August 27, 2026 • 20 mins
Marty Bowman and Art Selby talk with Bishop McDevitt Head Coach Jeff Weachter about last season, a preview of this year's team, and the upcoming game versus Our Lady of Good Counsel!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Marty Bowman and Art Selby were alongside Bishop McDevitt head
coach Jeff Wechter.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Coach, really deep question about the offseason. Did you get
to enjoy the grandbaby?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
I did. In June, I had my third grandbaby. So
most of the summer, yeah. That's what life's really about,
and I enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
The little guy was a great addition to the postgame
down on the.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Field, wasn't he? Yeah, he'll be back this year, but
Coach Brayden's daughter is about 10 months old now, so
I said we'll divvy it up a little bit and
she can be with me on some postgame interviews.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Okay, we've got the late stuff out of the way.
I know Art's got some things he wants to start with.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Well, no, let's talk about last year's season, 28. Obviously
a historical season last year. You get win number 300.
You get your fifth straight District 3 title. It's 19
for Bishop McDevitt, which is the District 3 record at
this point. You get a walk-off win for the second
consecutive year in state playoffs. This time it was in
the state semifinals against Peters Township, a game Marty and
(01:15):
I and Rob will never forget. So exciting win there.
You take the program for the fourth time in five
years back to the state championship game. And then, just unfortunately,
you guys had a bad night against Roman Catholic and
lost that one. But just some final thoughts on last
season before we move into season 29.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I was extremely proud of it. I mean, obviously, you know,
we lost a lot of leadership from the year before with,
you know, especially Sunstoners and, you know, Lucas. So... I
was pleased. I mean, you know, we did, you know,
and breaking in a new quarterback who especially did a
(01:54):
great job. I mean, to follow a legend like some signers,
you know, I kind of equated it to when I
came here as head coach following Fort Chapman. You know,
it takes some time. And, you know, obviously, you know,
we came out of the shoot playing a very good
national team from Canada. And then getting Harrisburg, you know,
out of the bat. And, you know, we really feel that.
(02:16):
Had we played Harrisburg later in the season, we would
have beat them. And we thought we could have beat
them that game. I mean, we had a turnover inside
their 20 with two minutes left. But we got on
a roll. But it was one of the crazier years
because we had so many injuries. I mean, we had
eight starters miss games because of– and it was mostly
(02:36):
ankle injuries. It was just a freak thing. I mean,
you know, and, you know, unfortunately, Jontae is twice. Jontae Kweku–
If you would have told me we were going to
miss Jontae Quick for the equivalent of six games and
then getting back for the playoffs and him being 75%
(02:56):
the best he was the whole time and that we
would make the same finals before the season, I would
have said no way. Really, Swoops was battling an injury
all year long, too. He wasn't quite himself. He didn't
quite have the year that he had as a junior,
but other guys stepped up and you know, we, we
played well and, and, you know, I mean the, the
(03:21):
district championship, it was great getting a 300, especially at Warwick,
you know, but, you know, I was more excited about,
you know, we won the state or we won the
district championship, but we also passed man on central for
the lead in district champion. And that meant more to
me than anything. And then, you know, like you said,
I mean, I, I've coached in so many great games, uh,
(03:44):
And that Peters Township was one of the best wins
we've had. I mean, that was a very, very good
football team. Very good football team. And, you know, so
that was awesome. Unfortunately, you know, that night, you know,
against Roman Catholic, they were the better team. Got to
give them that. I mean, we helped them. I mean,
we turned the ball over and could have had some scores.
(04:07):
But they were the better team that night. I'm not
saying that we couldn't beat them if we played them.
ten times, I mean, that we wouldn't have won four
or five of them, you know, probably would have. But,
you know, again, you don't like losing, especially the last one. But,
you know, it was satisfying because just like 24, at
the beginning of the season, you know, people were like, hey,
(04:29):
I thought you said, you know, you don't have a
big shot of winning it. And we did. And last year,
I didn't even know if we could back, especially when
I saw, you know, because– I thought we were going
to play Pine Ridge. Yeah. And, you know, I was
happy because I felt Peter's Township was a better matchup
for us, just what they do personnel. But Peter's Township
(04:51):
was a really good football team. I mean, they won
a state title, you know, in 22, I think, or 23.
