Wood feasts on the Adkins diet

NO. 2 IS No. 1. In Steve Devlin's heart, that is.

Devlin is the coach of the abundantly, even overwhelmingly, talented football team at Archbishop Wood High and the guy wearing jersey No. 2 is Kyle Adkins.

Perhaps you've never heard of Adkins and, if that's the case, you are forgiven, seeing as how he is not one of the six senior Vikings already committed to Division I-A programs.

Let's see. Tight end Colin Thompson is bound for Florida. Rusher Desmon Peoples and lineman Brandon Arcidiacono are tied to Rutgers. Lineman Frank Taylor has said yes to Boston College. Rusher Brandon Peoples, Desmon's first cousin, will be a Temple Owl. And just last Tuesday, defensive back Nate Smith cast his lot with West Virginia.

But now, digest the thoughts of Devlin, on the matter of Kyle Adkins' importance . . .

"If I were going to start a football team, Kyle Adkins would be my first draft pick," Devlin said, with no hesitation. "He hasn't come off the field since he was a sophomore, and he does everything you ask him to do. He's a great leader and tremendous kid.

"He's not the flashiest guy, but he gets things done."

Yesterday, one of those "things" was a crazy touchdown.

As Wood entertained a large homecoming crowd by doing a 49-6, Catholic AAA number on Monsignor Bonner, in mostly beautiful weather at William Tennent High, the 6-foot, 185-pound Adkins posted seven tackles and three of those produced losses.

He also scored on a 1-yard fumble return.

If Devlin had closed his eyes just before the play, and someone had told him afterward about the result, he almost certainly would have blurted out, "Kyle did it, right?"

"He's always around the ball," the coach noted. "He finds ways to get there."

The play occurred midway through the first quarter and allowed the Vikings to double a 7-0 lead. At Bonner's 35, quarterback Jim Haley dropped back into a shotgun formation and, oooooops, the snap was so high over his head, it would have cleared a two-story building.

From his linebacking spot, Adkins gave chase. While dueling with Haley, he eventually gained control along the home sideline just before the end zone, which he entered with a mini-dive.

"When you see it that far away from the quarterback, you break off from your assignment and try to make a play on the ball," Adkins said. "You have to assume the ball won't be picked up [by others] and keep going after it. That's what happened.

"I was aware of the sidelines and [proximity to the end zone]. Probably my first lifetime 1-yard touchdown. And I don't think I ever had one that weird."

Wood enjoyed one other defensive touchdown, as linebacker Andrew Guckin returned an interception 44 yards. The offensive scores went to D. Peoples (two), B. Peoples and quarterback Joey Monaghan (one apiece) on rushes, and to Thompson on a 45-yard pass from Monaghan. Nick Visco blasted all seven of his PAT attempts. For Bonner, Haley tallied on a 15-yard keeper and Paul Pfeffinger turned four catches into 79 yards.

The mercy rule was in effect throughout the second half, as Guckin's score made it 42-6 78 seconds prior to intermission.

Second-half inactivity is nothing new for the primary Vikings, who've been locked in pummel-'em mode (335-48 scoring advantage) since a Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh Central Catholic.

"We have really tough practices," Adkins said. "They keep us focused. There's always competition because we have guys who rotate in, and they'd love to be out there even more. Fighting for spots, that's a constant."

When Devlin's first-draft-pick comment was relayed to him, Adkins turned about three shades of pink. (Not red. Remember, this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.)

"That's my first time hearing that," he said. "That's an awesome honor, considering how great of a team I'm on.

"I love seeing these guys getting recruited and committing to great college programs. I've been playing with a lot of them since freshman year, so it's been cool to see how they've progressed. Me? I'm hearing from some Patriot and Ivy schools [GPA: 3.8] and we'll see where that goes. They see me as a strong safety."

When told he should inform the college coaches, "Yo, I'm a linebacker now," Adkins smiled and shot back, "Little undersized."

Definitely feisty, however.

"I guess I moved from strong safety in Week 4," Adkins said. "Coach decided he wanted to make some changes, so he put me at linebacker and Desmon took over at strong safety. Things have been smooth. I got [acclimated] pretty fast."

Adkins, who lives in Holland, plans to major in business in college. Maybe things will fall into place as easily as a 1-yard fumble return.

In another AAA game

At O'Hara, Dashawn Darden passed 8-for-13 for 180 yards and two TDs while Shane Johnson scored twice on returns (1 yard, blocked punt; 28, fumble) to lead O'Hara to a 60-24 win over Carroll. For Carroll, Teron Dobbs made five catches for 178 yards and identical 69-yard scores.

Online high school coverage at philly.com/rally.