UPPER DARBY: Teams that win championships regardless of the sport, almost always have an aura of confidence about them.
Ask any coach how hard it is to get his or her team to capture that feeling of confidence, it’s tough.
Former Eagles standout cornerback, NFL and college head coach and current television commentator Herman Edwards once said that when a team is on a role, it’s because it captured the ‘it” factor.
Paraphrasing here…Edwards said, “Once you get ‘it,’ you don’t want to let ‘it’ go. You want to hold on to ‘it’ for as long as you can.”
Bonner & Prendie Catholic High School head football coach Jack Muldoon was able to grab “it” in 2024 and ran with it all the way to a PIAA 4A Championship defeating Lampeter-Strasburg in the final in convincing fashion, 40-14.
The Friars earned the first PIAA state title in school history in any sport.
Bonner/Prendie posted a 12-2 record losing only to nationally ranked 6A Catholic League programs LaSalle College High School and St. Joe’s Prep.
In 2023, the Friar’s went 9-3 and lost to the Dallas High School Mountaineers 28-27 in the second round of the playoffs.
Friars standout quarterback Noel Campbell Jr. said after the loss, he and his returning teammates started to feel like they could do better in 2024, much better.
Campbell, who led the Friars to their first state title in just his sophomore season, talked about how the new confidence unfolded.
“I had a feeling since last year, when we kind of fell short,” Campbell said at a recent sit down talk on the Bonner/Prendie campus. “The seniors this year gave us a boost to be able to take it that far. We had the hope this was going to be the group to make it happen.”
Campbell was awarded first team 4A All-State honors after his historic season.
For the season, he completed 180 of 283 passes for 2,685 yards and 27 touchdown passes. He threw eight interceptions.
Also named to the 4A All State Team from Bonner/Prendie were senior running back Mick Johnson, Coach of the Year Jack Muldoon, senior wide receiver Jeremiah Coleman, senior offensive lineman Chaz Ingram and senior defensive lineman Jalil Hall.
At what point did Campbell feel like this was his team?
“It really started the year before,” Campbell said. “When we fell short, I started getting that feeling as we were coming into this season. I know I had to mature...get more connected with the guys. I got that not the first game, but in the off season, in the scrimmages...I felt like it was my team. I knew I had to be a leader for the guys for us to do what we wanted to do.”
Returning underclassmen include running back Saalem Frink, kick returner/RB Tarif Nixon, WR/SB Tymir Morris, TE/DE Cj Amobi, DE/LB Cole Romano, CB/WR Josiah Adams, RB/SS/MLB Mekhi Martin, CB/WR Musa Bradford, WR/CB Jameer Frink, CB, WR Brian Welsh, WR/SS Mohamed Ismail, MLB Kyziiah Barratt, RB/CB Trevon Scurry, MLB Amir Williams.
DE/TD Elijah Daniels, MLB Moranuoluwa Adeyemi, DT/G Jaysaan Allen, T/G Caleb Tesema, DT Nafiz Bostick, G/OLB Manny Livingston, G Kevin Hunter, G/DT Gabe Mooney, DT Darnell Duret, T Julius Johnson, T/DT Frank Simon, T/DT Terence Jones jr, C/G/DT James Shallow, G/T/LS Collin Murray and TE/DE Camryn Lundy,.
Campbell did all this while being listed at 5-foot-5, 130 pounds as a sophomore. He says his size is always a question. He said on this day he is now 5-6, 145 pounds.
His genetics are there...Campbell is an athlete. He is just not a tall player. But Campbell is a football player.
Eagles fans saw how Jalen Hurts – also considered an undersized signal caller – would internalize criticism and use it to motivate himself.
How does Campbell process the remarks about his height?
He sees the game through a unique lens. His football world is a bit different than most other quarterbacks playing today.
Campbell put on a dazzling display this season of how to make his perceived drawback work to his and his team’s benefit.
When he was asked the question, he didn’t pause for a second.
“Advantage,” Campbell said without hesitation. “As a smaller quarterback, it's not the easiest, but I definitely hear it a lot. I definitely use that as motivation to put more work in. People are going to say what they say.”
Campbell, who lists Hurts as his favorite NFL player, has two more seasons of high school football left to play at the Upper Darby school.
Campbell, like Hurts, seems mature beyond his years. He knows you can’t eat a pizza all at once.
It takes time, one piece at a time.
“I'm not trying to look too much in the future, I just take it day by day, play by play as the year goes on, practice by practice,” Campbell said. “I want more chemistry with the guys as the younger guys are coming up.
“But yeah, I just take it day by day. I don't skip to...'Dang I wish we could just skip to the state championship.' I take it day by day, practice to practice.”
Campbell said this offseason he is focused on “weightlifting, eating, working out with my mechanics.” Where does Campbell train? “I stay here mostly.”
BONNER/PRENDIE IS LOSING ITS OFFENSIVE BACKBONE-TO THE RAMS
In the 4A championship game against Lampeter-Strasburg; at Chapman Stadium on the campus of Cumberland Valley High School, senior Mick Johnson had a swan song most high school players dream of.
The 5-10, 172-pound senior rushed 24 times for a net 111 yards and four touchdowns against the Pioneers.
For the season, public records show Johnson rushed 159 times for 1,322 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Johnson was asked about his thoughts on the season and when they knew it could be special.
“From the beginning of the season, or probably since last year, my junior year…after last year's loss in the playoffs, I just knew we had to come back,” Johnson said. “I really didn't want to feel that feeling anymore. We had to put in the work. We had to put in as much work as we could to get to that point and win the championship.”
Eagles all-everything running back Saquon Barkley, who played high school football for Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township, PA has been known to talk to his teammates about what different moves he is working on and when he wants to try new moves in a game.
In many cases, Barkley admitted he emulated moves he’s seen from other pro running backs.
Does Johnson build his rolodex of moves in the same way?
“Yes, I watch a lot of backs like (Detroit Lions) Jahmyr Gibbs, Barry Sanders (Detroit), Saquon Barkley and a lot of other backs,” Johnson said. “I like to take their moves and input it into my game to the best of my ability. Because I know it's not going to look the same as when they did it, but I can try my best to do it and put a spin on it.”
Johnson played well in a championship game and helped Bonner/Prendie hang a banner. How has that resonated with college scouts and coaches Johnson is talking to?
“They do say a lot,” Johnson said. “They're looking for winners who know how to get it done and lead the team. I feel like I did a good job doing that this year and put a good example out.”
Johnson revealed he is taking his talents to the heralded West Chester University football program.
Johnson said he has talked to head coach Duke Greco about where he fits in. Will Johnson get consideration to play right away?
“We're going to see how I develop over the offseason,” Johnson said. “The coaches have said I have a chance of playing as a freshman.”
It was interesting to see who Johnson admired the most as an NFL player growing up…Michael Vick, a quarterback. Who also happens to be one of the greatest running QB1s in NFL history.
“I've been watching Michael Vick since I was like five years old.” Johnson said. “All the moves I do are inspired by Michael Vick.”
In the near future, players coming to Bonner/Prendie will look up to the championship feats of Campbell, Johnson and the rest of the Friars because they grabbed “it” and never let go. *
Some information in this article is from easternpafootball.com, piaa.org and MaxPreps.com
Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballstories.com.
Campbell plays with his heart and mind!!