And that those kids were all seniors that played as sophomores,
I think, on that team. So it probably was 23. And,
you know, the That was just a great win. I mean,
you know, it showed a lot of our kids. It
(05:12):
showed a lot. I really felt that game Sebastian came
to in his own because, you know, I mean, he
took us on that last drive to come back. You know,
first of all, to get the lead back, you know,
on that double move by Jonte, he threw a great ball. Yeah.
And then, you know, when they tied us, I mean,
you know, he did a great job in the two-minute
offense because we had, I think, a minute 30 left. Yeah.
(05:34):
And taking us down and getting us, you know, the
the game-winning field goal. So it was a very satisfying year.
Let's jump here to 26. You mentioned Sebastian Williams. Just
a little bit about him first before we go into overall.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
But set to, you didn't set, JV two years behind
one of the best quarterbacks at McDevitt that you already mentioned,
Stone Saunders. So he had some great tour leads. Of course,
he sits under your tour leads for those two years.
And then he had the junior last year. Where's he at?
What are you seeing from him as we go into tonight?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Obviously he's better. This year he and I worked very,
very hard in the offseason on film, film study, chalk talk.
His understanding of defense is a lot better, understanding of
the offense is a lot better. But what we also
did is when we have our quarterback meetings when he's
in study hall, it was great this year. You don't
(06:31):
always get this. The gym was free, so all offseason
we went in and we really worked on his mechanics.
It's not quite where I'd like it to be, but
it's a lot better than what he was last year mechanically-wise. So,
you know, I'm expecting a huge year from him.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Coach, you lost your three main backs from last season.
Talk about how the kids will be playing a lot
this year for you.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
You know, we've got three good ones. Xavier McFarlane, who
got in some varsity games last year, he's a converted
wide receiver, also going to play some safety for us.
You know, he's a little bit taller back. And, you know,
he's like any young back there learning how to run
the football the way we like it. You know, then
(07:13):
we have another sophomore. You know, Xavier's a sophomore. We
have another sophomore, Leighton Black, who, you know, again, has
some good traits, has some things to learn on how
to run the football. And then we have a freshman,
you know, Kaden Walker, that, you know, we're high on.
Has real good speed. a little bit more of a
(07:33):
smaller back, but has real good speed. He has a
pretty good understanding of how to run the football. We
think with the three of them, along with Creighton Mills
playing fullback, Ethan Miller playing some fullback, that we're going
to be more than all right at running back. Again,
we're set up. Last year we had to run the
(07:57):
ball more because we had so many injuries in our
receiving core. We had youth. And we had an experienced
offensive line, and we had three really good running backs.
This year, you know, we're going to be all right
on the offensive line eventually, but we have four really
good receivers that stay healthy. You know, we'll go back
to seeing us throw the ball a little bit more
(08:19):
than what we have maybe the last two years.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
You heard it first here. Air Wector is back. I
love that. Let's jump over to the offensive side. What
are you looking at? Rush ends and the tackle's inside.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
You know, up front, you know, I feel very good.
You know, Chance Hallman has really come on, is doing
a great job. He gives us some speed and some power.
You know, he's about 6'2, very athletic, got great speed
coming off that edge. But, you know, he's about between
210 and 215, and, you know, he plays around well.
