PHILADELPHIA – West Catholic’s fan base has always been one that is loyal and follows their Burrs very closely.
Come next fall, Burrs’ quarterback Curtis Drake will be playing for another loyal fan base — the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Drake made the verbal commitment to the navy blue and white this morning at 11:30 during a press conference. In addition to Penn State, Drake had heard from Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wisconsin, Purdue, Tennessee, Syracuse, and Michigan State.
“I’m all for it,” said West Catholic head coach Brian Fluck. “Academically and athletically, (Penn State) takes good care of its students.”
Athletically, Penn State will take care of Drake just fine. The Burrs’ field general said that there is an excellent opportunity to play during his freshman year in Happy Valley.
“They wanted me for my athleticism,” Drake said. “They’ve told me that I can make an immediate impact in the slot — catching some passes and getting some handoffs. They want to get the ball in my hands as much as possible.”
And, the potential exists for Drake to even take some snaps at quarterback sometime down the road.
Drake is a career 1,900-yard passer for the Burrs, and has thrown 26 touchdowns. He’s added 852 rushing yards in 20 career games and scored 15 touchdowns.
Last season, Drake completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 1,325 yards and 20 touchdowns, whole adding 597 rushing yards and 9 scores on the ground, averaging over 8 yards per carry.
Drake orchestrated a Burr offense which scored a Catholic League-best 444 points and averaged over 370 yards per contest a season ago.
Most impressively, Drake owns a 19-1 record as a starting varisty quarterback, with his only loss coming to open the 2007 season against PCL Red Division champ Roman Catholic.
In the Roman game, Drake ran for a career high 170 yards.
Verballing to Penn State, a two-time national champion, means that Drake continues to play football for a program steeped in tradition. West Catholic has its own impressive football history, one which includes 478 wins and 13 PCL championships.
Statistics are couresty of tedsilary.com and West Catholic’s team website.
