COLUMBIA — Columbia’s football program is now two years removed from winning the District 3 Class A championship and going to the PIAA playoffs.
There have been some changes in the program since that day when the Crimson Tide knocked off Camp Hill and hoisted the district trophy inside Hersheypark Stadium.
The biggest change is at the top, where former assistant coach James Burke is the new head coach.
He took over for cousin Mike Burke III, and Burke played for Columbia under Burke III’s dad, Mike Burke.
That’s a lot of Burke’s to juggle, I know. I get confused, too.
James Burke is running his first camp as the Tide’s head coach. He said he liked some things from his team’s first scrimmage last Saturday against York Suburban, and that his roster number should be up to 35 before Week 1, when Columbia takes on Eastern York in the river rivalry.
Dropped by practice bright and early Wednesday. Here are some notables …
WHAT I SAW: Warm-ups, which are always fun, and drills.
Nothing like some calisthenics to get the blood pumping at 9 a.m. Thought Columbia’s leaders did a good job with those, keeping the younger guys in step and keeping the crew moving.
After the warm-up period, Burke went through the playbook with the line blocking, the wideouts running patters and the QBs — Kyle Warfel and Dom Sierra — throwing the ball downfield.
At one point, the words “skinny post” came up, and that got me excited. Is there a better pass pattern to run than a skinny post?
Burke was starting to put in the package for the season opener, and he was paying close attention, making sure everyone knew where to be and where to go.
After perfecting some of the new plays, Burke split the squad into individual stations for drills.
Trench guys over there on the right, doing what trench guys do; smashing into each other and grunting. Always a good time watching the big guys practice. You know they desperately want to throw a pass or catch a ball or score a touchdown. Then they line up and smash into each other again. Good stuff.
Skill kids working on pass patterns in the middle of the practice field. Might have heard skinny post come up again somewhere in there.
And d-backs down at the far end, working on reading a QBs eyes and picking off passes.
Here’s a look at that dill:
Warfel, a junior who Burke is expecting bigger and better things from this season, and Sierra were on the side working on footwork and delivering passes on the run.
Think I counted 29 kids in uniform Wednesday — a far cry from the 93 that suited up Tuesday at Wilson’s practice — but they were all plenty busy keeping up with individual drills.
COLUMBIA COUNTDOWN TO CAMP PREVIEW
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: Burke is a busy body, and he enjoys being right in the middle of everything. During the offensive drills to start practice, he would literally run the plays in for the QB, setting a good example for his kids to be hustling at all times. I enjoyed that.
Very peaceful up there on the hill. Plenty of great views down below toward the river. Beautiful setting for the campus and playing fields. Terrific place.
TAKEAWAY: Tough to say where Columbia will fit in in the Section 3 race, which will likely be top-heavy with Garden Spot and Donegal doing damage. After that, it’s kind of anyone’s race.
Warfel will be better. And he’s got a bunch of skill kids at his disposal, like Quincy Wells, Marquel Wansley, Daeshawn McIlwain and Austin Roberts on the flanks, TE Keith Wakefield and RBs Jose Retamar and Eastern York transfer Michael Roberts. That’s a lot of athletes and a lot of firepower; now Warfel just has to get the ball to those guys in the right places to make plays.
The Tide also features two of the top trench guys in Section 3 in Andres Munoz and Vanyel Leytham-Peterson. Guessing they’ll be the emotional leaders of this bunch; Munoz was one of the kids running warm-up drills and didn’t mind barking a little.
Playing the bigger schools like Garden Spot and Donegal will definitely sharpen these guys up for November, when the Tide should have its sights set on a Class A postseason run. Five, maybe four wins should get them in. They should be thinking more wins, of course.
Caught up with Burke during drills on Wednesday and chatted about his transition to head-coaching duties, and about the upcoming season. Take a look.