That doesn't mean Sterling is ready to win the Colonial Liberty division or make a run at the Group 2 sectional title. It does mean that one of the sleeping powers in South Jersey football is rousing to action.
"This is a process," Wiley said after the scrimmage on a practice field behind the school in Somerdale. "Every day, we need to take another step forward. There's a lot of tradition here. We've got to get back to that tradition."
Sterling might never return to the glory days of the mid-1970s, when the program made four consecutive South Jersey Group 3 title games and won three of them.
But there's no reason why this program can't be a consistent contender in the division and in South Jersey Group 2 as well. There are plenty of students in the building. There is plenty of talent, too.
"I always felt this school was a gold mine," Wiley said.
Wiley was an assistant at Villanova for 13 of the last 14 seasons. He spent the 2005 season as Oakcrest's head coach.
He's from Ohio, but he knows South Jersey football as well as anybody since he recruited the area for Villanova coach Andy Talley. All those South Jersey players on the Villanova roster - including 16 on the two-deep roster for the 2009 national champions - were steered to the Main Line by Wiley.
So why leave a great job at a great college program to take over a high school team that has lost more than its share of games by 40, 50, and sometimes 60 points over the last few years?
"Good question," Wiley said.
It's simple, really. Wiley lives around the corner from Sterling. He and his wife have three children, ages six, five and two. He wanted the stability - and the lack of travel - that comes with a career as a high school teacher and coach.
Plus, he has been looking around that corner at Sterling. He saw the future: Big games under the lights on Friday nights, big crowds, a buzz in the school and in the community.
