Meet the Ghosts: Abington Prepares For Make or Break Season
Barry F. Hess
August 15, 2006
ABINGTON, Pa---There is an eerie silence as you walk through the vacant hallways of Abington Senior High School.
The large classrooms, library and cafeteria all sit unused on a hot and humid afternoon in August.
The floors are being prepared for a fresh coat of polish and the windows and doors are being given one last cleaning before the fall session gets underway in just a few short weeks.
But amidst the silence throughout one of the largest high schools in the Philadelphia suburb area is the echo of a pulse.
As you walk through the main hallway where dignitaries like George W. Bush, senators and congressman have visited in the past the pulse gets louder and stronger.
By the time you reach the athletic department the pulse is no longer a pulse but the powerful heartbeat of team preparing for battle in a war to earn the respect and valor that goes with the success of any winning football team.
For each of the past two seasons the players and coaches on this staff have participated in the annual ritual known across the country as high school football and for each of the past two seasons they have gotten close enough to the ultimate prize that they could taste it, only to have it vanish just as quickly as it came into view.
But after an off-season full of intense workout sessions, the breakdown of hour upon hour of game film and the planting of a new seed these warriors, known by their peers as Ghosts, are ready to finally take what they believe is rightfully theirs.
It has been a long time since any Ghost team has had the opportunity to call themselves champions, in fact, the last time it occurred current head coach Tim Sorber was protecting the quarterback as a senior offensive lineman in 1989.
Since that time the Ghosts have been forced to run through buzz saw after buzz saw throughout the Suburban One League, one of, if not the, toughest high school football leagues in all the country.
Teams like Central Bucks West, who over the course of the 1990’s had a record of 121-8 with several PIAA Championships to celebrate.
Teams like North Penn, who have beaten the Ghosts 11 years in a row while winning a PIAA Championship of their own, and Neshaminy, who also won a PIAA Championship in 2001, have savored the glory the Ghosts so desperately want to be a part of.
But after a conference realignment took the Bucks out of the picture two years ago and the graduation of several key players on both the Knights and the Redskins if ever there was a year the Ghosts could finally get over the hump it most certainly would be 2006.
As the team builds more and more people are starting to believe,” said senior Jon Natter. “I think as more and more people believe in this team more people are taking this season seriously and that is what you need to be successful.”
Natter, who helped the Ghosts to a 7-5 season last year at both the running back and linebacker position, feels the next step in the team’s progression has to be a playoff berth after missing out on the post-season by just one game a year ago.
For me, making the playoffs is the biggest goal of the year,” said Natter. “I think if we come together as a team and work our way up, especially now that 16 teams are making the playoffs, we can get in and make a run.”
While the number of teams eligible for the playoffs has risen to 16 it will by no means be an easy road for the Ghosts, who will not only have to compete against powerhouse programs like the Knights and Redskins during the regular season but they will also have to have a better record than several other talented programs in the Suburban One League by season’s end.
So how does a team that faces Grade “A” competition week in and week out make a run into the playoffs?
Well just like in college and the professional ranks it all starts in the off-season.
The Ghosts participate in a strenuous work out program that has seen 20 players on the roster max out with weights of 300 and 400 pounds in various exercises like squats and bench press.
However, strength and conditioning is just one area the Ghosts have focused on during the off-season.
It all starts with how much we believe in what we can do,” said senior Rashad Miller. “Over the summer we have all done a lot of things, not just working out but working on plays and other things. We have to look at ourselves and say look how good we can be. We all want to be here and we all believe in each other and that is where it all starts.”
Last season Miller was part of a stellar defensive line that has, along with the remainder of the defense, grown to become the heart and soul of the team as well as an offensive line that protected sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton superbly.
It is the play of both lines that Miller feels will be Ghosts meal ticket to the post season.
I think both our lines are going to be better than we have been for a long time, including last year when we were pretty solid,” said Miller. “My job as a senior and as a captain is to say to myself, what can I do to make the lines better? I think as I do that our line will become the biggest part of this team.”
The optimism shared by Natter and Miller is mirrored up and down the roster mixed with experienced and young players.
The winning attitude, however, was not learned over night and can be directly attributed to the dedication of Sorber, who has instituted a plan for success that each and every one of his players believes.
Over the last several years I really believe this team has evolved…and even last year I think if we had gotten a few breaks here and there we could have been 9-3 instead of 7-5,” Sorber said. “What I have been trying to instill in all the players for 2006 now is, because we made this play or this play we won this game, where as in years past we have said if we could have made this play or that play we could have won that game. We want to build off last year…these kids are not going to be happy with 7-5 this year.”
The Ghosts have laid the foundation for a winning attitude with their progress over the last several seasons and as players begin to get back into hitting shape with the start of training camp Monday the final touches will be put in place for what everyone is hoping to be a memorable year for the maroon and white.
