CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Reasons for optimism are not hard to find in South Hills as George Washington puts the pieces in place for the 2023 season. As Steve Edwards Jr. enters his 28th year as head coach, the Patriots are coming off a second consecutive quarterfinal appearance and they should field a much deeper roster this fall.
“We ended up with 38 kids at the end of [2022]. And we played about 15,” Edwards Jr. said. “To win as many games as we did and do as well as we did is a testament to the kids buying in and believing.”
“Last year we had a ton of guys going both ways. Selfishly, it sucks because my guys are tired on offense,” said George Washington senior quarterback Abe Fenwick. “They can do it. It is not that they can’t. But it definitely helps to have some depth.”
Fenwick will engineer the Patriot offense once again. The Division I commit to William and Mary passed for 2,674 yards and 29 touchdowns in his junior season.
“He really has the pulse of this football team,” Edwards Jr. said. “He is a locker room guy. He is a well-liked guy. He pretty much runs things.”
Several top skill players return around Fenwick. Anthony Valentine was the team’s leading rusher and he combined for 1,300 yards of offense and 15 touchdowns. Keegan Sack is the leading returning receiver. He caught 56 passes for 746 yards and 13 touchdowns. And junior receiver Hunter Giacomo is back as well.
“I have played with V [Valentine] and Keegan. V for the last three years and Keegan for the last two and Hunter since middle school. I have been playing with them for a while. They are all smart players,” Fenwick said.
“They are guys with plenty of experience and plenty of game time,” Edwards Jr. said. “They have some talent. We have several guys that we feel very confident they can play for anybody that we play.”
Playing in the highly-competitive Mountain State Athletic Conference, George Washington has gone 17-7 in the last two seasons with back-to-back trips to the second round. Fenwick believes the bar can be raised even higher for the 59th edition of George Washington football.
“I think we have a very high ceiling,” Fenwick said. “I think this team can be special. I haven’t made it out of the quarters yet. That is something I am looking to push.”