(08:54):
Creighton Milch, you know, got varsity time last year, you know,
And he had a great scrimmage against downtown Central Catholic,
made a lot of plays. You know, and then a
guy that's really come on for us, Brian Stewart, he
grew a little bit. He's 6'4. You know, he's probably
in that 205 range. You know, but he's a very,
(09:16):
very good pass rusher. So, in a pinch, we could
move Zayden Smith up to play some edge, too. So,
we feel really good about our ends. Defensive tackles, we're
a little young defensively. You know, we have some guys,
you know, Chris Boyer is a senior that kind of
grew and filled out a little bit. He was always
(09:38):
a backup linebacker, but he kind of grew into being
a defensive tackle. He's doing a pretty good job in
the scrimmage we started. Hubert Hall, who's a sophomore that's
got some size and does some good things. We have
a freshman that we really like, Ja'Cory Spells. You know,
in that 6'2, 260 range, I think is going to
(09:59):
be very, very good before he's done playing there. McDevitt
is going to be a great defensive tackle. We have another,
you know, sophomore, Matt Nguyen, you know, that you're going
to see in there. You might see Landon Colbert there
a little bit in the rotation. And then, you know,
we have a transfer from Lord often, you know, but
(10:20):
He has to sit out 21 days, so he's going
to miss tonight's game. But, you know, Hunter Stoke is,
you know, a 6'2, 285 pound. He's going to help
us on the offensive line and defensive line. We also
have another freshman that's out tonight with an injury. You know,
he's 6'1, 280. We like him a lot, too, on
the offensive and defensive line. So, you know. I wish
(10:44):
we were a little bit more experienced going into this game,
but I think as the year goes along, we're going
to be a pretty good defensive line.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
What about the back-end backers and secondary? How's that shaping?
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Backers, we have Zaden Smith, who's been a starter coming
about for a couple years. He's special. He's 6'5, 215 pounds,
runs under a 4'5, 40. We're going to use him
in all the ways. Ethan Miller got some varsity time
for us last year. He's going to play inside. And then,
(11:16):
you know, we have Patrick Wright's younger brother, Princeton. You know,
he's going to play some Sam Weinbacher for us. And
then we're in the back end, you know, DeVar Chan's got,
(11:38):
you know, playing time last year as a freshman. You know,
he's going to be really good this year. And then
Austin Mack has played two years. So we feel really
good about corners. We've got some nice corners to be
our third and fourth corner in Ellis. And we have
a freshman that, you know, we really like that's really
(12:02):
coming on. And then at safety, you know, Elijah Sherman,
we're not going to miss a beat with him. You know,
came in from Gilmore Valley, been a three-year starter. Has
great speed. Has good size. He runs well. He's got
a really good... He's picked up our defense very well.
He's a very intelligent kid. He's going to go to
Georgetown and come into Georgetown. And he runs the alleys
(12:22):
and plays a run very well. He's very physical. And
then at strong safety, you know, we're going to kind
of mix and match here a little bit. You know,
Jaden Gill, who played a little bit for us last year,
laid in black, played special teams, then he got hurt
in the against Harrisburg and missed the rest of the year.
And then one of those guys, might, in some packages,
(12:45):
might come down and play like an outside linebacker. And then,
you know, Xavier McFadden might play. So we really feel
good about a back end.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Will you bring up, walk up Zayden Smith sometime and
get a five-man front look, depending on what they're running?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Marty, you want me to give all our secrets?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Oh, it's not a secret. People know that.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
You're going to have to watch tonight and see what happens.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Okay, sounds good.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
We'll just say there's a possibility of that. I mean,
we are going to, We're going to let him pass
rush quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Our Lady of Council, reading a lot of things about them,
they're ranked, they play a nationally ranked schedule, and a
tough opener. I know you want to come out unhurt
and all that, but you're always there to win.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yeah, especially a lot of people forget my first game
ever coaching a Bishop McDevitt was down playing Our Lady
of Good Counsel. Okay. Matter of fact, I remember, I mean,
we lost 17-14. We turned the ball over inside the five,
(13:51):
I think twice. And, you know, I was really upset, but,
you know, I found out a couple years later from
Dick Shiner, five guys on that team played in the NFL. Wow.
So we lost 17-14. But you know what the most
memorable thing was down there? You know, for the older fans,
you know, remember back on Margaret Street, Harold Gaffney Gaff?
The funniest thing was we come out for pregame, and
(14:15):
when we went back in after pregame before the kickoff,
they look exactly like us in uniforms, and Gaff was
going in, thought our lady at good counsel was us,
and went into their locker room. But they're a really
good team. They've been nationally ranked quite a bit. I
think going into this game, I saw high school America
(14:38):
has us in the 270s and has them. like in the,
I think, maybe late 100s. They play a tough schedule.
I think two or three years ago they were in
the top 25. They have a new head coach who
was their defensive coordinator. They had a down year for them, 7-5.
