By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright October, 2013.
Here they come – the Elkton, Maryland-based Honey Badgers from Eastern Christian Academy and their array of major college recruits.
Who are the Honey Badgers from Eastern Christian Academy, you ask?
Who are these guys who will be taking on the Saint Ignatius Wildcats in Saturday’s 2 PM varsity football match up on Byers Field in Parma’s Robert M. Boulton Stadium?
Well, let’s do a little back tracking to last season.
In the fall of 2012, Eastern Christian Academy’s inaugural season consisted of just three games. Prospective opponents said no thanks because of concerns that Eastern Christian Academy, which offers 80 percent of its courses online, was not sanctioned by the Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association.
Well, the MPSSAA sanctioned the talent-rich program for 2013 and Saint Ignatius and St. Edward, who have difficulty finding area and state-wide schools willing to play them, agreed to face the Honey Badgers, who feature four seniors who are committed to BCS schools and a 2015 prospect – quarterback David Sills – who made national news when, at the ripe age of 13, he was offered a scholarship from The University of Southern California. St. Edward will travel to play Eastern Christian Academy in Week 10.
No, the late, great USC head football coach John McKay didn’t turn over in his grave when the news hit that a 13-year-old was offered a scholarship from the Trojans. But that is only because Coach McKay, who died in 2001 from complications due to diabetes, had his ashes spread on the field of the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Now back to the present, where the Sills-led Honey Badgers stand 5-1 and are excited about their trip to Ohio.
Among the other ECA players who have captured the fancy of successful college programs are Michigan
recruits Freddy Canteen at wide receiver and Brandon Watson at cornerback, offensive tackle Jamie Herr (West Virginia), wideout Neiko Creamer (Tennessee), cornerback Vashon Tucker, linebacker Dele Harding and defensive end Malichi Felder.
Despite playing just three games last year, the Honey Badgers had seven players sign with major college programs, including Khaliel Rodgers and Kenny Bigelow, who accepted offers from USC.
Although the Honey Badgers said goodbye to some exceptional talent from last season, Sills, who played at Red Lion Christian Academy in Delaware as an eighth and ninth grader, emphasized from the first day of practice this summer that the 2013 version of Eastern Christian Academy has an abundance of young talent and “something to prove.”
Through six games, the Honey Badgers have been proving a lot, that is with the exception of one setback in mid-September.
That night, Eastern Christian Academy traveled to Rutgers to face St. Peter's Prep, currently ranked third in The Star-Ledger Top 20. Oh yeah, another of those hard-nosed and talented Catholic schools (St. Peter's Prep is a Jesuit school) from the New Jersey area who will stare you down no matter how many college recruits you boast. Can you say Paramus Catholic, Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep?
With Rutgers recruit Jonathan Hilliman rushing for four touchdowns and 204 yards, including a 60-yard scoring gallop, St. Peter's Prep defeated the Honey Badgers, 35-32.
Keep in mind, however, that St. Peter’s Prep, leading, 35-12, had to withstand a furious
fourth-quarter surge by Sills and Company.
Last weekend, Eastern Christian Academy took on Southeastern Pennsylvania’s No. 2 team, Imhotep Charter, at Benjamin Johnston Memorial Stadium in Northwest Philadelphia. With Imhotep’s defensive rush creating problems, the score was tied at halftime. In the second half, however, the Honey Badgers turned to the running of Sills and Jahmee Ballard and came away with a 36-28 victory. Imhotep was turned away on four consecutive running plays inside the ECA four-yard line and turned the ball over twice deep in Honey Badgers territory.
“This is a very talented football team,” Wildcats head coach Chuck Kyle ’69 said of Eastern Christian Academy. “We’re in a situation where we are playing a team that is like Paramus, or something like that.
“Their offense, with that type of quarterback (the 6-foot-3, 180-plus pound Sills), gives you a Mentor sort of look. They’re going to run their zone plays and he’ll run a little bit. They’ll play no-back and if he doesn’t like what he sees, he’ll take off running. And we’ve seen Mitch Trubisky (Mentor’s former outstanding quarterback now at North Carolina) do this. So we’re familiar with that aspect.”
Coach Kyle said the Honey Badgers have a good running attack, but was quick to point out that his Wildcats have done a good job of defending the run. One of the keys, said Coach Kyle, will be how Saint Ignatius’ defense, because of ECA’s many offensive weapons, responds when it is forced to play man coverage.
“Defensively, we’ll see a lot of man coverage from them,” Coach Kyle continued. “Our receivers are very good, so we hope we can take advantage of that. But we’ll see. Their defensive line is a good sized line. There are certain things in our running attack that we will be able to do, I think, but certain things could get a little clogged up. We still want to remain as balanced as we can.”
With senior kicker Matt Colella, a 2012 all-state selection, and junior punter Corey Griffith, the Wildcats believe they will have a significant edge in the kicking game. “And there will certainly be situations when that is necessary,” said Coach Kyle.
There is no question that Saint Ignatius, 4-2 and ranked ninth in the Associated Press Division I state poll, would like to be a lot healthier heading into a match up with the talent Eastern Christian Academy possesses. And that is not offering excuses, but rather being factual. Simply put, the Wildcats, as anyone who has read this corner and followed the team knows, have been hit with one major injury after another.
Quarterback update: Coach Kyle said he won’t know until near the end of the week if senior John Thomas (shoulder) can air it out and junior quarterback Christian Klink, who started the past three games and was shaken up during last week’s dramatic 24-21
overtime victory over Indianapolis Lawrence Central, saw the doctor on Tuesday and is waiting to see if he will get clearance to play. Juniors Jake Kucia and Simon Vadas shared the majority of the reps during Tuesday’s practice, with promising sophomore QB Dennis Grosel backing them up.
PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK FROM THE LAWRENCE CENTRAL GAME: On defense, the corner is going with junior lineman Dre’Mont Jones and senior lineman Chris Keane, who were a force all afternoon, and junior linebacker Geoffrey DiMassa, whose interception return for a touchdown helped bring the Wildcats all the way back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit.
On offense, the nod goes to the gifted receiving trio of seniors Mike Siragusa, Nick Fabian and Jack Hyland, whose efforts kept Saint Ignatius within striking distance, and gritty senior tailback Enzo Cannata, who rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown.
AIR WAVES: If you are unable to attend Saturday's game, the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network will bring you the action live from Byers Field. The thrill a minute threesome of Cole Larson, Patrick McGuire and Carter Spearry will have the call heard around Ridge Road and Day Drive.