Rick O'Brien: New era begins at Penn Charter

Tommy Coyle's career as head football coach at Penn Charter officially begins at 11 a.m. Saturday against visiting Samuel Fels.

But the 44-year-old is no stranger to the private school in East Falls. He was an assistant with the Quakers before taking the top spot at Father Judge in 2000, and his children - Ava, 10, and Quinn, 8 - are students there.

"It's not a completely foreign environment for me," said Coyle, who went 73-77 in 13 seasons at Judge and guided the Crusaders to the Catholic League Class AAAA final in 2008.

In addition to his coaching duties, Coyle is an admissions associate at Penn Charter. He was an assistant, working with the defense, under former bosses Brian McCloskey and Bill Gallagher in his previous stint with the Quakers.

"I loved being at Judge, and I will continue to love Judge," Coyle said. "But this is my home now. As a coach, I feel refreshed and ready to go. I'm excited about the challenge."

Coyle took four assistants with him from Mayfair: Casey Jones (offensive line), Ryan Nase (defensive line), Steve Nejman (linebackers), and Fran Costello (defensive backs). All are Judge graduates.

McCloskey, dean of students at Penn Charter, guided the Quakers from 1995 to 2007. He has stayed on as an assistant. "We've rekindled our friendship," Coyle said.

Other coaching holdovers are Rick Mellor, the school's longtime baseball coach, and Andrew "Duke" Martina.

Chris Rahill, a quarterback at Penn Charter (Class of 1999) and Ursinus, is settling in as coordinator of an offense that sometimes will feature a four-receiver set. He was last at Archbishop Ryan.

"He brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to our program," said Coyle, a 1987 Judge graduate who directs a 4-3 defense.

The Quakers, who went 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Inter-Ac League last year, must replace a trio of standouts: two-way lineman Mike McGlinchey (now at Notre Dame), 1,100-yard rusher Eric Neefe (Temple), and multipurpose threat Daryl Worley (West Virginia).

This year's squad is led by Patrick McInerney, an offensive lineman and middle linebacker; running backs James Biggs-Frazier and Corey Kelly; and two-way linemen Frank McGlinchey (Mike's brother), Anthony Campanile, Jelani Buie, and Sean Foley.

Also in the mix are QB Patrick McCain, tight end and outside linebacker Ken Bergmann, and two-way end Rob Keehfus. Michael Hnatkowsky, a freshman, is making a strong push for playing time at QB.

"We have kids who work extremely hard," Coyle said. "We're just trying to put them in a position to be successful."

Quotable. Downingtown East coach Mike Matta, on Frankford junior defensive end Shareef Miller: "He's as legitimate of a [Division I] prospect as I've ever seen. He plays hard, never quits."

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Miller has scholarship offers from Massachusetts and Rutgers. Penn State and Temple also are involved.

Extra points. Juan Namnun, who was Frankford's defensive coordinator, now is helping out at Delran in South Jersey. He said the Philadelphia School District's budget woes forced the change. Rasheen Braddock, a top rusher for the Pioneers in the early 1990s, has replaced Namnun on Will Doggett's staff. . . . The Central League game between Penncrest and host Lower Merion, originally scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sept. 21, has been switched to 7 p.m. on Sept. 20. . . . In La Salle's 34-7 win over North Penn, Levi Hardy, who was part of the distance medley relay team that won the Championship of America at the Penn Relays, caught five passes for 86 yards.

Last week's ranking in parentheses. Local teams in bold.

Class AAAA

1. Coatesville (2) 1-0

2. North Allegheny (3) 1-0

3. La Salle (4) 1-0

4. Upper St. Clair (7) 1-0

5. Neshaminy (6) 1-0

6. St. Joseph's Prep (9) 1-0

7. Pittsburgh Cent. Catholic (10) 1-0

8. Woodland Hills (1) 0-1

9. Downingtown East (8) 1-0

10. Gateway (5) 1-0

Class AAA

1. Bishop McDevitt (1) 1-0

2. Archbishop Wood (2) 1-0

3. Cathedral Prep (3) 1-0

4. Thomas Jefferson (4) 1-0

5. West Allegheny (5) 1-0

6. Manheim Central (6) 1-0

7. Berwick (7) 1-0

8. Central Valley (8) 1-0

9. Pottsgrove (NR) 1-0

10. West Mifflin (NR) 1-0

Class AA

1. Imhotep Charter (1) 1-0

2. Aliquippa (2) 1-0

3. South Fayette (3) 1-0

4. Richland (4) 1-0

5. West Catholic (5) 1-0

6. Beaver Falls (6) 1-0

7. Catasauqua (7) 1-0

8. Washington (8) 1-0

9. Berks Catholic (9) 1-0

10. Danville (10) 1-0

Class A

1. Clairton (1) 1-0

2. Sto-Rox (2) 1-0

3. Southern Columbia (3) 1-0

4. Dunmore (5) 1-0

5. North Catholic (6) 1-0

6. Old Forge (NR) 1-0

7. Bellwood-Antis (4) 0-1

8. Bristol (9) 1-0

9. Delone Catholic (NR) 1-0

10. Williams Valley (10) 1-0

- Rick O'Brien

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