(15:00):
They made the playoffs. They lost to the Mata twice.
But in the regular season, they lost to the Mata
by a point. They're going to be good. They're proud
like us. If you remember back in 2019, we were 6-4.
We really got after it in that offseason. They're the
(15:21):
same way. They've got a lot of talent over there.
They're well coached. We want to win, but we also
want to come out healthy because just the same way
as last year, it doesn't count towards playoffs. And playing
a team like this, you know, my philosophy is playing
(15:41):
them early is only going to help us late in
the season, especially come playoff time. So we're looking forward
to it.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I'm sure you're looking forward to the head coach, who
was at D.C., and I'm sure you're looking forward to
matching up with him, with your offense. I know you
eat that up, and like you said, no injuries, and
be out there. But I'm sure you're looking forward to that.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Two more quick questions that I'm just Special teams. Obviously,
you lost Aiden Grella, and Ish Palmer is gone to
return the ball.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
And Ronald Rue. Yeah. And Patrick Wright. And DeJuan. Yeah.
Campbell Mills. Yeah. You know. So, you know, we have
another soccer player out kicking for us, David Luenda, if
you remember, his brother Gerard. He has a little bit
stronger leg than Gerard. I mean, it's not like the
(16:31):
cannon we had. with Aiden but he's getting pretty good
depth in his kickoffs and this week in practice he
had a 42 yard field goal and if he can
give us that consistently we'll take it I think we
(16:52):
got a very good long snapper Thatcher Hansley who transferred
in he's going to play some more receiver and tight
end for us he's actually a good long snapper And
Hunter Stalk is a good long snapper, so we're good there. Returners,
you know, upon, I know right now they're looking at
Jontae Quick and DeVar Chance. And then back deep, I
(17:18):
think we have Jontae and... Caden Walker, but as up
backs we have Layden Black, I know is one. Elijah Sherman.
Elijah can play receiver and running back for us. He
was a very good kickoff returner for Cumberland Valley the
last few years. We feel good in our returners. The
(17:43):
biggest question mark right now is punting. Right now it
looks like John Tate Quick is going to be the
punter and Elijah Sherman can punt a little bit, too.
Are we probably as good as we were last year? No,
but I think we're better than we were a lot
of years in special teams, so we should be okay.
(18:04):
Another question.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
McDevitt fans know you're already playing the Mid-Penn Commonwealth, so
you're playing a 6-8 schedule. Even when you were in
the Keystone... You were playing LaSalle and DePaul Catholic. So,
I mean, talk about the move up to 6A. I mean,
really not a big deal to you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Not a big deal, like you said, with all the
6A teams. Just, you know, I mean, remember we played DeMatha,
you know, back in 2016. We played the state champs
from New York. So, and really, like, a lot of people, like,
a lot of the media have been asking me this,
you know, coming into the season. I'm like, you know,
(18:38):
I know you're young media, but, you know, In 1998,
after I took the job, Jim Bruno, our athletic director
that hired me, told me, you know, we're no longer 2A.
We have to be 4A when there are four classifications.
So my first, what, 12 years, 11 or 12 years,
(19:00):
we were in the highs. Going back to that 2009
team until Cumberland Valley in the snow upset us in
double overtime. We were the number one team ranked in
4A in the state. So, I mean, you know, is
the landscape a little tougher? You know, but, you know,
(19:22):
Pine Richland, I think in 2024, in the regular season
when we beat Pine Richland in the semifinals, Pine Richland
beat Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Now, Central Catholic beat them last year. So...
You've got to go through them, and then you get
through them, and then you get your Catholic League champion,
(19:44):
either St. Joe Prepper or LaSalle or Roman. Listen, we're
not like some other schools that when they bump us
up i mean we're 3a school now playing 6a you
know but you're not going to hear us cry and
say um hey you know this isn't fair you know
this and that i mean we we played these teams
(20:05):
so you know we're we're gonna be okay I look
at it this way. You won one in 4A. You
won one in 5A. You're going to win one in 6A. Yeah.
