Published: August 27, 2007 12:58 pm            

Warehime steps in at Del City

Jeff Craig resigned as the head Del City football coach before school was out last spring and assistant Nick Warehime, who possesses 26 years coaching experience, stepped in to fill the void.

“We’re athletic,” an optimistic Warehime said. “This team reminds me of when I was at John Marshall. We went from 1-9 to the playoffs. This team is really similar to that.

“I think right now we’re trying to work on new schemes, new style and get used to new coaches.”

There are seven new coaches at Del City this year.

And, the numbers are up. To start, 129 players came out for football and the roster has been trimmed down to 90.

At quarterback, Robert Lopez returns with experience and the speedy Keno Meadows will also vie for the position. But Lopez, who is 5-11 and weighs over 200 pounds, is very valuable all over the field.

“Lopez is a real good kicker,” Warehime lauded. “The best thing about Robert is that he’s coachable. He’s a quality kid and is so fun to coach.

“He has all the intangibles we’re looking for and so does Keno.”

Meadows runs a 4.51 and Lopez is also a linebacker who accumulated 62 tackles last year.

The Eagles beat just Tulsa Memorial last season but they were in games with big teams. They had Broken Arrow down at intermission and lost to an undefeated district champion in Westmoore 7-0 on a fumble inside their own 10-yard line.

“We are putting an emphasis on ball security,” Warehime said. “We just have to execute when they turn the lights on.

“I feel we’re very scrappy on defense and we have some good athletes but have to put the pieces together.

“I think it is a totally new team from top to bottom with new players on both sides of the ball.”

Demario Mitchell returns at running back and runs a 4.5. Teammate Tim Clark will be at wide receiver and safety and stops the clock in the 40 at 4.6.

One big-time blocker for the backfield is 6-2, 275-pound Derrick Jackson.

“Surprisingly enough, the group of seniors has done a really good job to set the tone for the younger kids,” Warehime said. “Derrick Jackson would be in my starting five of all the kids I’ve coached on the line in 26 years. He has good feet from what he’s learned in wrestling and we’ll also have him in the rotation on defense.”

Laquez Stone at linebacker was injured last year and still racked up 11 sacks in just three games. He’ll also play fullback.

The Calhouns — Ismail and Isaiah — are both returning in the defensive backfield and Deanthoni Williams is back at linebacker.

“Deanthoni Williams has really good instinct and has a chance to be really good,” Warehime noted.

Andy Navarro, who stands at 6-1, 250, is listed as a newcomer to watch at guard and the fast Andre McNeely off the basketball team is expected to make an impact.

“This will be a fun team to coach. The numbers are up and I have a good coaching staff,” Warehime said. “We will play an aggressive defensive style which fits our kids. We have playmakers on both sides of the ball and our line must develop for us to be solid.”

Del City is in the eastern district and must face powers Broken Arrow and Tulsa Union.

“I think the situation we’re in our kids need to think they should be proud to play at Del City,” Warehime said. “All the district titles won, the tradition is here. That’s our goal to bring the tradition back to the Del City community.”

        

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