Schools
Archbishop Carroll Coach to Face Former Team
The coach that helped turn the Archbishop Wood program around is current Carroll coach Joe Powel.
As if the Archbishop Carroll football hasn’t had enough troubles this season, losing its top two players, starting quarterback Jalal Timmons and running back Eric Massenburg, with ALC injuries, the Patriots will enter the Catholic League Class AAA schedule against the best team in the area this Friday night at 7:30, at Radnor High School.
Carroll will host Archbishop Wood, a serious contender for the PIAA Class AAA state title after finishing as a state semifinalist last year. The twist is that Wood is a program that once struggled, as Carroll is this season at 1-5 overall.
The coach that helped turn the Wood program around, and even won a few Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division titles, is current Carroll coach Joe Powel.
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Powel, in his first year at Carroll, gradually turned a once-dormant Wood program into league champs in 2004 and again in ’05. Powel was 27-9 overall at Wood and 19-3 in the Catholic League. In 2005, Powel was named the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association District 13 coach of the year. Manpower issues could play a factor.
The Pats have less than 30 healthy players. Wood has six Division-I level players. “This is going to be a process, and it’s going to be gradual, but we were able to do it at Wood,” Powel said. “It can happen here, too, at Carroll. These kids have a great attitude. It started since they began training camp.”