I mean, I'm all for it. You know, we'll see.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Coach, appreciate it. Best to you tonight.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
All right.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Look forward to talking to you next week.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
All right. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Thanks, Coach.
Marty Bowman and Art Selby were alongside Bishop McDevitt head
coach Jeff Wechter.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Coach, really deep question about the offseason. Did you get
to enjoy the grandbaby?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
I did. In June, I had my third grandbaby. So
most of the summer, yeah. That's what life's really about,
and I enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
The little guy was a great addition to the postgame
down on the.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Field, wasn't he? Yeah, he'll be back this year, but
Coach Brayden's daughter is about 10 months old now, so
I said we'll divvy it up a little bit and
she can be with me on some postgame interviews.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Okay, we've got the late stuff out of the way.
I know Art's got some things he wants to start with.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Well, no, let's talk about last year's season, 28. Obviously
a historical season last year. You get win number 300.
You get your fifth straight District 3 title. It's 19
for Bishop McDevitt, which is the District 3 record at
this point. You get a walk-off win for the second
consecutive year in state playoffs. This time it was in
the state semifinals against Peters Township, a game Marty and
(01:15):
I and Rob will never forget. So exciting win there.
You take the program for the fourth time in five
years back to the state championship game. And then, just unfortunately,
you guys had a bad night against Roman Catholic and
lost that one. But just some final thoughts on last
season before we move into season 29.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I was extremely proud of it. I mean, obviously, you know,
we lost a lot of leadership from the year before with,
you know, especially Sunstoners and, you know, Lucas. So... I
was pleased. I mean, you know, we did, you know,
and breaking in a new quarterback who especially did a
(01:54):
great job. I mean, to follow a legend like some signers,
you know, I kind of equated it to when I
came here as head coach following Fort Chapman. You know,
it takes some time. And, you know, obviously, you know,
we came out of the shoot playing a very good
national team from Canada. And then getting Harrisburg, you know,
out of the bat. And, you know, we really feel that.
(02:16):
Had we played Harrisburg later in the season, we would
have beat them. And we thought we could have beat
them that game. I mean, we had a turnover inside
their 20 with two minutes left. But we got on
a roll. But it was one of the crazier years
because we had so many injuries. I mean, we had
eight starters miss games because of– and it was mostly
(02:36):
ankle injuries. It was just a freak thing. I mean,
you know, and, you know, unfortunately, Jontae is twice. Jontae Kweku–
If you would have told me we were going to
miss Jontae Quick for the equivalent of six games and
then getting back for the playoffs and him being 75%
(02:56):
the best he was the whole time and that we
would make the same finals before the season, I would
have said no way. Really, Swoops was battling an injury
all year long, too. He wasn't quite himself. He didn't
quite have the year that he had as a junior,
but other guys stepped up and you know, we, we
played well and, and, you know, I mean the, the
(03:21):
district championship, it was great getting a 300, especially at Warwick,
you know, but, you know, I was more excited about,
you know, we won the state or we won the
district championship, but we also passed man on central for
the lead in district champion. And that meant more to
me than anything. And then, you know, like you said,
I mean, I, I've coached in so many great games, uh,
(03:44):
And that Peters Township was one of the best wins
we've had. I mean, that was a very, very good
football team. Very good football team. And, you know, so
that was awesome. Unfortunately, you know, that night, you know,
against Roman Catholic, they were the better team. Got to
give them that. I mean, we helped them. I mean,
we turned the ball over and could have had some scores.
(04:07):
But they were the better team that night. I'm not
saying that we couldn't beat them if we played them.
ten times, I mean, that we wouldn't have won four
or five of them, you know, probably would have. But,
you know, again, you don't like losing, especially the last one. But,
you know, it was satisfying because just like 24, at
the beginning of the season, you know, people were like, hey,
(04:29):
I thought you said, you know, you don't have a
big shot of winning it. And we did. And last year,
I didn't even know if we could back, especially when
I saw, you know, because– I thought we were going
to play Pine Ridge. Yeah. And, you know, I was
happy because I felt Peter's Township was a better matchup
for us, just what they do personnel. But Peter's Township
(04:51):
was a really good football team. I mean, they won
a state title, you know, in 22, I think, or 23.
