Early College School of DSU head disputes ex-football coach's claims, says team will play

The Early College School of Delaware State University will play varsity football in 2024, and it has an athletic trainer.

Head of School Evelyn Edney said so Thursday, a day after former coach Zach Horstmyer suggested otherwise.

Horstmyer resigned as ECS football coach several days into the start of preseason camp two weeks ago. He said school leaders “had different visions” about the football program’s future and was frustrated an athletic trainer was not present when practice started.

The Hornets are slated to open their 2024 season next Thursday, Aug. 29, at Delaware Military Academy. That is a difficult assignment for an ECS football program that has won one game in its three-year varsity history despite playing other smaller schools that have also had limited football success in DIAA Class 1A.

HERE'S THE CATCH: Preseason Top 21 wide receivers, tight ends in Delaware

Edney, a former track and field coach at Christiana and Delcastle, said Thursday that there are presently 25 players on the team and ECS will play its game at DMA, knowing but also welcoming the challenge.

The new coach is Shane Speights, a 2015 Dover grad who was an all-conference defensive lineman for the Senators and is a para-educator at ECS. The football team did not play its first two scrimmages so Speights could settle into his new position, Edney said.

“Shane relates to the kids very well. I have known Shane since he was 16 years old,” said Edney, who was previously principal at Dover. “He was a fired-up athlete. He was a leader when he played. Everyone was drawn to this kid and they still are.”

Athletic trainer Zaynah Daley, who is on the DSU staff, started also working for the Early College School’s teams just last week. Located on the Delaware State campus, ECS has access to other DSU personnel if needed, Edney said.

ECS forfeited its final two football games in 2023 after what had been an original roster of 27 players became depleted when some students became academically ineligible after first-marking-period report cards were issued. Edney pointed out that ECS students, including many who take college-level classes due to the connection with DSU, must maintain a grade-point average of 2.5 to be eligible to play sports.

The school year at ECS begins Monday with roughly 625 students in grades 7 through 12 who come, Edney said, “from Claymont to Bridgeville” and often have hourlong bus rides to and from school. Bus service is not, provided, however, for preseason practices.

“I love football,” said Edney, a Philadelphia Eagles season-ticket holder. “… We’re not this powerhouse school that like ‘Oh, my God,’ the world needs to worry that we do or don’t have a football team.”

Fielding a team “is difficult,” she added, “and in our school, we have more girls than boys.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Early College School of DSU head disputes ex-football coach's claims, says team will play