.
“His athleticism and his speed are his best assets,” Trembler said. “He’s one of our most fluid athletes. The last two weeks he has gotten a lot of tough carries between the two tackles …”
Garcia and the rest of the Panthers backfield has been operating behind an offensive line that had some holes to fill.
“In the first three weeks, we didn’t have one guy who was starting in a position where he had ever started before,” Trembler said. “But it’s a good line with some upperclassmen and not a lot of experience, but they’ve done a phenomenal job and coach [Ed] Chromczak does a great job getting those guys prepared.”
Nick Warnke, a senior who waited for his chance, has played well as has David Osman, a two-year starter at center who is now at left guard. Evan Deily is back after recovering from a severe elbow injury. Cody Sweeney, Eli Deily and Bobby Yovish are all creating holes for a ground game averaging 326 yards per game.
Garcia said he’s just trying to get better.
“As a freshman, I had a rough start, but got my carries and tried to rack up some yards,” he said. “This year, I’m just trying to prove myself. I’m fortunate to have such a good offensive line and the chemistry has gotten better and we’re just like family out there.”
So far, so good: Trembler, an Emmaus High and Millersville University product who coached for seven seasons while working at one of the sports books in Las Vegas, has adjusted to the role of head coach after one year on the staff previously run by Phil Sams.
“We laid an egg in that first game against Southern Lehigh,” Trembler said, referring to a 45-13 defeat on opening night. “But Southern Lehigh is good, physical and they get after it and they get after you. We knew coming in that we’d get better as the season goes on with such a young and inexperienced group. That’s what they’re doing … getting better every day. Our last game has been our best game as we’ve gone along.”
Trembler said being a head coach comes with its challenges and added that it’s everything he thought it would be and “maybe a little more.”
“I’m learning something new every day,” he said. “The kids are putting in the work and playing hard. We’re happy with where we’re at.”