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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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PDS Football Pounds Bound Brook; Sees Win as Sign of Things to Come
By Bill Alden
In the view of the Princeton Day School football team, its 0-2 start this season didn't accurately reflect the quality of the squad.
"We knew we were close to being a good football team," said PDS head coach Bruce Devlin, whose club had fallen 27-21 to Morrisville and 9-7 to Dwight Englewood in its first two games.
"In our first two games we made mistakes. In the game against Morrisville a fumble and a key mistake on a pass play hurt us."
Last Thursday, the Panthers gave compelling evidence of their potential as they dismantled Bound Brook 34-0.
"We ran the ball well, we played good defense, and we blocked three punts on special teams," said Devlin, whose club jumped out to a 20-0 lead and never looked back after breaking into the win column.
"We played all four quarters. The players were real happy after losing two games that were so close."
Devlin is happy to have precocious freshman Clint O'Brien at quarterback. The 6'2, 180 pound O'Brien has shown flashes of brilliance as he has adjusted to the responsibilities of his position. In the win over Bound Brook, he ran for three touchdowns.
"Clint's play has been terrific," asserted Devlin of his young signal caller who has also thrown two touchdown passes so far this season. "I knew he had the athletic ability and great size. He has made some mistakes but we have talked them out on the sideline."
While O'Brien's athleticism has been evident, it is his poise that has set him apart so far. "He's just 14 years old but he's played in some big AAU baseball games," explained Devlin. "Pressure doesn't bother him. He's like a senior in the huddle. The kids have really taken a liking to him; they really want him to lead the team."
Another leading factor in PDS' win last Thursday was its rushing attack. "We've been running the Power I and the offensive line has done a great job," explained Devlin, who got a 147-yard rushing effort from freshman back Mike Shimkin in the win last Thursday.
"Shimkin is our speedster. Alex Kowalski and David Blitzer are the power backs. Those two guys are like having guards in the backfield."
Blitzer's play at linebacker has sparked PDS' increasingly stingy defense which has given up a total of seven points and just 203 yards in its last two outings.
"David is our leading tackler with 34 tackles," said Devlin of his junior standout. "We ask him to play sideline to sideline for us."
Blitzer's aggressiveness has been infectious. "Our defense made some mistakes in the first game but it has really been tackling well the last two games," said Devlin, who has been getting good play in the trenches from Avery Fox, Andrew Hendrickson, and Jared Makrancey. "We're getting a lot of gang tackling. The kids are making plays all over the place."
In Devlin's view, junior noseguard Craig Knowlton has been one of his pivotal playmakers on defense. "Craig doesn't look like a noseguard, he's as thin as a rail," said Devlin of the 6'2, 170-pound Knowlton who had nine tackles in the victory over Bound Brook.
"Our assistant coach Win Headley, who has 17 years experience coaching college football, says Craig does things you can't teach. His hand work is so fast. He just flies by kids with that. He's a quiet kid around school but he goes ballistic on the field."
Devlin believes his team collectively is ready to go ballistic. "After two tough losses, things really came together for us," said Devlin, whose team hosts Manville on October 2.
"We could be real successful. If we can get to 2-2, we could be looking at 5-2. They just have to play all four quarters."
