In his first year as Head football coach last season, Albie Crosby guided his team to a 14-1 record, losing to eventual PIAA state Class 2A state champs Wyomissing Area.
Last weekend they were in the same position, week 15, against a Berks area football team. But this time the Panthers won over Berks Catholic, 20-0.
Imhotep Charter (12-2) takes on WPIAL champion South Fayette (15-0) this Saturday afternoon at Hersheypark Stadium.
They are the first Public school from Philadelphia to reach the PIAA State finals in football.
Record: 12-2
Offense: Averaging 47.2 points scored
Defense: Averaging 11.7 points allowed
Schedule: Click here
Offensive line
Sr. C Gordon Thomas (6-0, 285); So. OG John Carlo Valentin (6-4, 317); Sr. OG Aaron Ruff (6-5, 280); Sr. OT Taleem Muhammad (6-5, 298); Jr. Antoine Williams (6-3, 259)
“Our run and pass blocking has been our strength this year,” said head football coach Albie Crosby. “We have a big offensive line and when they are going forward we are playing well.”
Sophomore Yasir Durant (6-7, 305) could see some action in the game.
Their line is big, strong and physical. They are capable of taking over a game.
Quarterback
Jr. Andre Dreuitt (6-2, 175)
“He means the world to our team. He’s our leader, our key component and is the guy that gets our offense going. This year he has had a breakout year. He’s very efficient and has thrown for 24 touchdowns for us this year.”
Stats: 78 of 136 for 1,497 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’s rushed for two touchdowns.
Running Backs
Sr. Craig McCollum (5-11, 216); Jr. Nasir Bonner (5-10, 180); So. Mike Waters (5-9, 176); So. Tyliek Raynor (6-0, 170); Sr. DeAndre Scott (5-10, 180)
“We have some really good guys back. They are running the football. We have junior running back Nasir Bonner back there. He’s over 1,100 yards rushing this year. We have two dynamic sophomore running backs. One is Mike Waters. He’s more of a power back and is a guy that grinds things out. Tyliek Raynor is an explosive running back. Last week against Berks Catholic he had only four carries for 130 yards.”
“Than we have the X factor, DeAndre Scott. I feel he’s the best player in Pennsylvania. I have coached a lot of good football players and not only is he a good football player, but he’s a great young man. He is the leader on our football field. He’s our Brian Dawkins and our team feeds off him, whether it’s a big hit, interception, punt return or a big run.”
Imhotep is deep at the running back position, has lots of speed and skill.
Stats: Nasir Bonner 143 carries for 1,118 and 14 touchdowns. Tyliek Raynor 92 carries for 851 yards and 13 touchdowns. Mike Waters 106 carries for 862 yards and 13 touchdowns. DeAndre Scott 27 carries for 419 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Tight end & Wide Receivers
So. TE Naseir Upshur (6-4, 223); Jr. WR DJ Moore (6-1, 180); Jr. WR Kalihf Clemons (5-10, 173)
“We have one of the most explosive receivers in this part of the state. He is DJ Moore. He’s very smooth at route running and attacks the ball extremely well. He also does the little things. All of our wide receivers do an excellent job blocking. All three can score from anywhere on the field.”
“Naseir is like having another offensive tackle out there. He’s an extremely powerful blocker, has great hands and is a safety valve at receiver for us.”
Great size, speed and very athletic.
Stats: Naseir Upshur 9 catches for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns. DJ Moore 36 catches for 775 yards and 13 touchdowns. Kalihf Clemons 8 catches for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensive line
So. DE Shaka Toney (6-2, 176); Jr. DE Qwamere Wright-Downing (6-0, 205); Jr. DT Kalim Kennedy (6-2, 275); Sr. DT Tyrone Barge (6-2, 265)
“We have a nice size defensive line and they are athletic. We like to attack the passer inside as well as the outside. We are really good at stopping the run game. Tyrone is one of the fastest at getting off the ball.”
“We have the young ends, Shaka and Qwamere and they have done a great job feeding off Tyrone and Kalim this year.”
Naseir Upshur will see action on the line.
Linebackers
Jr. Shaquille Jones (6-2, 192); Sr. Randell Hunter (6-1, 222); Sr. Steven Denby (6-1, 228)
“The biggest strength of our linebackers is that all three players can run. They do a excellent job going sideline to sideline. Randell and Steven are our hitters and Shaquille is very athletic out there. He can run people down.”
Defensive Backs
Jr. Zihar Wright (5-9, 175); Sr. Nyeem Thrones (5-9, 170); Sr. DeAndre Scott (5-10, 180); Sr. Quadeem Starks (6-1, 185)
“Our secondary is led by DeAndre Scott. He runs the show back there. He comes down and makes tackles in the run game and he can stay back and play the deep ball. But you can line him up and he is a lock down guy for us.”