And that those kids were all seniors that played as sophomores,
I think, on that team. So it probably was 23. And,
you know, the That was just a great win. I mean,
you know, it showed a lot of our kids. It
(05:12):
showed a lot. I really felt that game Sebastian came
to in his own because, you know, I mean, he
took us on that last drive to come back. You know,
first of all, to get the lead back, you know,
on that double move by Jonte, he threw a great ball. Yeah.
And then, you know, when they tied us, I mean,
you know, he did a great job in the two-minute
offense because we had, I think, a minute 30 left. Yeah.
(05:34):
And taking us down and getting us, you know, the
the game-winning field goal. So it was a very satisfying year.
Let's jump here to 26. You mentioned Sebastian Williams. Just
a little bit about him first before we go into overall.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
But set to, you didn't set, JV two years behind
one of the best quarterbacks at McDevitt that you already mentioned,
Stone Saunders. So he had some great tour leads. Of course,
he sits under your tour leads for those two years.
And then he had the junior last year. Where's he at?
What are you seeing from him as we go into tonight?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Obviously he's better. This year he and I worked very,
very hard in the offseason on film, film study, chalk talk.
His understanding of defense is a lot better, understanding of
the offense is a lot better. But what we also
did is when we have our quarterback meetings when he's
in study hall, it was great this year. You don't
(06:31):
always get this. The gym was free, so all offseason
we went in and we really worked on his mechanics.
It's not quite where I'd like it to be, but
it's a lot better than what he was last year mechanically-wise. So,
you know, I'm expecting a huge year from him.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Coach, you lost your three main backs from last season.
Talk about how the kids will be playing a lot
this year for you.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
You know, we've got three good ones. Xavier McFarlane, who
got in some varsity games last year, he's a converted
wide receiver, also going to play some safety for us.
You know, he's a little bit taller back. And, you know,
he's like any young back there learning how to run
the football the way we like it. You know, then
(07:13):
we have another sophomore. You know, Xavier's a sophomore. We
have another sophomore, Leighton Black, who, you know, again, has
some good traits, has some things to learn on how
to run the football. And then we have a freshman,
you know, Kaden Walker, that, you know, we're high on.
Has real good speed. a little bit more of a
(07:33):
smaller back, but has real good speed. He has a
pretty good understanding of how to run the football. We
think with the three of them, along with Creighton Mills
playing fullback, Ethan Miller playing some fullback, that we're going
to be more than all right at running back. Again,
we're set up. Last year we had to run the
(07:57):
ball more because we had so many injuries in our
receiving core. We had youth. And we had an experienced
offensive line, and we had three really good running backs.
This year, you know, we're going to be all right
on the offensive line eventually, but we have four really
good receivers that stay healthy. You know, we'll go back
to seeing us throw the ball a little bit more
(08:19):
than what we have maybe the last two years.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
You heard it first here. Air Wector is back. I
love that. Let's jump over to the offensive side. What
are you looking at? Rush ends and the tackle's inside.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
You know, up front, you know, I feel very good.
You know, Chance Hallman has really come on, is doing
a great job. He gives us some speed and some power.
You know, he's about 6'2, very athletic, got great speed
coming off that edge. But, you know, he's about between
210 and 215, and, you know, he plays around well.
