With Saturday’s win over rival Father Judge, Archbishop Ryan improved to 6–0 with the help of Colin Boyd.
If you’re looking to contact Colin Boyd during football season, you might want to just talk to him at school. Because if you’re looking for him on social media, you’re probably out of luck.
Boyd is a senior linebacker on the Archbishop Ryan High School football team, and unlike many other football players, Boyd isn’t seeking retweets or tagging his opponents to make bold predictions. He’s too busy focusing on the next game.
“A lot of teams do that, but we don’t,” Boyd said. “It’s not too hard not to do it. I guess it is a little, because everyone is on there, but it’s not hard for me. I hate seeing it. We try and send our messages by playing smart and not messing up.”
On Saturday night, the Raiders didn’t have many miscues in a 38–20 triumph over neighborhood rival Father Judge in front of a packed house at Northeast. With the win, Ryan took its second straight over their league rival, improved to 6–0 and in the process got off to the team’s best start since 1979.
In the win, the Raiders were led by Jahlil Sanders who threw for 58 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 86 yards and two scores. Emerging running back Tyreek Chappell, who also plays receiver, accounted for 150 yards of offense (123 on the ground) and two touchdowns, one rushing, one receiving. Judge was led by Shane Dooley, who rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw for 135 yards.
The win keeps the Raiders rolling. Ryan has scored at least 38 points in every game and has outscored its foes 248–114. Oddly enough, the Raiders have scored 38 points twice, 41 points twice and 45 points twice.
“I think we realized how good we could be after the first game when we beat Bartram, because they’re a good team,” Boyd said. “I think after that, we knew we were going to be good. It helps that we only lost a few seniors last year, so we’ve all played together, we knew what we can do. And we’re united.”
Boyd is the heart and soul of a gritty defense that held the Crusaders in check after halftime, then the score was tied at 14. This is his second full year as a starter, and he certainly worked his way into the starting lineup.
When he was a sophomore, he was a junior varsity player and he played a key role in helping the Raiders prepare for game day.
“I learned a lot by playing on the scout team,” Boyd said. “We had a really good offense that year, and I was out there every week at practice trying to help them get better.
“Scout team is tough because you’re always going up against really good players. I had good days and bad days, but I liked it because I was getting better. You have to get better because you’re playing against the varsity guys. And they help you get better. I think that’s how I got better, by learning from them.”
Boyd became a starter by the end of his sophomore year, and now he’s a crafty veteran, and he’s happy to share the tricks of the trade with the younger Raiders.
In fact, last week, he happily welcomed new players into the lineup when Ryan was forced to play without Nate Kennish, who was nursing an injury.
“I’m usually an (outside) linebacker, but last week Nate wasn’t playing so they moved me inside,” Boyd said. “We had some new guys play, but they did a great job. And this week, we had Nate back. I had fun helping the younger guys. I was lucky to have great guys help me, so I just want to do the same. It makes them better and it makes the team better.”
Boyd hopes to make people better in the future, too.
Next year, he wants to play college football and study something in the medical field. He’ll be following in his mom’s footsteps.
“I think I either want to go to med school or become a nurse,” Boyd said. “I definitely want to play football. My mom is in the medical field, and it’s a good job. You can make money, and it’s a good way to help people.”
But before he’s helping patients, he hopes to help the Raides continue their perfect season.
It won’t be easy. Next up for Ryan is the defending Class 5A state champion Archbishop Wood. The Catholic League Red Division game will be played Saturday afternoon at George Washington. Kickoff is slated for 2:30.
Beating the Vikings would be massive, but it also will be a challenging game. Wood has won three straight, including a 42–0 drubbing of Roman Catholic on Saturday.
“They’re really good, but I think this is the best we’ve been in a while,” Boyd said. “We think we can beat anyone, and we know we can play with Wood. They’re good, we know that, so we’ll work hard and be ready.”
Just don’t expect to read about it on Facebook.