No longer are the Ghosts considered pushovers by the rest of the league and with the success they had last year the word is out...look out for the Ghosts or else they will haunt you in your nightmares all season long!
The large classrooms, library and cafeteria all sit unused on a hot and humid afternoon in August.
The floors are being prepared for a fresh coat of polish and the windows and doors are being given one last cleaning before the fall session gets underway in just a few short weeks.
But amidst the silence throughout one of the largest high schools in the Philadelphia suburb area is the echo of a pulse.
As you walk through the main hallway where dignitaries like George W. Bush, senators and congressman have visited in the past the pulse gets louder and stronger.
By the time you reach the athletic department the pulse is no longer a pulse but the powerful heartbeat of team preparing for battle in a war to earn the respect and valor that goes with the success of any winning football team.
For each of the past two seasons the players and coaches on this staff have participated in the annual ritual known across the country as high school football and for each of the past two seasons they have gotten close enough to the ultimate prize that they could taste it, only to have it vanish just as quickly as it came into view.
But after an off-season full of intense workout sessions, the breakdown of hour upon hour of game film and the planting of a new seed these warriors, known by their peers as Ghosts, are ready to finally take what they believe is rightfully theirs.
It has been a long time since any Ghost team has had the opportunity to call themselves champions, in fact, the last time it occurred current head coach Tim Sorber was protecting the quarterback as a senior offensive lineman in 1989.
Since that time the Ghosts have been forced to run through buzz saw after buzz saw throughout the Suburban One League, one of, if not the, toughest high school football leagues in all the country.
Teams like Central Bucks West, who over the course of the 1990’s had a record of 121-8 with several PIAA Championships to celebrate.
Teams like North Penn, who have beaten the Ghosts 11 years in a row while winning a PIAA Championship of their own, and Neshaminy, who also won a PIAA Championship in 2001, have savored the glory the Ghosts so desperately want to be a part of.
But after a conference realignment took the Bucks out of the picture two years ago and the graduation of several key players on both the Knights and the Redskins if ever there was a year the Ghosts could finally get over the hump it most certainly would be 2006.
As the team builds more and more people are starting to believe,” said senior Jon Natter. “I think as more and more people believe in this team more people are taking this season seriously and that is what you need to be successful.”
Natter, who helped the Ghosts to a 7-5 season last year at both the running back and linebacker position, feels the next step in the team’s progression has to be a playoff berth after missing out on the post-season by just one game a year ago.
For me, making the playoffs is the biggest goal of the year,” said Natter. “I think if we come together as a team and work our way up, especially now that 16 teams are making the playoffs, we can get in and make a run.”
While the number of teams eligible for the playoffs has risen to 16 it will by no means be an easy road for the Ghosts, who will not only have to compete against powerhouse programs like the Knights and Redskins during the regular season but they will also have to have a better record than several other talented programs in the Suburban One League by season’s end.
So how does a team that faces Grade “A” competition week in and week out make a run into the playoffs?
Well just like in college and the professional ranks it all starts in the off-season.
The Ghosts participate in a strenuous work out program that has seen 20 players on the roster max out with weights of 300 and 400 pounds in various exercises like squats and bench press.
However, strength and conditioning is just one area the Ghosts have focused on during the off-season.
It all starts with how much we believe in what we can do,” said senior Rashad Miller. “Over the summer we have all done a lot of things, not just working out but working on plays and other things. We have to look at ourselves and say look how good we can be. We all want to be here and we all believe in each other and that is where it all starts.”
Last season Miller was part of a stellar defensive line that has, along with the remainder of the defense, grown to become the heart and soul of the team as well as an offensive line that protected sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton superbly.
It is the play of both lines that Miller feels will be Ghosts meal ticket to the post season.
I think both our lines are going to be better than we have been for a long time, including last year when we were pretty solid,” said Miller. “My job as a senior and as a captain is to say to myself, what can I do to make the lines better? I think as I do that our line will become the biggest part of this team.”
The optimism shared by Natter and Miller is mirrored up and down the roster mixed with experienced and young players.
The winning attitude, however, was not learned over night and can be directly attributed to the dedication of Sorber, who has instituted a plan for success that each and every one of his players believes.
Over the last several years I really believe this team has evolved…and even last year I think if we had gotten a few breaks here and there we could have been 9-3 instead of 7-5,” Sorber said. “What I have been trying to instill in all the players for 2006 now is, because we made this play or this play we won this game, where as in years past we have said if we could have made this play or that play we could have won that game. We want to build off last year…these kids are not going to be happy with 7-5 this year.”
The Ghosts have laid the foundation for a winning attitude with their progress over the last several seasons and as players begin to get back into hitting shape with the start of training camp Monday the final touches will be put in place for what everyone is hoping to be a memorable year for the maroon and white.
No longer are the Ghosts considered pushovers by the rest of the league and with the success they had last year the word is out...look out for the Ghosts or else they will haunt you in your nightmares all season long!
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