DREXEL HILL — Abu Kamara held the awards in his hands, heard the applause, and shook the hands of countless people, many of whom he never met before, walking up to congratulate Interboro’s 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior running back and defensive back.
Kamara was chosen Pennsylvania Player of the Year by the prestigious Maxwell Football Club on Sunday at Drexelbrook, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania at the Maxwell Club’s annual Mini-Max high school awards dinner.
What Kamara held close and dear was something but a handful knew. At around 4 that morning, Kamara was fumbling for his alarm clock in the dark to wake him—for a 90-minute training session.
It’s a practice he has done every weekend since 2022. He’ll wake up around 4 each morning, and goes to weight training at 5, sometimes by himself, sometimes with his coaches, and he kept motivating himself by carrying player-ranking lists that didn’t include him.
Kamara was a little tough to miss in 2022.
The only son of parents from Sierra Leone, Kamara shattered every Interboro single-season school record and numerous Delaware County records this past season in leading the Bucs to a 10-4 overall record and to the PIAA District 1 Class 4A championship.
In 2022, Kamara capped a season for the ages by rushing for a school and county record 2,832 yards against defenses designed solely to stop him, with a school and country record 42 total touchdowns (38 rushing, two pick-sixes, and two receiving) while averaging 9 yards a carry. As a strong safety, he made 70 tackles, nine tackles for losses, two sacks, and had a single-season school-record 11 interceptions.
All of that, plus a weighted 4.5 GPA, has gotten me into Ivy League Yale.
“I look back to the hard work, and the times a lot of schools didn’t call me back or forgot about me as motivation,” Kamara said. “It’s what motivates me to do better. I know things won’t get easier. I’m ready for it.”
Abu’s mother’s hands were shaking when it was announced at the Maxwell Club awards dinner that Abu was named PA Player of the Year. It’s from Salamatu Kamara, Abu’s mother, that he learned the power of a strong work ethic.
That’s translated to the field and beyond.
“That’s the kind of kid Abu is, he silently takes things personally where he always feels disrespected a little bit and that grinds him to work even harder,” Bucs’ coach Dennis Lux said. “It’s the same thing academically. That’s why he was the PA Player of the Year because Abu is the full package.”
Sean Wasson, Interboro’s defensive coordinator, and former Bucs’ star, goes way back with Abu, to the Termites, a local youth Interboro football team.
“Abu is by far the most mature kid I’ve coached since a young age,” Wasson said. “He’s not only athletically gifted, on top of that, but he also makes everyone around him better. Once Yale gets a hold of him, Abu has a really good chance to make some noise, especially in the Ivy League.”
On Friday, when Lux introduced Kamara to announce his college choice, there was a twinge of emotion in the coach’s voice. It’s the way Kamara has touched everyone associated with the Interboro program.
“Abu is a special kid to us, and I’ve known him for a long time, so seeing a kid doing it the right way because I know how much the coaching staff put into him, and it’s how much he gave back to us, it’s why it was emotional,” Lux said. “It will be very hard for us to find another kid like Abu coming through Interboro, but hopefully he put through to a lot of kid’s heads that it is possible if you grind and work hard, and you are a full person, with academics, community, and athletics, those are the kids that we are trying to build.
“He wanted to make an impact on the community. He wanted to the program of Interboro in the future. He’s just the total package. When you would go to one of our practices, you would see Abu working with freshmen and sophomores in drills. It’s why I’m so happy for him. He did everything the right way.
“I became a big Yale fan.”
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
