Quakertown head football coach George Banas described the 2021 season as a “dream” one.
His Panthers compiled a perfect 10-0 regular-season record, and captured the Suburban One League (SOL) Continental Conference crown. They advanced to the District One Class 6A semifinals and finished with an overall 13-1 record after they topped Pennridge on Thanksgiving morning.
Now, reality has set back in for the program. The Panthers brought back only two starters from last year’s squad, and yet, Quakertown opened the season with a 42-28 victory over Southern Lehigh Aug. 26.
“I remember looking out onto the field, and seeing three sophomores starting on defense,” said Banas, who is in his 13th year at the helm. “I thought this was crazy.
“We’re young. We as coaches have had to try to get things up to speed as best as we can.”
Senior running back/safety John Eatherton and senior lineman Vinny Pellegrini are the lone returnees back. In 2021 Eatherton ran for 712 yards and caught 26 passes on one side of the ball, and he had 25 tackles and six interceptions on the other side. Pellegrini had 20 tackles and one sack. However, Eatherton will be lost until midseason with an injury.
Running backs/linebackers senior Brett Hileman and junior Cody Jefferson had impressive season debuts in the backfield for the Panthers. Hileman rushed for 44 yards and had 10 tackles, and Jefferson had 129 yards. Both scored a pair of touchdowns.
Junior Vince Micucci threw for 184 yards with two touchdowns in his debut.
Banas attributed the quick start to a number of players getting playing time last season when games were already decided. Yet, he is quite aware that work still has to be done.
“We were fortunate to get a lot of these guys time last year,” he added. “We were sloppy at times, but you take a win however you can get it. There were negatives out there, as well as some positives.
“We have things to work on to get better.”
Banas drew a comparison to his 2019 club that worked its way through a 3-8 season after a successful 9-4 campaign the previous year.
“I think we could have won six or seven games that year,” he noted. “It was a matter of finishing games, and we let too many slip away.
“But I think this club is on a faster trek than the 2019 team. There is more potential with this team.”
Banas is optimistic his club can find its footing as well as its identity before they start league play in Week Five. They have North Penn, Central Bucks West and Plymouth Whitemarsh over the next three weeks before they play Council Rock South.
“I hope we can settle in and bring it all together before we start league play,” he stated. “It will be a tough road ahead, but these guys have the ability and confidence to get it done.”
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