(08:54):
Creighton Milch, you know, got varsity time last year, you know,
And he had a great scrimmage against downtown Central Catholic,
made a lot of plays. You know, and then a
guy that's really come on for us, Brian Stewart, he
grew a little bit. He's 6'4. You know, he's probably
in that 205 range. You know, but he's a very,
(09:16):
very good pass rusher. So, in a pinch, we could
move Zayden Smith up to play some edge, too. So,
we feel really good about our ends. Defensive tackles, we're
a little young defensively. You know, we have some guys,
you know, Chris Boyer is a senior that kind of
grew and filled out a little bit. He was always
(09:38):
a backup linebacker, but he kind of grew into being
a defensive tackle. He's doing a pretty good job in
the scrimmage we started. Hubert Hall, who's a sophomore that's
got some size and does some good things. We have
a freshman that we really like, Ja'Cory Spells. You know,
in that 6'2, 260 range, I think is going to
(09:59):
be very, very good before he's done playing there. McDevitt
is going to be a great defensive tackle. We have another,
you know, sophomore, Matt Nguyen, you know, that you're going
to see in there. You might see Landon Colbert there
a little bit in the rotation. And then, you know,
we have a transfer from Lord often, you know, but
(10:20):
He has to sit out 21 days, so he's going
to miss tonight's game. But, you know, Hunter Stoke is,
you know, a 6'2, 285 pound. He's going to help
us on the offensive line and defensive line. We also
have another freshman that's out tonight with an injury. You know,
he's 6'1, 280. We like him a lot, too, on
the offensive and defensive line. So, you know. I wish
(10:44):
we were a little bit more experienced going into this game,
but I think as the year goes along, we're going
to be a pretty good defensive line.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
What about the back-end backers and secondary? How's that shaping?
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Backers, we have Zaden Smith, who's been a starter coming
about for a couple years. He's special. He's 6'5, 215 pounds,
runs under a 4'5, 40. We're going to use him
in all the ways. Ethan Miller got some varsity time
for us last year. He's going to play inside. And then,
(11:16):
you know, we have Patrick Wright's younger brother, Princeton. You know,
he's going to play some Sam Weinbacher for us. And
then we're in the back end, you know, DeVar Chan's got,
(11:38):
you know, playing time last year as a freshman. You know,
he's going to be really good this year. And then
Austin Mack has played two years. So we feel really
good about corners. We've got some nice corners to be
our third and fourth corner in Ellis. And we have
a freshman that, you know, we really like that's really
(12:02):
coming on. And then at safety, you know, Elijah Sherman,
we're not going to miss a beat with him. You know,
came in from Gilmore Valley, been a three-year starter. Has
great speed. Has good size. He runs well. He's got
a really good... He's picked up our defense very well.
He's a very intelligent kid. He's going to go to
Georgetown and come into Georgetown. And he runs the alleys
(12:22):
and plays a run very well. He's very physical. And
then at strong safety, you know, we're going to kind
of mix and match here a little bit. You know,
Jaden Gill, who played a little bit for us last year,
laid in black, played special teams, then he got hurt
in the against Harrisburg and missed the rest of the year.
And then one of those guys, might, in some packages,
(12:45):
might come down and play like an outside linebacker. And then,
you know, Xavier McFadden might play. So we really feel
good about a back end.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Will you bring up, walk up Zayden Smith sometime and
get a five-man front look, depending on what they're running?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Marty, you want me to give all our secrets?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Oh, it's not a secret. People know that.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
You're going to have to watch tonight and see what happens.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Okay, sounds good.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
We'll just say there's a possibility of that. I mean,
we are going to, We're going to let him pass
rush quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Our Lady of Council, reading a lot of things about them,
they're ranked, they play a nationally ranked schedule, and a
tough opener. I know you want to come out unhurt
and all that, but you're always there to win.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yeah, especially a lot of people forget my first game
ever coaching a Bishop McDevitt was down playing Our Lady
of Good Counsel. Okay. Matter of fact, I remember, I mean,
we lost 17-14. We turned the ball over inside the five,
(13:51):
I think twice. And, you know, I was really upset, but,
you know, I found out a couple years later from
Dick Shiner, five guys on that team played in the NFL. Wow.
So we lost 17-14. But you know what the most
memorable thing was down there? You know, for the older fans,
you know, remember back on Margaret Street, Harold Gaffney Gaff?
The funniest thing was we come out for pregame, and
(14:15):
when we went back in after pregame before the kickoff,
they look exactly like us in uniforms, and Gaff was
going in, thought our lady at good counsel was us,
and went into their locker room. But they're a really
good team. They've been nationally ranked quite a bit. I
think going into this game, I saw high school America
(14:38):
has us in the 270s and has them. like in the,
I think, maybe late 100s. They play a tough schedule.
I think two or three years ago they were in
the top 25. They have a new head coach who
was their defensive coordinator. They had a down year for them, 7-5.
(15:00):
They made the playoffs. They lost to the Mata twice.
