40 Teams in 40 Days – Day 39 – Imhotep Charter (12) – Small School Team # 1

Written by: David Mika on Thursday, August 29th, 2013. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

Imhotep Charter (12)

Conference: Philadelphia Public League, AA Division

Class: AA

Nickname: Panthers

Coach: Albie Crosby

2012 Record: 14-1

Returning Players – Offense: Sr. C Gordon Thomas; Sr. OG Tryone Barge; Sr. OT Taleem Muhammad; Sr. OT Aaron Ruff; So. TE Naseir Upshur; Jr. QB Andre Dreuitt; Jr. WR Denniston “D.J.” Moore; Jr. RB Nasir Bonner

Returning Players – Defense: Jr. DE Qwamere Wright-Downing; Sr. DT Tyrone Barge; Jr. DT Kalim Kennedy; Sr. LB Randell Hunter; Sr. MLB Steven Denby; Sr. SS DeAndre Scott; Sr. FS Quadeem Starks; Sr. CB Nyeem Thrones

Special Teams: “Our kicker is D.J. Moore. He made All-Public as a kicker last year for us. DeAndre Scott does the punting duties. Our kickoff returners are Aaron Watkins, Tyliek Raynor and Mike Walters. Our punt returners will be DeAndre Scott and Nyeem Thrones.”

Top Newcomers: So. WR Nasir Lewis

 

Coaches comments:

How’s your offensive line?

“We have our center back. He is Gordon Thomas. He was named honorable mention all-state last year. He is getting some division one looks. We have our guard back from last year and he was our only two-way player. He is Tyrone Barge. He is getting division one looks. My left tackle is Taleem Muhammad and the other tackle is Aaron Ruff. He gave a verbal commitment to Temple. He was first team all-state last year. Rivals had him number one in the state and 24th nationally as a tackle. So we have four of the five lineman returning from last year’s team. The guy that is going to get the fifth spot was a freshman last year. He is John Carlo. He is a sophomore and is 6-foot-5, 285-pounds.”

“Our tight end is going to be a sophomore and started last year. He is Naseir Upshur. He is an up and coming player and one of the top from our freshman class. He is a tall kid at 6-foot-4.”

 

You return your quarterback. Talk about Andre.

“We have our starting quarterback back and he is a two-year starter. He is Andre Dreuitt. He’s starting to get a lot of interest from division one schools. He had 18 total touchdowns last year for us.”

 

How’s your running game?

“We have our tailback back and he was our third back last year. He is Nasir Bonner.”

 

How do your receivers look?

“We have returning at receiver Denniston “D.J.” Moore. Nasir Lewis is looking good and he will battle for playing time.”

 

How’s your defensive line?

“Up front we have back Qwamere Wright-Downing at end. He led the team in sacks last year. He had 12 sacks last year. Tyrone Barge is returning at tackle. We have a rising junior Kalim Kennedy returning at tackle. Sophomore Jordan McCray is looking to get some playing time on the line this year.”

 

How do your linebackers look?

“Our linebacker returning from last year’s team is Randell Hunter. Steven Denby is back in the middle. Kahiree Hasan is going to play a lot for us this year. He played the weak side backer for us last year as well as Braheem Garland.”

 

How’s your secondary?

“We have back DeAndre Scott. He has over 30 some division one offers. Our free safety is back. He is Quadeem Starks. Nyeem Thrones is back at corner. We have a couple of guys in the mix. They are Devon Crosby and Zihar Wright.”

 

What are some of your strengths this year?

“I think one of our strengths is going to be the continuity of the line. Our line was a question mark last year and this year they have experience going into this season. We have size, they know each other and work well together. On defense our strength is our secondary. We have three of the four kids having division one offers in the secondary. We are strong back there.”

 

What is your key this year?

“Our first game this year we go out to Ohio to play Cardinal Mooney. That is going to be a challenge for us. Our first home game is against LaSalle. The key for us is never get too high or too low and just be ready to compete always. We need to use every opportunity as a experience. I think that will be the key to our season, remembering the feeling of coming up a little bit short, playing against a great Wyomissing team. Who wanted it and we want our young men to have the same vision as them. It will be tough this year. Our league has gotten better. If you look at if we are fortunate to come out of the public league we will play in the district championship game against one of the Catholic teams. The Catholic league is really strong. West Catholic is always going to be there. Neumann-Goretti is doing a amazing job and Archbishop Carroll is phenomenal among others. So its not going to be a cake walk to get out of the city. We look forward to the challenge this season.”

2013 Schedule

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