The Archbishop Ryan senior is currently juggling 10 different colleges interested in recruiting him.
Like all teenagers, Tim Moulton spends a lot of time on his phone.
But if you see him staring at the screen, don’t assume he’s Snapchatting with friends or posting a selfie on Twitter.
There’s a good chance he’s talking with someone about planning his future.
“I get a lot of texts more than anything,” Moulton said. “I have offers from 10 schools. They usually just text me about how things are going in school and football. They keep in touch. They’ll text maybe once a week or once every other week. I like it. It shows they are interested in you.”
This week, when people text the two-way senior lineman from Archbishop Ryan High School, they’ll probably get a happy response because he’s coming off arguably the biggest win of his high school career.
With Moulton leading the way from offensive tackle and the interior defensive line (he calls himself a three-technique, which means he plays defensive tackle or nose guard), Ryan bested Catholic League Red Division rival Father Judge 20–13 in a divisional opener for both teams.
Quarterback Jahlil Sanders led the Raiders with 154 yards and a rushing touchdown, while throwing for 105 yards and another score, a 12-yard strike to Colin Boyd.
Jason Jefferson also played well, rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown.
“The atmosphere was one of the best I’ve ever been around,” said Ryan coach Frank McArdle. “There was one play where Judge had a big play, and their fans went crazy. I didn’t like the play, but I liked the atmosphere. Their fans were great, and our fans were great.”
Judge was led by quarterback Shane Dooley, who rushed for 81 yards and threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns. His scoring strikes went to Steve Arrington (six catches for 107 yards) and Mark Maguire, who caught a two-yard touchdown.
“This was so big because we played them when I was a sophomore and a junior and they beat us both times,” Moulton said. “I have respect for those guys, but we really wanted to beat them. I knew we could beat them, we all knew we could beat them. Nobody else thought we could beat them, but we knew we could do it.”
With the win, Ryan improves to 2–2 on the season after opening the campaign with back-to-back losses. The year opened with a disappointing loss to Bartram, and then the Raiders suffered a 38–14 setback to St. Joseph’s of Buffalo, New York.
According to Moulton, those losses actually helped the team in the two most recent wins.
“We lost so many seniors last year, good players, and we have a lot of younger guys who are good, but never played before,” Moulton said. “It’s getting better every week. I think this was our biggest win, and we needed it because we have tough games coming up.”
Playing in the Catholic League Red Division offers no easy games. St. Joe’s Prep, La Salle and Archbishop Wood are three of the top teams in the area. Prep and Wood won state championships a season ago, and the Explorers could be one of the Hawks’ biggest challenges in repeating as a state champ.
The Raiders have games against those three teams coming up, as well as divisional affairs against Archbishop Carroll and Roman Catholic, so now is the perfect time to be firing on all cylinders.
“The league is tough, but we never shy away from playing anyone,” Moulton said. “I love playing tougher teams. Against Judge, №44 (Mark Maguire) was tough. We were hitting all night. I like going up against better guys because that makes you better. We play Wood and Prep, and they have good linemen. La Salle, too. I think that’s what makes you a better player, if you can do it against them, you can do it against anyone.”
Whatever Moulton is doing, it’s working. He has 10 colleges who would love to have him sign, and many others are sending letters of interest.
He’s in no hurry to make a decision. His focus is on helping Ryan win. But he is taking the process very seriously, and having fun with it in the process.
“They want you, so it’s fun,” said Moulton, who lives in Rhawnhurst. “I’m more worried about winning. That’s what we’re focusing on. I listen and talk to people.
“It was fun beating (Judge) because we were playing for coach ( McArdle). He was a tight end and linebacker, so he did some of the things I’ve done. He’s helped me a lot with everything. We all wanted to win for him.”
Moulton isn’t sure where he’ll play college football, but he is sure what he’ll study.
He’s hoping if his ultimate goal doesn’t pan out, he’ll have a career in sports medicine.
“My hope is I get a chance to play in the NFL, that’s my dream,” Moulton said. “But my backup is being a physical therapist. When I was a sophomore, I hurt my (knee cap) and it helped me. I got better and I actually got faster. They helped me a lot so I would like to do that.”
He also hopes to prolong his Ryan athletic career.
Prior to last year, Moulton also competed on the basketball team, but last year he decided to focus on football. After his senior season, he’ll play a different sport.
“I’m going to do indoor and outdoor track,” Moulton said. “I’m not sure about basketball, I think I want to do track. But I want to play football here as long as I can. I love playing for Ryan, I love the school, sports, everything. It’s a Catholic school, it’s a really good school.
“This year, I really want to beat Wood. They’re good, we all know that, but nobody thought we could beat Judge and we did. We need to beat Wood. We can do it, we just have to do it.”
