Havre de Grace coach Johnny Brooks loves to throw the football.
With returning seniors at quarterback and both wide receiver positions, the stars could be aligned for a breakout season.
The Warriors went 2-8 in 2005 but lost four of those contests by eight points or less. They were never blown out, and the two wins came by a combined margin of 54 points. The potential is there, if they can limit the offensive mistakes.
“Turnovers really killed us last year and kept us from having a successful season,” said Brooks, who is also emphasizing conditioning to keep his teams in games through the fourth quarter.
Senior wide receivers Arthur Ibewuike (6-foot-3) and Travis Brown (6-foot-1) will provide big targets for senior quarterback Josh Appold. Brooks called his quarterback reliable, smart and tough.
“The type of kid you want at quarterback,” Brooks said.
Already, Ibewuike and Brown have caught the eye of opposing coaches as top talents.
“Certainly, the two outside receivers from Havre de Grace … they?re very good,” said Joppatowne coach Bill Waibel. “They impress me.”
Brooks said that Ibewuike has shaved his 40-yard dash time under 4.5 seconds and is being recruited by Division I colleges, including Boston College.
“We?re looking for him to do some good things for us,” Brooks said.
He says the same for Brown, who is the more polished, yet less-explosive, of the two.
“He has the best hands on our team, runs decent routes,” Brooks said. “If he stays healthy … look for him to have a good season.”
The offensive line is solid ? behind three 300-pounders ? and the running game should step forward this year behind senior Michael Watters.
“We?re trying to balance it out a little bit,” Brooks said. “We have a really strong running attack now.”
The team has worked hard throughout summer practice, and Brooks likes the team?s attitude and commitment thus far. The squad will be tested early by some tough contests.
Havre de Grace plays in the lower-tier Susquehanna Division of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference but has a schedule that features upper-tier Chesapeake Division foes Aberdeen, Fallston, C. Milton Wright and Joppatowne.
“We?ll know how good we are real quick,” Brooks said.
