WDHS Football Hoping to Follow Towns' Template

What the players on the football team will be going through this afternoon will be foreign to the squad. When the bell rings to end the school day and the players make their way to the locker room, they will be preparing for a practice following a loss.

After winning its first two games in runaway fashion, the Eagles suffered their first setback on Friday, falling to Colonial Conference Liberty Division rival Haddonfield 31-21.

A West Deptford football team hasn't had to practice after a loss for quite some time, since 2009 in fact. This year’s squad won its first two games and the 2010 team's only loss came in the Group II finals and served as the final game of the season.

So it is fair to say that what the Eagles will be going through today, and the rest of the week, will be a bit different for many of the players.

If the team wants a template on how to respond after a rough outing, though, it needs to look no further than teammate Gerald Towns.

Listed at 6-2, 245 pounds, Towns is a power running back that can lineup and fullback or tailback and pack at punch. Yet his debut left much to be desired.

When West Deptford easily handled Sterling in a season-opening 56-12 victory, there wasn’t a whole lot of areas to point to in regards to need for improvement. However, Towns knew he could do better. The sophomore fumbled twice in the game, putting forth a first-impression that he would rather forget.

How he reacted to that performance was what impressed head coach Clyde Folsom.

“G has a ton of talent,” said Folsom. “He’s a big, strong, fast kid. He struggled a bit (in the opener) protecting the football, but he followed that with his best week of practice. That told us he wasn’t a young kid that went in the tank on you and pouted. He stepped up during the week and worked real hard, and it was evident (against Audubon).”

Against the Green Wave, Towns could not be brought down. He collected 142 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries. Along the way he impressed the West Deptford fan base while earning the confidence of his teammates.

“He’s inexperienced, but he’s a big boy,” said quarterback Jake Hannan. “He fumbled twice (in the opener) and I wasn’t sure about him, but he stepped it up.”

Even after his rough opener, Towns never doubted himself.

“I knew I could do better,” Towns said. “My line’s great, so after all of my touchdowns, I thank them.”

Like most of his teammates, Towns had ups and downs in the loss to Haddonfield. He led the team with 121 yards rushing, including a 53-yard run. His first three carries went for 13, 11 and 17 yards, but he was also stopped on three straight carries at the Bulldawgs 1-yard line. Towns also fumbled, a problem that was recurring for West Deptford.

Clearly Towns’ work is not yet done. He knows it and Folsom knows it. However, both men also know how crucial Towns is to the team’s long-term success.

“He’s going to be a force for us,” Folsom said. “He has to be a force for us to be a quality football team.”