Erisman ready to lead Penn Manor
One of the intricacies of high school sports is the inevitable departure of team captains whose leadership responsibilities get thrust upon the younger players the following year.
For the Penn Manor football team, the leadership role is being placed on senior quarterback Tanner Erisman after the Comets graduated a number of key contributors from 2013.
“The difference this year compared to past years is that I used to look to other people to make plays and now I’m looking at myself and we’re the playmakers now,” Erisman said. “I grew up through the system and now I’m here. It’s crazy.”
Erisman threw for over 1300 yards with 11 touchdowns in 2013 that saw the Comets finish 8-2 in the regular season and making it to the second round of the District Three Class AAAA playoffs before falling to Section One rival Wilson.
Penn Manor head coach Todd Mealy spoke highly of Erisman’s cerebral approach to the game and is excited to see what the senior quarterback can do heading into 2014.
“This is our eighth year at Penn Manor and Tanner is probably the smartest quarterback we’ve had. He has different skill sets than our two previous quarterbacks (PJ Rehm and Adam Sahd),” Mealy said. “It allows us to do some things differently and he wants to lead and make other players better. It’s been a good experience for all of us to coach him and watch him progress.”
Erisman is embracing his leadership role and isn’t lowering any expectations for his team as they prepare to make a run at the Section One title. But Erisman also stressed that actions speak a lot louder than words.
“We want to win all our games. That’s what would be a successful season. The difference is going for it and actually doing it. We’re working all summer to get to the point of actually doing it instead of talking about getting it done."
Penn Manor’s biggest roadblock to the section title may come in the second to last week of the regular season when they host Wilson. The Bulldogs have won the section for six straight years and have an active section winning streak of 43 games.
“Every game is important but I’m looking forward to that one,” Erisman said. “We’ll probably have the most fans of any L-L game all season.”
While Erisman admitted that he isn’t looking that far ahead, he did state that he is looking forward to August despite the long, hot days.
“I’m definitely excited to not only do it two times a day but three times a day,” he said. “We don’t mess around here.”