The first time Kenjai Gatling played football, he played an age up. He was sacked 12 times. Each time, he got back up. Bruised ribs and all. He was so beat up that his coach told him to skip practice the next day. Gatling still showed up. He cried when he was told he had to watch. Gatling was a 13-year-old seventh grader. By the fifth game, Gatling threw for 150 yards and ran for 130 yards.
In July, at a summer basketball tournament, Gatling, a rising freshman enrolled at Bonner-Prendie, was blowing by Division-I caliber athletes with ease for the Friars’ varsity team.
This fall, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Gatling, who is 14 going on 26, will be the Friars’ starting quarterback. He has man legs already. He wears a size 12 shoe and is still growing, and more importantly, carries a maturity that far belies his age.
He speaks in soft, measured tones. He was home-schooled. He’s only been playing organized football for two years.
In September, he will not be much of a secret. Opposing teams will find out quickly who he is.
“The way I’m looking at this opportunity is to stay focused and keep competing,” said Gatling, a right-hander who can throw the ball 60 yards through the air. “I like pressure. Anytime I’m in a close game, it gets me excited that it’s on me. It doesn’t matter the sport, football or basketball. Playing basketball this summer gave me confidence, but I’ve always played against kids older than me. I’m ready to make this move. I know there are going to be a lot of adjustments. I’m anticipating a lot of fast dudes trying to take my head off (laughs). I’m studying more film.
“It has helped me. I’m going to have to learn the pre-snap looks and understand what I’m looking at to get better.”
Once Gatling adjusts to the speed of the high school varsity level, it looks like his game will translate well. His intellect should expedite that. He looked very impressive in Bonner-Prendie’s seven-on-seven tournaments. He throws a tight ball, and there is no question that his speed and athleticism will get him out of fixes. It has been a bonus this summer that he’s learned what the skill position players around him can do.
The Friars are expected to be particularly good this year. In fact, with the addition of Gatling to a strong returning nucleus, the Friars could be the best team in Delaware County and certainly among the best in the Philadelphia area.
Bonner-Prendie finished 11-2 in 2022, its best season since 1994 when Bonner last won the Catholic League title with Mike Mitros and Anthony Becht. The 2022 Friars won the District 12 Class 4A city championship and broke the single-season school record for points, losing only to Inter-Ac power Haverford School and to District 2 champion Crestwood in the PIAA Class 4A state quarterfinals.
“I remember seeing Kenjai play for the first time and saying to myself, ‘He does not have the legs of a 14-year-old,’” Friars’ coach Jack Muldoon said. “I watched Kenjai for a few minutes and never saw an eighth grader with footwork like that. From that point on, we developed a relationship with his parents, who are just extraordinary people. That reflects on Kenjai, because when you talk to him, you forget he’s 14, he’s that mature for his age.
“We developed a relationship with the family and Kenjai saw a few of our games last year. The family felt comfortable coming on to us. I have no problem saying it, I’m pretty much going to hand him the keys to the car. He has the maturity to manage it. He’s good now, and he’s going to be a really good quarterback. There are levels to Kenjai, which you do not get from kids that age. He has that ‘it’ factor, which is hard to describe. He’ll prepare. He’s only been playing football for two years and he’s such a smart kid his mental acumen will catch up to his physical abilities. He’s not even close to how good he is eventually going to be. He has not even stepped into school, and he was blowing by D-I basketball players this summer.”
Ken Gatling is Kenjai’s father, and Damon Daniels trains him. Ken played football and ran track at Millersville, where he received his degree in industrial technology and is a teacher.
“This is what I say to people, Kenjai plays basketball like he’s a running back with his hair on fire going to the rim, but in football, he’s a quarterback who you actually have to make a run,” Ken said. “He started playing football so late, he had to literally master being a pocket quarterback first. He just started lifting weights recently, I train him like a track athlete because that is my background. Kenjai is highly intelligent. He learns very quickly.”
That manifested itself this summer when Kenjai’s first drive-in seven-on-seven was unimpressive. By his third drive, he was darting the ball all over the field.
Kenjai is going to get help. Friars’ edge rusher Mylachi Williams has committed to Penn State. Bonner-Prendie should be extraordinarily strong on defense but will need to fill some gaps on the offensive line.
“Emotionally, Kenjai has always been even-keeled, and he’s a lot like my wife, a silent assassin,” Ken Gatling said, laughing. “His mom is from Chester, cousins with (former Chester basketball great) John Linehan and it’s probably where Kenjai’s toughness comes from. He gets his athleticism from both sides of his family. He has a grandfather who is 6-5 and his uncle is 6-7. Kenjai is going to grow more.”
During summer league basketball at St. Joe’s Prep gym, below the Hawks’ state championship football banners, a few at courtside were wondering who the new face in Bonner-Prendie colors was ripping by older players. Maybe after a few football seasons at Bonner-Prendie, a state football championship banner could be hanging in its gym fueled by the kid whose face no one recognized then.
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.
