Former Damascus star leads Black Knights into Navy week
The tug-of-war Stephen Anderson experienced in his year at the U.S. Military Academy Prep School had nothing to do with physical training.
During a spectacular 2006 season on the football field at Fort Monmouth, N.J., scholarship offers from other colleges pulled him one way. At the same time, he was warming to military life and bonding with new teammates, which pulled him in another direction.
It was a difficult decision with long-term consequences. Would Anderson go the route of his older brother, Brad, a linebacker at UMass, who that season was playing for the Division I-AA runner-up Minutemen? Or would he stick with his commitment to Army, dedicating the next nine years of his life to the military?
Four years after choosing the latter, Anderson is the leading tackler and captain of the first Army squad to play in a bowl game since 1996. Saturday in Philadelphia, Anderson leads Army (6-5) against Navy (8-3) in the 111th edition of the storied rivalry.
| Up next | |
| Army vs. Navy | |
| When » Saturday, 2:30 p.m. | |
| Where » Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia | |
| TV/Radio » CBS/1050 AM | |
“Looking at all the options I had, I can’t imagine not being here now,” Anderson said. “Back then, I had no idea how it could be such a powerful tool for leadership.”
The 5-foot-10, 222-pound linebacker emerged as a starter in his sophomore season. In the eyes of his teammates, he emerged earlier than that. When coach Rich Ellerson arrived at Army last year, he wanted to know who the Black Knights’ leaders were.
“It wasn’t even close. There was a junior,” Ellerson said. “We’re the No. 1 leadership institution in the world and in that peer group he’s been identified as a guy who’s not just a leader, but an extraordinary leader.”
At Damascus High in 2005, Anderson filled the role, even though it was his only year at the school. Playing linebacker and running back, he made 179 tackles and scored 19 touchdowns, propelling Damascus to the 4A state championship.
But questions about his size and speed limited his scholarship offers. That changed during a season at USMAPS as he led the team to its best record (8-2) in program history.
Anderson was set to leave and accept a scholarship at Division I-AA power Richmond. But a long talk with his father was followed by some gentle arm-twisting from USMAPS coach Ben Kotwica, a former Army star and now a special teams coach with the New York Jets.
“He was like my big brother away from home, just showed me the ropes a little bit, showed me how to play linebacker,” Anderson said. “He pulled me in and started talking about the brotherhood at West Point, about what West Point meant to him.”
Then with Anderson still on the fence, Army head coach Bobby Ross made the two-hour drive from West Point for an evening chat, which finally convinced Anderson that he should stay put.
“It’s been amazing to see us go from a 3-9 team to a going to a bowl game,” Anderson said. “When we were at prep school, we said then, we knew we would bring Army football back.”
