30 teams in 30 days: West Deptford works to recoup losses

The West Deptford Eagles are a team in transition.

Contending with a host of notable losses incurred due to graduation, coach Clyde Folsom and the rest of the program are working hard on the heels of suffering a first-round Group 2 playoff upset at the hands of Haddonfield last November.

"Skillwise is where we were hit heavy by graduation," Folsom said. "We lost five running backs from last year's team; that's where we have a blemish right now."

At the helm of a young, sophomore-laden roster, Folsom envisions a bright future.

SEE ALSO: 30 teams in 30 days Q&A: West Deptfords' Cameron Wadding

"We have 24 (sophomores), and they work very hard," Folsom said. "And they play together very well; we're certainly excited about our underclassmen. (The freshman team was) 7-2 last year."

Folsom cites consistent offensive line play, one of the few areas on that roster that returned to camp intact, as a key to Eagles success this season. Team captain and senior inside linebacker Kevin DeCaesar agrees.

"We've got a bunch of inexperienced players," DeCaesar said. "But we're all looking pretty good right now. I mean, we have a lot of our O-line and D-line back, but our defensive backs and running backs are gone."

"I think our offensive line is going to have to carry us." DeCaesar said.

Folsom is asking that his team stay focused on the immediate task at hand.

"We need to understand our boundaries and our limitations," he said. "Take one day at a time, work hard and play hard together."

Doing so will help the Eagles avoid the same potential trap that, he posits, is responsible for their untimely postseason exit last year.

"I think we went into the game thinking that we had it in the bag already," DeCaesar said. "Because we had beat them in the regular season. we went in just thinking that we were going to pummel them, but they were just ready for (us)."

"We can't look ahead — we did a year ago," Folsom said. "Things kind of fell into place early for us last year, things were a little bit easy initially, and we became a little bit complacent; a little bit individualized. When we got punched in the mouth; we weren't able to respond."

Determined to avoid repeating history, additional onus will be on respected leaders like DeCaesar to provide invaluable tutelage.

"If they're going half speed, you gotta be on top of it and telling them to go full-speed," DeCaesar said. "Basically, just kicking them if they're not doing the right thing, or doing what they're supposed to be doing."

Prior to being voted captain, DeCaesar — who has led the Eagles in tackles the last two seasons — has long been a de facto leader on the defensive unit. Eager for another crack at a state title, the three-year starter hopes to embody what he feels West Deptford football is all about.

"We're a hard-working team," DeCaesar said. "We're a fourth-quarter team. We condition hard so that we're capable of going all four quarters on both sides of the ball and just ready for anything that our opponents bring us."

Reach Jared Steckler at cpvarsity@gmail.com.