VASJ gridders have Coach Storey smiling
The voice on the other end of the phone Sunday night belonged to John Storey, the veteran Villa Angela-St. Joseph football and wrestling coach, now in his second tour of duty as the Vikings’ gridiron boss. Even without seeing his face, you could sense that he was smiling and had a twinkle in his eye.
And why not? Only a day earlier, his football squad had recorded a lopsided 45-13 victory over Tuscarawas Central Catholic on the road, boosting the Vikings’ record to 2-1.
Earlier that week, on the heels of a 42-21 loss to University School, Coach Storey had seemed a little unsure about what sort of football team he really had this season. Despite having veteran players at several skill positions and along the defensive line, many of his starters this year were inexperienced kids getting their first taste of the limelight.
“We had to rebuild the offensive line this year--and we have some new guys in our defensive secondary,” Storey noted. “They need a little baptism of fire. If we hope to make the playoffs this season, the new fellas are going to have to step it up.”
Well, step it up they did Sept. 11 against the Tuscarawas squad. The Vikings jumped out to a 19-0 first quarter lead, then put the game on ice with a 20-point third quarter. From all appearances, Storey was following the script used for many years by his mentor, Bill Gutbrod, who carved out a legendary coaching career at St. Joseph High. Gutbrod believed in hammering opponents into submission with a relentless ground attack. And that’s just what the Vikings did to the Central Ohio team.
“We ran the ball very well,” Storey said. “Our three running backs all played quite well. And our offensive and defensive lines pretty much dominated the line of scrimmage.”
The running backs he was referring to were 202-pound junior fullback Tim Harrison, senior tailback Clinton James, and sophomore Devon Bolden, a 5-6, 140-pound scatback. In the third quarter, Bolden broke loose on scoring jaunts of 47 yards and 21 yards to put the icing on the victory.
In the opening quarter, senior quarterback Darryl Jones got things started with a pair of short TD runs sandwiched around a 14-yard scoring scamper by Harrison. At 6-2 and 200 pounds, Jones has the stature that many college coaches look for in a quarterback, although he kept his throwing arm under wraps most of the afternoon against Central Catholic.
“We didn’t throw very often,” Storey conceded. “But both our offensive and defensive lines executed very well. They pretty much dominated the game.”
Clinton James (5-11, 175), the senior who ran for three TDs in the Vikings’ season opener against Our Lady of the Lake (Mich.), added two more scores against the Tuscarawas gridders. He closed out the first half scoring with a three-yard blast to send his teammates into the locker room with a 25-7 halftime lead.
“Clinton has great quickness,” Storey points out. “He runs track and plays on the varsity basketball team. This is his fourth year on the football team. He’s an all-around athlete. He goes both ways—playing cornerback on defense and also handling kick returns.”
Next up for the Vikings is a 7 p.m. home game against Division II Chardon Sept. 18 at Euclid’s Sparky DiBiasio Stadium. Chardon, which relies heavily on its rushing game, comes in with a record of 1-2. The following week VASJ travels to Columbus for a game against Bishop Hartley; then the Vikes will host Cleveland Central Catholic at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 2 in the annual homecoming game. Helping with the coaching duties this season are Joe Brozak, Jim Webb, Bob Shaffner, Monroe Hillsman, and Jermond Riffe. Riffe is a 1997 VASJ grad who played both football and basketball for the Vikings. For information about upcoming games and other events, visit the school’s website: www.vasj.com.
●●●
Leadership Potential: Coach Storey, who succeeded Bill Gutbrod as head football coach in the early 1990s, subsequently coached for a number of years at John Carroll University. Now back where he started, he was greeted this fall by a rather small turnout of 33 football players, including just eight seniors.
However, that senior bunch has quite a bit of leadership potential. Take quarterback Darryl Jones, for example. “He’s an athlete—an all-around guy,” Storey says. “He was a wide receiver last year. This is his first year as the varsity quarterback. He keeps improving each game.”
Senior stalwarts on the line include Kevin Koehl (6-3, 240), a three-year starter who is also a pitcher on the baseball team; and Mike Bratley (6-3, 195), also a two-way player who handles the tight end and defensive end positions.
Yet another key senior is Kawmae Sawyer, a wide receiver and linebacker. He’s listed at 5-11, 178 pounds – although come wrestling season, he’ll probably drop down to about 160 pounds. Yet to make an appearance on the gridiron this year is senior running back/linebacker Phil Wellington (6-1, 200), who is currently sidelined due to an injury suffered during an off-season “open” wrestling session.
Nothing would please Coach Storey more than to see those seniors lead the Vikings to their first playoff appearance since 2002.