But in the regular season, they lost to the Mata
by a point. They're going to be good. They're proud
like us. If you remember back in 2019, we were 6-4.
We really got after it in that offseason. They're the
(15:21):
same way. They've got a lot of talent over there.
They're well coached. We want to win, but we also
want to come out healthy because just the same way
as last year, it doesn't count towards playoffs. And playing
a team like this, you know, my philosophy is playing
(15:41):
them early is only going to help us late in
the season, especially come playoff time. So we're looking forward
to it.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I'm sure you're looking forward to the head coach, who
was at D.C., and I'm sure you're looking forward to
matching up with him, with your offense. I know you
eat that up, and like you said, no injuries, and
be out there. But I'm sure you're looking forward to that.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Two more quick questions that I'm just Special teams. Obviously,
you lost Aiden Grella, and Ish Palmer is gone to
return the ball.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
And Ronald Rue. Yeah. And Patrick Wright. And DeJuan. Yeah.
Campbell Mills. Yeah. You know. So, you know, we have
another soccer player out kicking for us, David Luenda, if
you remember, his brother Gerard. He has a little bit
stronger leg than Gerard. I mean, it's not like the
(16:31):
cannon we had. with Aiden but he's getting pretty good
depth in his kickoffs and this week in practice he
had a 42 yard field goal and if he can
give us that consistently we'll take it I think we
(16:52):
got a very good long snapper Thatcher Hansley who transferred
in he's going to play some more receiver and tight
end for us he's actually a good long snapper And
Hunter Stalk is a good long snapper, so we're good there. Returners,
you know, upon, I know right now they're looking at
Jontae Quick and DeVar Chance. And then back deep, I
(17:18):
think we have Jontae and... Caden Walker, but as up
backs we have Layden Black, I know is one. Elijah Sherman.
Elijah can play receiver and running back for us. He
was a very good kickoff returner for Cumberland Valley the
last few years. We feel good in our returners. The
(17:43):
biggest question mark right now is punting. Right now it
looks like John Tate Quick is going to be the
punter and Elijah Sherman can punt a little bit, too.
Are we probably as good as we were last year? No,
but I think we're better than we were a lot
of years in special teams, so we should be okay.
(18:04):
Another question.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
McDevitt fans know you're already playing the Mid-Penn Commonwealth, so
you're playing a 6-8 schedule. Even when you were in
the Keystone... You were playing LaSalle and DePaul Catholic. So,
I mean, talk about the move up to 6A. I mean,
really not a big deal to you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Not a big deal, like you said, with all the
6A teams. Just, you know, I mean, remember we played DeMatha,
you know, back in 2016. We played the state champs
from New York. So, and really, like, a lot of people, like,
a lot of the media have been asking me this,
you know, coming into the season. I'm like, you know,
(18:38):
I know you're young media, but, you know, In 1998,
after I took the job, Jim Bruno, our athletic director
that hired me, told me, you know, we're no longer 2A.
We have to be 4A when there are four classifications.
So my first, what, 12 years, 11 or 12 years,
(19:00):
we were in the highs. Going back to that 2009
team until Cumberland Valley in the snow upset us in
double overtime. We were the number one team ranked in
4A in the state. So, I mean, you know, is
the landscape a little tougher? You know, but, you know,
(19:22):
Pine Richland, I think in 2024, in the regular season
when we beat Pine Richland in the semifinals, Pine Richland
beat Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Now, Central Catholic beat them last year. So...
You've got to go through them, and then you get
through them, and then you get your Catholic League champion,
(19:44):
either St. Joe Prepper or LaSalle or Roman. Listen, we're
not like some other schools that when they bump us
up i mean we're 3a school now playing 6a you
know but you're not going to hear us cry and
say um hey you know this isn't fair you know
this and that i mean we we played these teams
(20:05):
so you know we're we're gonna be okay I look
at it this way. You won one in 4A. You
won one in 5A. You're going to win one in 6A. Yeah.
I mean, I'm all for it. You know, we'll see.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Coach, appreciate it. Best to you tonight.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
All right.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Look forward to talking to you next week.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
All right. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Thanks, Coach.
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