Monarchs vs Jaguars

The Delco Monarchs kicked off there 2008 preseason football schedule by hosting the Conestoga Jaguars who are a unofficial new member of the Delaware Valley Pop Warner Football League. The Moose aka Penn Wood Middle School's Athletic Field was packed with parents, former Monarch players and spectators who came out to support the home team. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout Coach Greg said, especially for a scrimmage. We usually don't get that many people out there for a regular season game. But I guess after five years of existence, maybe we are finally turning the corner with our program. We are not the new kids on the block anymore Coach Jamil said. Youth football in the William Penn School District / Delaware County has a new option and its the Delco Monarchs.

As far as the scrimmage goes, there were a few obstacles. The head coach of the Jaguars indicated that they were bringing there 90 and 160 pound football teams. However, when they arrived, we noticed that they were significantly bigger than our children. Thus, we brought out the scale which is highly unusual in a scrimmage. Once we got the Jaguars ages and weights checked it turned out that there 90 pound team was actually a 120 pound team by Pop Warner Rule. Thus, our 120 pound team played instead of our 90's and they did not disappoint.

Lead by first year quarterback K. Shuler and powerful running backs S. Zeon ( 4 carries, 40 yards) and K. Cryor ( 5 carriers, 55 yards, 1TD) the Monarchs pounded out a 6-0 victory over the visiting Jaguars. We pretty much had our way with them today Coach Greg said. Our offensive linemen, A. Perez, L. Cambridge, T. Harmon, J. Barbley, and N. Klawah were opening up big holes all afternoon. Defensively, we looked a little out of sync in our base front but first year Monarchs, W. Womack and D. Small kept the visitors scoreless and in check.

The Monarchs 120's will face a little bit more stiffer competition this week. On Tuesday, the Monarchs will host the Kingsessing Roadrunners and on Friday the Monarchs will visit the powerful and always talented 69th Street Wildcats of the Bert Bell Memorial Football Conference. Both games are scheduled for 6:30pm.

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The 160 pound team's scrimmage was a little less meaningful. Unfortunately, the game was halted at the midway point due to the extraordinary amount of trash talking between the players after each play. That's one thing we are absolutely not going to tolerate Coach Greg said after the scrimmage. However, prior to the stoppage, I did see a couple of things I liked. While our offense looked a little out of sync, the Monarchs defense looked solid. Safety J. McMillian delivered a crunching blow to the Jaguars quarterback and there was a lot of gang tackling going on out there today. Big hits are momentum changers, but love gang tackling Coach Greg said.

The Monarchs 160's preseason football schedule continues on Thursday with a visit to the Kingsessing Roadrunners (6:30pm) who are located on 49th and Kingsessing Avenue. Also, we received a call from former league foe the Bensalem Cowboys and they are interested in setting something up on Saturday.

Go Monarchs....