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Last season was for practice.
This time around, Prep Charter will play its first-ever varsity football game Aug. 31 against Communications Tech. Monday morning, the Huskies opened two weeks of two-a-days at Smith Playground, 24th and Jackson streets.
Unlike the Huskies boys’ basketball team, the defending Public League and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association AA champs, coach Larry Arata knows it will take time to build a winning program.
"I think the basketball team has established a great winning tradition and the football team would like to follow their lead," the coach, who was a Second Team All-Ivy Center at Princeton University, said. "We need two dozen people and we need to build toward [a winning tradition]. We are not there yet."
Prep Charter posted the opportunity to start the program from scratch, as the school’s administration decided to expand the fall offerings. Last fall, the Huskies played a five-game junior varsity schedule as required by league rules. (The lone victory came against Bristol, but other contests were close.) The Public League’s AAA or small-enrollment division will have a total of nine squads this fall, with three, including Furness High, being first-year members.
Arata is so passionate about high school football that, after 20 years in the software industry, he walked away to become a history teacher and coach. He even reached out to some of his former teammates for donations to help get the program running.
Last year, Prep Charter didn’t hold its first practice until after Labor Day, and equipment didn’t come until the end of September. The first scrimmage was in early October.
"I think we are much better prepared this year," Arata said.
Last fall, he said 52 sets of equipment were distributed to players, but only 40 showed up for practice. With games counting this time around, the coach expects those numbers to drop.
"Only the very serious football players should be coming out," Arata said. "We’ve definitely got our core group. I am pretty excited about the kids coming out."
During the spring and summer, the coach said 16 Prep Charter athletes dedicated themselves to the off-season lifting and conditioning program. Twelve of those players even attended an overnight camp at Villanova University to get pointers from Wildcats football coach Andy Talley.
"That was a great experience for those kids," Arata said of the camp.
over the next two weeks, the players will spend mornings and afternoons gaining crucial knowledge for the upcoming season. The early sessions start at 9 a.m. and last two hours. Arata said conditioning, offensive and defensive fundamentals and footwork will be included in the routine. Blocking, tackling and hitting will be stressed during the afternoons, where practices are another two hours.
Tuesday was the first day players practiced in pads. Once the school schedule starts, the Huskies will take the field from 3 to 5 p.m.
One of the challenges over the next couple weeks will be putting together offensive and defensive lines, as the coach said he is lacking large players.
"We’ve got plenty of little, fast kids but not [enough] big, strong kids," he said.
Arata has four assistant coaches helping him this season including Mike Ahlum, who spent 35 years as Haverford High School’s football coach. Arata’s former high school teammate Mike DeVitas, who played quarterback, also is a member of the staff. University of Pennsylvania grads Tommy Richards and Andrew Gray round out the group.
The coaches have to get the squad prepared for a 12-game schedule, eight of which will count toward league standings. Only the first-place team qualifies for the Public League District 12 playoffs.
Bok has made its mark as king of the small-school division, winning back-to-back championships in ’05 and ’06 with an overall mark of 9-0. Arata said he also expects Ben Franklin to present a tough challenge. The Huskies will face Bok Sept. 20, followed by Franklin a week later. The schedule gets a little easier the next two weeks with FitzSimmons (Oct. 4) and Furness (Oct. 11), both of which are first-year varsity programs. Overall, the coach is confident his Huskies will make a strong rookie showing.
"I would like to win seven games," Arata said. "My goal is to have a winning season and be competitive."
The slate also includes non-league contests against large enrollment schools Olney (Oct. 14), as well as tentatively scheduled meetings against Bartram and Overbrook. The latter two will be determined in November once the District 12 playoff field is set.
None of the contests will take place in South Philly as the 11th and Bigler streets sports complex is under construction. The School District of Philadelphia is converting the facility into a super site, similar to those at Northeast High School, Germantown and Simon Gratz. Some squads might prefer the home field advantage, but Arata isn’t concerned.
"They’re all in Philadelphia so none of them are too far away," he said. "We have our core group of administrators and teachers that come to games."
In other high school football news, the Furness Falcons started their first season of varsity football earlier this week with 34 kids out for the team. Practices are 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at FDR Park, Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. Interested Furness students can sign-up at practice.
