Wilson football countdown to kickoff: Warriors have had enough

Wilson’s recent football numbers, including roster sizes and scoreboard stats, have not been good.

The Warriors take a 21-game losing streak into this year’s season opener.

They have been outscored 904-146 in those setbacks, an average score of 43-7.

The most distressing number, however, is five.

This year’s senior class is working with their fifth head coach. This isn’t Indiana or New York. You only get four high school seasons.

The Warriors had a head coach last season who never coached a game and an interim coach who was in charge. That came on the heels of another one-year head coach.

Wilson has had only one winning season (2021) the last 13 years. It has had four winless records in that span. It has beaten rival Notre Dame-GP just once the last eight meetings, giving up an average of 54 points in those seven setbacks.

This all has been a disturbing trend for Jim Brady to watch. The Wilson teacher was part of the coaching staff during the program’s heyday. He spent nine years on the staff led by Bret Comp when the team went to back-to-back state championship games, winning it all in 2006 .

The Warriors captured the last of their five Colonial League titles in 2009.

Since then, it’s been a gradual decline.

“When I was there the last time,” Brady said, “the community was on such a high with the football program. Seeing it get worse and worse every year, I wanted to put my name in and help change how the community saw the program.”

A group of upperclassmen have stuck it out and want to be part of the turnaround. They are tired of the losing and dwindling rosters.

They have bought into the commitment Brady and his staff expect and the direction the coaches are taking the program during offseason and in-season workouts.

“[Brady] has made an impact with Wilson football,” senior Markhi Fields said. “He has made a lot of us more confident about what we’re doing, helped us improve. We feel like we know what we’re doing.

“There were times when people didn’t feel like coming [to practice]. We’ve been through five head coaches, and you’ve only got four years of high school.”

That attitude has been replaced by one in which the players are willing to match the coaches’ dedication and focused on what it takes every day to be successful.

Fields and others could have walked away, feeling they had enough. Instead, they chose the tougher road.

“I just want to finish my time at Wilson and make as much of an impact as I can,” Fields added. “My teammates have been right there with me.”

Brady has history with many of the current players. He taught them in seventh grade. That also helped him make his decision to return to coaching after a two-year stint as Palisades’ head coach in 2010-11.

He left the Pirates program because his children were younger and the nightly drive home from Kintnersville was challenging.

He now has full family backing.

“As soon as my children and wife said I should do this, I was like, ‘Yeah,'” Brady said. “My oldest son is out of the house a couple years. My middle son is a freshman at Freedom and doesn’t play a fall sport. My youngest son doesn’t play sports. He’s going to be in the end zone running video for Hudl.

“They all said, ‘We want to see you happy, Dad. Go do this.’ It was the easiest decision.”

So far, Brady and the players have no regrets. Wilson’s roster is double what it was last year, and the practices are focused and efficient.

The Warriors are eager to see how they do under the Friday night lights and Saturday afternoon sun.

“It’s been fabulous,” Brady said. “It has rejuvenated me in my career a little bit. The kids have been doing a great job since Day 1. They are learning how to practice a tempo we used to at Wilson. I’m energized. It’s a great group of kids. They are having fun, getting along with each other.

“I’m just hoping for the best for them. I think we’ll surprise some people.”

Three things to know about the Warriors

1. Strength in numbers : Fields found the weight room during his freshman season. He’s loved what it has represented ever since.

“I’ve seen the progress, how much bigger and stronger I could get,” the senior said. “It’s fun.”

At 5-foot-10, 230 pounds, Fields will be looking to make an impression on would-be tacklers. He’s a returning starter in the backfield and at linebacker (26 tackles, one fumble recovery in 2023).

“He’s so much stronger, a monster,” Brady said. “We’re putting him in position with an old-school running backs coach in James Klass, who has been in Wilson his whole life. He was with us during the state championship game runs but was more behind the scenes in junior high.

“He has the philosophy that if there’s not a hole, you make a hole. It’s been great seeing the dynamic between the old guy and the new age. [Fields] understands what [Klass] is saying.”

The Warriors, who were shut out five times last season, are going to need a consistent running game to jump-start an offense that has managed only 131 combined points the last two seasons.

Wilson managed only two rushing touchdowns last season, both by returning quarterback Jeremy Cressman.

Sophomore J’son Johnson also is a returnee who figures in the offensive plans with his athleticism. Senior Zeandros Johnson is another experienced skill player who will get opportunities to make plays and is developing into a leader.

Sophomore William Sainz-Saez (5-8, 175) is a returning offensive lineman who still is undersized but is stronger and more able to hold his own.

Junior two-way lineman Gerardo Rivera (6-3, 305) never played football before this year, but will get a chance to have an impact. So will freshman lineman Cayden Lozada (5-6, 225) who deadlifts 500 pounds.

2. A lot of goals : There are 44 on Wilson’s varsity roster and about 32 on the junior high team. That’s a great start for Brady.

“I’m not saying we’re going back to winning Colonial League championships year after year,” he said. “We’ve just got to get some pride in the program, make it a program again.”

Wilson has not been shy about goals for this season. The players and coaches expect to win. Its first game this year is Friday at returning Class 3A state runner-up Northwestern before hosting Catasauqua, which is led by another new head coach in Joe Henrich.

The Warriors have many goals, most of them don’t have to do with football. They are about attitude, work ethic and leadership. A turnaround in those areas eventually will lead to wins and a rejuvenation in the program within the community.

“There is a lot of good, young talent in the middle school and high school,” Brady said. “We’ll have a JV team for the first time in two years. You can’t build a program without that. I’ve told the players that they might play in a varsity game on offense, but they’re playing the JV game on defense. They need reps and their teammates need to play and not just be practice dummies. That can’t ever happen again.”

The losing streak is not taboo in the locker room. It is motivation. But Wilson’s biggest goal this season is a familiar one.

“Beat Notre Dame,” Brady said. “Beat our rival.”

3. Wilson’s 2024 schedule

(at 7 p.m. unless noted; home games in CAPS)

Friday, Aug. 23 : at Northwestern

Saturday, Aug. 31 : CATASAUQUA, noon

Friday, Sept. 6 : at Salisbury

Saturday, Sept. 14 : PEN ARGYL, noon

Friday, Sept. 20 : at Saucon Valley

Saturday, Sept. 28 : PALMERTON, noon

Friday, Oct. 4 : at Northern Lehigh

Friday, Oct. 11 : at Pottsville

Saturday, Oct. 19 : PALISADES, noon

Saturday, Oct. 26 : NOTRE DAME-GP, noon

Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com