Cappa, Trojans Get Ready for Season Opener with Win Over Phantoms

Wissahickon head coach loves football. As a kid growing up in the Pittsburgh area, there was little that Cappa could do to avoid being drawn to the sport that has been part of Steel City lore for generations, especially when his father Jake was the head football coach of his high school squad.

Cappa has come a long way in his journey since his days at Riverview High School and quarterbacking the Raiders into the playoffs. After several years as an assistant coach at Central Bucks West and, more recently, as a member of John Desimone’s staff at , Cappa is looking forward to leading his Trojans into battle as they look to reclaim the luster on Wissahickon football that produced talents like Albright College starting tail back Josan Holmes and others.

“I can’t wait to get started,” said Cappa. “I have loved being here, I actually moved here for just one year, then it turned in two and so on, I was lucky enough to meet my wife (Nicki), who went to the same high school as I, she applied at the district as well and now we call it home, it is awesome.”

Cappa and his staff have set out this camp on a mission to be more successful in utilizing their talent and working on more capable physically as a whole.

With countless hours of off season workouts and weight room training, the Trojans are starting to see the fruits of their labor.

“We have to get quicker and stronger to be able to compete at the level we want to,” said Cappa. “As a staff, we set our top priorities as having better player development and getting faster and stronger as a team. To do that, they have had to be able to take constructive criticism, which I think they have done a great job with."

The Trojans offensive attack will be led this season by a trio of thoroughbreds in the backfield as Anthony Gelaegall, Tyalif Grimes and Ricky O’Donnell will all see playing time and get their share of carries.

Senior J.T. Crits and junior Randy Frankenfield will share the signal calling duties as Wissahickon opens the season next week against William Tennent.

The Trojans are loaded with leadership and experience as they will take the field with 19 seniors on the squad, and if they continue to focus on the execution of the small details, another mandate of Cappa and his staff, Wissahickon should be in a position to fight for a district playoff spot.

“We have tried to instill our “Go fast, Go hard” mantra all camp long,” said Cappa. “The key to our success this season will be our ability to execute and avoid making mistakes. A scrimmage like tonight is a great measuring stick as we are looking to find the best 11 on both sides of the ball and need to see how our guys react in game situations.”

If Friday night’s scrimmage with PAC-10 contender Phoenixville is any indication of how the Trojans will perform under fire, then Cappa should get used to answering questions about what helped them win games each week.

After the junior varsity squad beat the Phantoms 14-0 in a 20 play-game situation, scrimmage, it was time for the varsity to take center stage on the brand new synthetic turf on Phoenixville’s Washington Field.

The Wissahickon defense was stifling as the swarming defensive back play forced three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Trojans, which resulted in scoreless first quarter.

The second fumble recovered by the Trojans led to a ten play scoring drive, which culminated with a 1-yard plunge by Dan Murphy giving Wissahickon a 7-0 lead after the PAT.

On their next possession, again following a turnover, the Trojans struck quickly a Ricky O’Donnell took a feed off right tackle, broke through the line and scampered 37 yards for another Wissahickon touchdown, just a minute and a half of playing time after the opening score.

Phoenixville completed a long pass to Ryan Yenchick to get on the board but the Trojans hung to emerge form the full game situation scrimmage with a 14-6 victory.

“I am extremely excited to get the season underway,” said Cappa. “I have dreamed about being a head coach since the days of my brother and I playing for my dad. I am so fortunate to have this opportunity for a great school and athletic program. We have some work to do yet, but I think our guys have really bought into what we are trying to teach and it should lead to a great season.”