New league affiliation brings exciting
prospects for Germantown High School
by BRYAN GRAHAM
These are changing times in Philadelphia's high school sports scene.
And with a strong slate of fall teams and a refurbished sports complex in the works, nowhere is the future brighter than at Germantown High School.
After generations of exclusive competition within the city, the Philadelphia Public League is the Pub no longer. The longtime association of the city's public schools has finally joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, comprising the newly-coined District XII.
At last, Philadelphia public schools will have the opportunity to play for Pennsylvania state championships.
The 21 football schools in "The XII" play in three divisions. Germantown competes in the Mid-City circuit, along with Central, Dobbins, Roxborough, Gratz, Edison and William Penn.
On the playing field, Germantown head coach Mike Hawkins--who doubles as the school's athletic director--looks forward to the challenge of rebuilding a strong program with a nucleus of underclassmen. Just five seasons ago, the Bears went undefeated en route to a Public League Championship.
"We're a young team," Hawkins said. "We lost over 20 kids to graduation. We're starting all over again, especially on the offensive line. None of the kids on the line played with us before, and they're now realizing there's a big difference between Varsity and JV."
Despite their relative inexperience, the Bears looked impressive on Saturday in their first-ever District XII tilt. Behind co-captain Brandon Cuff, Germantown (2-1, 1-0) blanked their division rivals William Penn, 20-0, before a home crowd at Benjamin Johnston Memorial Stadium. The signal-caller ran and passed for touchdowns as the Bears wore down the visitors with a staunch ground attack. Four rushers -- Cuff, Andre Fisher, Mark McPherson and Reginald Lloyd -- combined for 213 yards on the afternoon.
While pleased with his side's first-ever victory as a member of District XII, Hawkins has kept his team grounded.
"They're getting better and better each game," Hawkins said. "Whether we'll be good enough to beat the Centrals and the Dobbins and the Kings remains to be seen, but as long as we're not taking steps backwards it's all right."
Prospects are bright for Germantown High off the field as well. Their Mount Airy home field will soon be converted into one of several planned "super sites", thanks to a $200,000 grant to the school district funded by the Philadelphia Eagles and the National Football League.
"They take a field and they upgrade all the facilities," Hawkins said, explaining the process. "So we'll have an all-weather football surface and track, new bleachers and night lighting."
The refurbished field will be shared with other city teams, providing a boost for programs throughout the district.
"Only one site in Philadelphia [currently] has night lighting," Hawkins noted, referring to Northeast High.
The renovations start in November, and Hawkins says the construction should be completed by Fall 2005.
"Under [Philadelphia school district CEO] Paul Vallas' vision, we'll have at least five super-sites and we'll go from there," Hawkins said.
On the whole, Germantown's entire athletic department remains healthy. Other fall sports offerings include cheerleading and volleyball, and Girls' cross-country--
helmed by boys' basketball coach Otis Hackney--has returned after a few years' hiatus.