W. Philly’s Berry an achiever on, off the field

LEANDER "LEE" BERRY is pumped for the fight of his life. And we don't mean the Public AAA football playoffs.

Of course, Berry also will be motivated like crazy for those, and he'd love to see West Philadelphia High collect wins in the semifinals and final to set the school record for wins in one season, with 11.

His primary skirmish will last until June, however, and it will take place in the classrooms at Parkway West, which partners with West Philly via a cooperative sponsorship.

Berry, you see, ranks No. 2 in the senior class. No. 1 is Seanna Williams.

"We both have 3.7 GPAs, but she's got me on the extra decimals," Berry said, smiling. "It's a pretty interesting situation, actually, because I know her very well. We grew up together. Her dad and my dad are best friends."

Meanwhile, if you ask rookie coach Paul Noon, Lee Berry is his team's best example of how a high school player should carry himself.

"I can't say it's shocking to hear that," Berry said, "because I do try to go as hard as possible, and do my best on every single play. I'd say it's uplifting, because it lets me know my dedication is appreciated.

"The other nice part is, since I come from Parkway, the coaches probably weren't expecting me to be a true player."

Berry, who goes 5-5, 190, formerly served the Speedboys as a fullback and linebacker. But since true big-'uns are amazingly scant, Berry, who volunteered, now plays center and nose guard.

True, he's strong. But he's also rather tiny, compared with most linemen. Must get pretty scary in those massive pileups.

"When we played Roxborough, all their linemen had to be 6-something and high-200s-something, even 300-something," Berry said. "We ran dives a couple times. I drove my man 2 to 3 yards and then wound up at the bottom of the pile.

"Those guys were heavy. Just had to wait until they all got off. My teammates were pulling some of them off. That helped.

"The way I feel is, you don't have to be big to be good, Sure, size can help you, but it's all about technique. My coaches teach me everything I need to know, then it's up to me to go out on the field and do things right."

The Speedboys are 9-0 for the first time since 1928. If they top Boys' Latin Charter Saturday, 3:30 at Simon Gratz Charter's Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium in a semifinal, they'll tie the '27 squad for the best record in school history. West played its first game in 1910.

Berry figures those way-back-in-the-day guys were tougher than this crew, because their equipment was inferior.

"I've seen pictures with those rubber helmets," he said. (Let's assume he meant leather.)

West's offense includes Berry, guards Rjorn Cole and Tajah Brooks, tackles Khalil "Big Country" Hunter and Hasani Simpkins, tight end Jesse Thomas, wideout Eric "T.O." Leslie, quarterback Ricardo Streams, halfback Markel Faulk, fullback Desmond Sams and slotback William Monaghan.

Defense: Berry, tackles Brian Davis and Brooks, ends Joseph Southern and Thomas, linebackers Anthony Johnson and Sams, cornerbacks Julius Hester and Stephan Pressley, and safeties Quaseem Brown and Monaghan.

Noon's coordinators are Larry Bledsoe (offense) and Frank Steed (defense).

As the season began, Berry would have predicted a record much closer to 0-9 than 9-0.

"In our first scrimmage, against University City, we had no more than 20 players. Probably less," he said. "We didn't have too many guys showing up to our summertime conditioning sessions. But when the new building opened" - West is now at 49th and Chestnut, on the property formerly occupied by West Catholic Boys - "coach Noon went to the orientation and talked some kids into coming out for the team. We came together and it's exciting to be doing this great."

The team's good-luck charm is an ancient metal lunch pail with a huge capital D followed by "edication" and "etermination."

Don't expect to see a luscious hoagie inside.

"After every win, we take dirt off the field and put it in there," Berry said.

Obvious question: What happens after games on turf?

"We put those little rubber pellets in there," he said.

Berry said that five Parkway West students can be found on West's rosters, and that the other starters are Davis and Hunter.

"Parkway West is real small," he noted. "Nothing's really going on in there. So when the word started to spread about how nice our team was doing, everybody was hyped. We've had students come to the home games, and even our principal and teachers. We had some people come to the game up at Gratz, too.

"The old West Philly, that was a rough place. All those guys feel better about themselves, because their new school's much nicer."

Noon said Berry attends every practice and is always on time. (He was third on Wednesday's arrival list, a good 20 minutes early.) The coach loves the kid's heart and desire and the fact he never turns down a request.

"All out. Every play. That's Lee," Noon said. "Wherever the play goes, so does he."

Berry, who lives on Redfield Street, not far from 59th and Kingsessing, is in line to attend Penn State on an academic scholarship. He plans to major in engineering or criminal justice.

But first . . .

Maybe we'll see him next spring on 6ABC's "Best of the Class."

"I'm gonna get it," Lee Berry said. "I'll be No. 1."

Online high school coverage at philly.com/rally.