A great football name, Adderley, leads Great Valley

Nasir Adderley developed his skills while growing up in Mount Airy and playing Pop Warner football for the Enon Eagles.

Now, the Philly native, who moved to Chester County before eighth grade, is a key performer for a Great Valley squad that is enjoying a breakout season.

A do-everything type with blazing speed, Adderley serves the Patriots as a receiver, rusher, Wildcat-formation quarterback, strong safety, and kick returner.

"The thing that makes him so special is that you never know what's going to happen when he touches the ball," said Great Valley's first-year coach, Dan Ellis.

For the Patriots, who are 11-1 and ranked No. 9 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, Adderley has 61 receptions for 965 yards and five touchdowns. He has carried 19 times for 191 yards and five TDs.

And, yes, the 6-foot, 180-pound senior is related to NFL Hall of Famer Herb Adderley, who played cornerback for the Green Bay Packers (1961-69) and Dallas Cowboys (1970-72).

"He's my grandfather's first cousin," Nasir Adderley said. "He lives in South Jersey. I talk to him on the phone a lot. We talk about football and life in general."

Nasir Adderley has watched highlight film of Herb Adderley, a Northeast graduate who played in five Pro Bowls and made 48 career interceptions. "He was such a great ball-hawking defender," Nasir said.

Nasir Adderley and Great Valley will try for the program's first PIAA District 1 championship when they take on 12-0 and 11th-ranked Springfield (Delaware County) in the Class AAA final at 7 p.m. Friday at Plymouth Whitemarsh.

"We're real excited about this chance," Adderley said. "It's up to us to go out there and make the most of it."

In a semifinal last Friday, Adderley, who has been timed at 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash, scored on a 4-yard run and 41-yard interception return to spark a 20-0 blanking of Ches-Mont League cross-conference rival Bishop Shanahan.

Adderley, of Malvern, has scholarship offers from Central Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Stony Brook. Interest has also come from Towson and Villanova.

The Patriots' hurry-up, spread offense is also spurred by QB Zach Ludwig, running back River Johnson, and wideout Doug Strang. The up-front leaders are center David Stillwell and tackles Robert Dietrich III and Austin Lenker.

A 4-3 defense also features ends Ryan Buchholz and Conor Middleton, linebacker Hammie Hungerbuhler, and free safety Strang.

Of the 6-5, 235-pound Buchholz, who doubles at tight end and is bound for Penn State, Adderley said: "He's a beast. He's all over the place. He makes my job a lot easier."

A subplot Friday is the fact that Ellis was Springfield's head coach from 2008 to 2010. Cougars rookie boss Chris Britton was one of his assistants.

"He's an excellent football guy," said Ellis, whose Patriots scrimmaged Springfield in August. "I'm happy for him. I'm happy they're having success."

U.S. teammates. A pair of senior linemen, St. Joseph's Prep's Jon Daniel Runyan and Malvern Prep's Hayden Mahoney, have been selected to play for the 2015 U.S. under-19 national squad.

Runyan (a Michigan recruit) and Mahoney (Miami) will compete for the U.S. against Canada in the sixth annual International Bowl on Feb. 7 at Texas-Arlington's Maverick Stadium.

Record-setter. With 2,758 passing yards, Harriton junior Patrick Stewart broke the old Central League single-season mark of 2,737 yards set by Ridley's Dennis Decker in 1990.

Stewart, a 6-1, 175-pound junior, threw 21 TD passes while connecting on 217 of 420 attempts.