Starting Lineup: Bulldogs’ battle-tested Jack Dendall ready for more rough waters
To recognize the top players in Berks football MikeDragoSports.com has selected the “Starting Lineup,” a preseason All-Berks team that includes the top linemen, backs, receivers, linebackers and specialists.
Players were selected based on past performance, expected performance this season and college potential. Two-way players were given special consideration. One player will be introduced each day, in random order (the players are not ranked).
Former NFL lineman and recruiting expert Ross Tucker offers comments on some of the selections.
Jack Dendall, Wilson
| 6-3 | 260 | Senior | OT/DE |
BACKSTORY: Wilson offensive tackle Jack Dendall went face-to-face with three of the top defensive linemen in the state last season, squaring off for extended hand-to-hand combat with Penn State-bound Jameial Lyons of Roman Catholic, USC-bound Deyvid Palepale of Hempfield and incoming East Stroudsburg freshman Terrell Reynolds of Harrisburg.
He competes in lacrosse in the spring, another fast, physical sport in which opponents can whack you with a long stick.
So, how was he injured earlier this summer, putting a kink into his preseason football training?
Would you believe bodysurfing?
“Unlucky,” said the 6-3, 260-pound senior, who had never broken a bone until he crashed into someone on the beach last month.
Dendall had surgery on his broken right hand in July, has yet to participate in contact drills and sat out Saturday’s scrimmage against Coatesville.
He plans on taking his spot at right tackle against Roman Catholic in the Bulldogs’ season-opener at Upper Dublin High School.
“I’ll be good for Friday,” said Dendall, looking for a measure of revenge after a 46-15 loss to Roman last August. “I’ve been waiting for it for about a year now.”
His right hand, where he broke the fourth and fifth metacarpal bones, will be wrapped in a protective covering, and he may not take part on defense.
Once his hand returns to 100 percent he’ll be out there anchoring the Bulldogs’ bid to retake the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 crown.
“He’ll give us size and strength on both lines,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms.
Dendall enters his final high school season stronger and wiser than a year ago. He learned a lot – about his position and about himself – facing guys such as Lyons, Palepale and Reynolds, each of whom earned All-State honors.
Dendall held his own against each, though Reynolds got the best of him in the final quarter of the District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal when the Bulldogs fell behind and were forced to pass.
“For me, Reynolds was the toughest to block, because of his speed off the edge,” Dendall said. “They changed some things up (in the second half) and they started going wide. It got harder by the end of the game, for sure.
“It was a hard battle. The best thing I got out of it is knowing that the game’s gonna be a war, and against a good player you’re not gonna win every single battle. As long as you win the majority (you’ll help your team). That game, I might not have won the majority but this year I’ve just got to win the majority of the battles to win the war.”
Dendall, a two-time first-team all-league pick, enjoys facing such high-profile opponents. He’s looking forward to a rematch against Palepale in Section 1 play come October.
“He’s a big strong kid, some really good competition,” Dendall said. “It’s always fun to go against him. I love the challenge; I love playing against big-time recruits. Not everyone expects the most out of you, but you’ve got to show ’em what it’s really about.”
Most weeks Dendall is the guy other linemen are shooting for. He’s not a national recruit such as Palepale but he has four Division I offers, from Delaware, Maine, Sacred Heart and Stonehill. He’s on the radar at Lehigh and Holy Cross.
College coaches are looking at him as an interior linemen; he played center until switching to tackle in junior high.
He cracked Wilson’s lineup after midseason his sophomore year. He likely would’ve been out there earlier but suffered a torn ligament in his left knee on first day of contact drills. He came back in time to spark the Bulldogs’ playoff push, starting the final five games of what was a seven-game winning streak that carried them all the way to the district final.
Dendall, who weighed 300 pounds during his sophomore season, will play at around 260 this season, or 15 pounds lighter than last season. He wanted to be faster as a pass rusher.
“I was planning on playing (at a) lower (weight) because I’m gonna be at (defensive) end and want to be quick off the edge,” he said. “I feel really fast and athletic at 260. I feel way more explosive. (And) I can definitely get it done on the offensive side still.”
ROLE: Starting offensive tackle, part of defensive end rotation.
COLLEGE PROSPECTS: Offers from Delaware, Maine, Sacred Heart and Stonehill College.
TUCKER’S TAKE: “Multiple-year starter burst on the scene with a very solid sophomore season and took his game to another level last year. He’s a technician who has multiple FCS offers because he moves very well for his size; that’s very evident when you watch him play lacrosse. Not many Division 1 offensive linemen are also lacrosse captains and play attack!”
Starting Lineup
| Caleb Brewer | Wyomissing | T/DT |
| Edison Case | Wilson | WR/S/KR |
| Jack Dendall | Wilson | OT/DE |
| Dominic Giuffre | Schuylkill Valley | RB/OLB |
| Ryker Jones | Wyomissing | HB/OLB/P |
| Michael Miller | Muhlenberg | RB/OLB/KR |
| Nathan Pashley | Exeter | S/QB/WR/P/KR |
| Mason Semmel | Hamburg | HB/TE/DT |
| Hunter Svoboda | Fleetwood | OT |
| Ean Winchester | Twin Valley | HB/TE/DT |
| Zack Zandier | Exeter | TE/DE |