Allentown Central Catholic star headed to Maryland
In football, the best defensive linemen play with great certainty.
They know their mission is to get to the guy with the ball as fast as they can and let nothing get in their way.
It’s with that same straight-forward approach that Allentown Central Catholic all-stater Braheem Battles has made his college choice.
As early as six months before his senior season begins at ACCHS, Battles declared on social media earlier this week his commitment to the University of Maryland where he’ll get to play with his former Vikings teammate Lavon Johnson.
“It’s a no-brainer decision for me and my family,” he said. “It’s definitely exciting to get to play with a former teammate and I have already established a relationship with the Maryland coaching staff. Coach [Mike] Locksley and the rest of the coaching staff are trending in the right direction and they’re building an amazing program. I could definitely see myself being there. I don’t think there was really a runner-up in my decision.”
Battles has been an all-state selection each of the past two years. In 2023, he made 32.5 tackles and had a sack while getting a steady diet of double-teams from opposing offensive lines.
“He’s a great kid and he has a connection with Lavon, which I am sure had a lot to do with his decision,” said ACCHS coach Rob Melosky. “I’m fortunate enough to have been around Braheem since he was a freshman and it’s great to see how he’s grown and I couldn’t be prouder of him. He made this decision early and he got it out the way.”
Melosky said Maryland was the first school that reached out to him and offered him a scholarship.
“It’s a Power 5 school being in the Big Ten Conference and he wanted to give them an early commitment,” Melosky said. “With everything going on with the transfer portal and what not, he just wanted to make sure he got locked in. I think he’s going to do well. I know they recruited him as a defensive lineman like Lavon, but he’s also probably one of our best offensive linemen, if not the best. He has great feet for his size. I think he has the potential to play on either side of the ball even though he’ll be going in there as as defensive lineman.”
Melosky said he Battles has been doing a great job this offseason in the weight room and he’s also done outstanding work in the classroom.
“He’s staying on top of his academics and as we head more
into our offseason program we’re going to make sure his conditioning is where it needs,” Melosky said. “He’s a big boy and carrying a lot of weight so we need make sure we’re not going to put him in a situation where’s he’s going to be at-risk. We want to make sure he’s in shape and ready to go.”
Battles is listed at 6-foot3, 320 pounds. He figures to be an anchor for an ACCHS program that went 9-3 last season, and lost to Bethlehem Catholic in the District 11 4A championship.
Besides losing some significant pieces to graduation, the Vikings have also lost three expected returners to other schools. Standout wide receivers/ defensive backs Jareel Calhoun and DJ Kelly have both left. Calhoun is now at Plainfield High School in New Jersey and both Kelly and quarterback Antonio Fontanez have transferred to St. Frances Academy in Maryland.
Both Kelly and Fontanez spent just one year at ACCHS. Kelly transferred to Central from Bethlehem Catholic and Fontanez transferred from Liberty.
Battles, however, isn’t going anywhere. He intends to finish his scholastic career as a Viking.
“I want to give credit to my teammates because without them none of this would be possible,” Battles said. “We’ve constantly put in the work and competed with each other to get better and get to the next level. I have to thank Coach [Tim] McGorry, Coach Melosky, Coach [Geoff ] Laird, Coach Pags [Jamie Pagliaro] and everyone who has helped me on my journey. I definitely want to keep getting stronger and faster so I can keep up with the pace of the game when I get to college.”
As for the 2024 Vikings, Battles said he still has faith in the “guys we have here. It’s all about coming together and building the chemistry. We already have that and we’re just going to glue all of the pieces together.”
Battles said his late father, Andre Battles, was a football player in Philadelphia and like his dad, he has come to love the game.
“His leadership and the things he has done outside the program have made us proud,” Melosky said. “He’s a solid kid and he has a little brother coming up that we’re excited about. I credit his mom for doing such a great job. His father died when he was a freshman so I give him and his mom a lot of credit. It has been a journey for him, and he has had some adversity to overcome. But he’s such a solid kid. If we had a lot more guys like him, we’d really be in good shape.”
ACCHS will begin the 2024 season against Trinity High School of Camp Hill on Aug. 23 as a new-look Eastern Pennsylvania Conference will come into focus that allows each school to play three nonleague games.
The official start of practice is Aug. 5.