North Lawndale College Prep football is full of enthusiasm, even after a 0-3 start to their public league schedule. The reason for the optimism is based primarily on the team’s belief that they are about to enter a new phase of their first varsity season
DEFENDER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
North Lawndale College Prep football is full of enthusiasm, even after a 0-3 start to their public league schedule. The reason for the optimism is based primarily on the team’s belief that they are about to enter a new phase of their first varsity season that will bode well for them.
Conference play begins for them this week with a showdown against Noble Street high school and the first few games were, in essence, tune-ups for the time that has now come.
There have been some early season problems for the Phoenix, due to the inexperience of the players. There are far more underclassmen on the team than juniors and seniors, due to the academic ineligibility of many of the upperclassmen first-year head coach Anthony Andrew was depending on to play for him this year. But he dealt with the same scenario before during his eight-year tenure as a coach at Collins high school.
Collins went 1-7 his first season there, but improved dramatically and played for the conference championship the following season.
"I’ve been through this once with Collins," Andrew said. "Right now it looks hard," he tells his team, "but it can be done. Just don’t get discouraged and give up. This year is a learning experience for them."
And the young North Lawndale players are basically up to the challenge of playing against young men who are usually about two years older than they are. But it’s tough, and the intensity of varsity football is on a much higher level than frosh/soph ball.
"Varsity is much faster and they will hit you," said sophomore running back Charles Garrett. "You’ve got to step your A-game up."
And there are very few seasoned varsity players to lead the way. It’s all up to them to blaze a new trail for the Phoenix on the gridiron.
"We didn’t have a team before us to look up to so we’ve got to learn from our mistakes," said Garrett. But it’s not as if the team doesn’t know the taste of winning. They were 6-1 last season on the frosh/soph level, and if they do have one thing going in their favor it is camaraderie-among the players and the coaches.
"When I took this job I made sure that I was able to bring my coaching staff from Collins," Andrew said.
"They know me and I know them, the only thing we’ve got to do is to get the kids to adapt to us, and they’re doing it."
Playing on both sides of the ball is part of doing it, and the players have embraced the opportunity to contribute on offense or defense.
"I feel like it gives me a better chance to contribute," said defensive end Marcus Murphy.
North Lawndale will need contributions from the entire squad if they’re to compete at the level they aspire to. The school’s basketball team came together as a unit and eventually won the city championship.
But this is an entirely new ball game and coach Andrew isn’t into measuring his football team by the basketball team’s success.
"I don’t try to set the bar for them compared to what the basketball team does because it’s a totally different game, said Andrew.
"I just tell them to take it one step at a time, I’m not trying to put too much pressure on them."
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