“Quadeem is our free safety. If we make any mistakes on the front end he corrects it on the back end. Nyeem is very smooth out there and he’s our corner. Zihar is very quick out there.”
Devin Crosby and Seifuddin Black will see action this weekend.
What are your keys on offense?
“Being able to control the line of scrimmage. We need to run the football. But, also being very efficient in the passing game. We want to dictate when to run and pass.”
What are your keys on defense?
“Try and control their passing game. We are very aware they are going to gain some yards. They have a great quarterback, Brett Brumbaugh. Justin Watson is a great big body as well as Conner Beck. They have great receivers that we have to defend. They do a great job in space.”
“The running game is a silent killer. People overshadow that, but we need to contain their running game. We need to get them off the field on third downs and need to create turnovers.”
Imhotep is the first public school from Philadelphia to make it to Hersey. What would it mean to your community and school if you win the state title?
“I was fortunate to be on the coaching staff when West Catholic won the state title in 2010. It was amazing. In 2008 we went to Hershey and it was uncharted grounds for us that year and now it feels the same way. A Philadelphia Public league team has never done this before.”
“We are not only representing our school, but we are representing the whole city of Philadelphia. Our young men and coaches have put a lot of time and effort to get to this point and if we win, it would mean a lot to us and Philadelphia.”
10 Responses
@the quite one, I’m really glad for your son that he was successful at a charter. That said there are studies that charters spend on average like 8k a year more educating each student with little to no improvement in the educational outcome.
@Jason, classifications are based on enrollment of boys or girls grades 9-11. So if all Philly Public schools be required to compete at AAAA, that would be biased against those kids. Just because the kids can go to any school with exceptions to a few schools. As in most charters case, they have a open lottery system in place for 9th grade.
JAson,
On paper that would make sense. But you have many schools in Phila. like Roxborugh, Ben Franklin West Phila. that have no business being thrown in with 4a team. Phila is a different animal compared to the rest of the state. I invite you to check out the main fan blog on this website. Posters like Jive Turkey and 17th and G have posted very good info about Phila schools and how things are different. There is loads of info there. Check it out.
Thank you for the responses. I was not aware that anyone within the Philly city limits could attend any public school they wanted. Personally I think that is a great idea to give students/parents that freedom. However, if that is the case then I think that those schools should automatically have to play in AAAA in everything. That is quite a population to draw from in comparison to other AA or AAA schools.
@Colin….thanks for that info…we outsiders are still tryin to get a grasp on the phila systems….here charters are far and few so outside the school district students can apply. I actually did some checking and indeed students from outside philly can attend philly charters BUT may not participate in PIAA sports as a resident of that school.
@the quite one: Sorry, we’ll disagree. Maybe some charters have higher standards and hold to them but charter were created to escape the state and national educational standards and offer different platforms of education. Nobody controls the standards to which they perform, nor does the performance affect public and federal funding such as what might happen at a public school.
Billy,
I cant speak for the rest of the state but in Phila only Phila school district students can attend Phila. charters. Look up what happened with Prep Charter’s Girls basketball team last season. 2 girls from Coatsville were illegally enrolled because they were not Phila residents. They had to forfeit all games the 2 girls played in. Academics? im in agreement with you. There are certainly shady charters to say the least.
But thats another argument for another time. But in answering Jason’s question about boundaries and were Imhotep’s players come from, the charters in Phila. are bound by the same city limits that traditional Phila public school teams like Frankford, George Washington and Northeast are. So a kid from Norristown would be unable to attend Imhotep but could enroll at any Phila Catholic school such as Roman, West Catholic, Neumann-Goretti etc etc. That’s the difference I was referring to.
@billy your wrong about the education at charter schools in philly. There education guide lines are tougher then the public schools. That why people are rushing down to get their kids in role in charter schools. If dont know please dont come on and give false information about charter schools. My son learned more at a charter school then if he was in a public school.
Colin…I’m pretty sure anyone can attend any charter school. They are publicly funded schools that are run by, well, any educator that wishes to open one. And it’s not just the Phila school district, it’s the state education board that the charter school doesn’t follow. Personally, I do NOT like them…they allow kids to get through high school on less strict educations values.
Jason,
The Phila. school district is open enrollment. Any student may attend any school of his/her choice. There isn’t much difference between a charter and a public school. The only difference is a charter is run by an outside entity instead of the Phila school district. A student from outside of the Phila SD is not permitted to attend any charter or public school in the city. This is not the case for a Catholic school as a student can attend from pretty much anywhere.
I’m aware the Imhotep plays in the Philly Public League, but are they truly a public school? Do they have school district boundaries? Isn’t that what distinguishes between public and non-public?