PASSING ALONG some city high school football tidbits . . .
Drew Loughery, it turns out, never did throw his final pass for La Salle. In fact, he'll be firing more as early as this afternoon.
After pacing the Explorers to the 2009 Class AAAA state title, and finishing his career with 5,355 yards and 50 touchdowns, Loughery enrolled at West Chester and opted not to play football.
But roughly a half-dozen times this season, usually on Tuesday because his class load is light (one, in the morning), he has made the 50-odd minute drive to Wyndmoor to operate the opposition's offense.
"I was around a lot in the summer, then helped the team through training camp, and it just made sense to keep doing this," said Loughery, whose brother (two-way end '03) and father (QB '70), both named Bill, also played for La Salle. Yet another Bill, his grandfather, also attended La Salle ('45), though he didn't play football. "I don't wear pads and I don't get hit - and the guys like to kid me about that - but I do my best to give the defense a good look.
"Being a player was one thing. Being able to help the team this way, it's just another plus. It has to be a loose commitment because I'm still in school, but I like being around the team and just checking out what's going on and hearing about new things from the coaches."
Hmm. Is Loughery eyeing a coaching career?
"A lot of people have been asking me that," he said, laughing. "I don't know how things are going to go. For right now I'm sure enjoying this and I don't plan on stopping any time soon."
Last school year, Loughery played for a flag-football team that won West Chester's intramural championship.
"I played a little quarterback," he said. "But mostly I was just in it to have fun, so I was moving all over [positionswise]."
One thing Loughery has not yet done: sign autographs before/after practice.
"I just go back there as a normal guy, and that's how I get treated," he said. "The seniors were my teammates 2 years ago. It's fun being around them again."
