"He's changed the whole team, and he's changed the whole school," Washington Township quarterback Tom Hildebrand said of Minutemen coach Mark Wechter, the architect of one of the most remarkable transformations in recent South Jersey football history.
The Minutemen trailed, 17-0, midway through the second quarter. They never blinked.
Just like they never blinked after losing to Pennsauken, 40-8, two weeks ago.
Just like they never blinked after going 3-7 last season.
"I like being the underdog," said Washington Township senior wide receiver Mike DeMarco, who started the team's rally by catching a 37-yard touchdown pass from Hildebrand late in the first half. "Nobody expected anything from us this season."
The Minutemen just look charmed this season. That's not to imply they've been lucky, or that there really is an "angel on the shoulder," as Wechter suggested after the incredible comeback victory.
The coach is having one of those magical seasons. After last season, the program's first losing record since 1984, Wechter basically ripped up the playbook and started over. He backed off on the offseason workouts. He shortened practices. He invented a slogan, H.E.A.T., an acronym for heart, effort, attitude, toughness.
He also scrapped traditional weightlifting - a staple of this program's success for 30 years - in favor of work with Russian kettle bells, which look like cannonballs with handles.
"That's the secret," Wechter said. "We're so strong now, and we're not that big."
The Minutemen received a huge game from Hildebrand, an athletic junior who completed his final seven passes for 181 yards and three TDs.
Junior Chris Colavita caught two touchdown passes. DeMarco caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Andrew O'Neill and Julian Allen returned fumbles for touchdowns as Washington Township ripped off 36 consecutive points after falling into that 17-0 deficit.
