Robert Barnes/Pro Action Sports
Holy Ghost Prep isn’t too far from Torresdale, but for Labrant “Deuce” Davis, it might as well been the other end of the earth.
Now Davis is loving life as a student at the Bensalem school, but when he first got there, it was a little bit different than his days at Greenberg Elementary and Robert Pollock Middle School.
“I was all set to go to Northeast, that’s around the corner from my house, but my parents looked into Holy Ghost and they really liked it,” said Davis, who goes by Deuce because he and his father share the same name. “I wasn’t a big fan at first because it’s so different. At first, I wanted to transfer, but I stuck with it, and I’m so glad I did. I love it here.
“The biggest difference between the schools was the uniform. At Pollock, I wore a polo shirt and khakis. I never wore a blazer. At first it was awkward because I never wore a tie. But I like it now. I know in the future, I’m going to have to wear that if I get a job, so I look at it like that. And the school? I love it now. I love that I go to Holy Ghost.”
He’s not just a star when wearing his school uniform. He’s also a star when he puts on the Firebirds soccer uniform.
The senior plays left wing and has scored seven goals and mixed in four assists this year in helping the Firebirds make the final four of the District One 3A playoffs.
Davis scored his seventh goal of the season in Holy Ghost’s 4-1 triumph over Upper Perkiomen in the quarterfinals of the District One tournament. Next up is a date with Phoenixville. A win there would not only secure a spot in the championship game for the Firebirds, but would punch their ticket for a spot in the state tournament.
It’s been a great season for all Firebirds, but Davis is happy with the steps he’s taken to become a better player.
“I think the biggest difference for me is confidence, it’s something I worked on a lot,” Davis said. “Last year, when I’d dribble the ball, there were times they would take it right from me. This year, I’m a lot more confident. I’m also making better decisions when I get the ball. That comes from experience.
“I think as a team we’re playing very good. We have a lot of good players on the team. We’re playing good teams, too, so we’re getting better by playing them.”
The soccer isn’t the only difference for Davis.
Just as the Firebirds have great facilities, most of the teams Davis plays against are suburban teams. It’s a much different look than most Philly kids get to see when they’re playing soccer.
“Sometimes we’ll go to these schools and you get there and they’re huge,” Davis said. “They’ll have great soccer fields, baseball fields, tennis courts. These schools have acres and acres and acres of land. It’s a lot different when you first go there.”
But now Davis is an old pro.
A former basketball player at the school, this year Davis is focusing on soccer and track. Instead of hoops this year, he’s going to give indoor track a chance. The hope is to eventually play sports in college, either soccer or track, where he runs the sprints.
He’ll miss playing basketball, but believes he could be a star in track if he works at it.
“I would love to play soccer or track in college, I definitely want to play sports and get an education,” Davis said. “I was one of the better track runners at the school and my track coaches think I could do that in college. I did basketball my freshman and junior year, but I’m going to focus on track. I can really do this in college.”
He’ll also continue to be a role model.
As a senior leader on the Firebirds, and a strong student in the classroom, Davis has peers looking up to him. But the person he loves mentoring is his younger sister Korinne, who wears a familiar number while starting as a freshman for Northeast.
“She wears the same number I do, we’re really close,” Davis said. “We weren’t really close when we were younger, kids sometimes don’t get along, but now, she’s one of my best friends. She’s a really good soccer player, too. She’s someone I can really talk to and trust. She’s a great person.”
So is her brother, who hopes to work with animals or people after graduating from college.
“I either want to do something with animals, or journalism,” Davis said. “I had two turtles as pets, and I really liked them. I like reptiles, too. I would like to do something helping them, they’re very interesting. I also like journalism, too, because I really like writing. I love writing essays, I’m doing one now for college.”
He hopes to go to college after bringing home a district championship.
“We’re two games away from the district championship,” Davis said. “We improved a lot, we lost in the first round of districts last year so it’s big. We started off 2-4 or 1-3, we weren’t great at the start of the year, but we really connected. We play better as a team, we won our first playoff game Wednesday, that was huge.
“I would love to win a district championship. I would love to win here. I also would love to score 10 goals, if I could do that and help us win.”
Either way, he’s already a winner, a winner who is very glad he picked Holy Ghost.
“The school is great, I have so many friends there and the teachers are so good, they’ll help you if you need it,” Davis said. “I’m doing very well in school. This year my GPA is 3.9, it’s the highest I’ve ever had. Soccer is great, school is great, I’m really happy with how it’s gone.”
