After a trying season, Daniel Boone Blazers recognized with sportsmanship award
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
J.D. Okuniewski isn’t exaggerating when he says his Daniel Boone Blazers had a rough season.
At their first practice, running back/linebacker Jake Myers went out with a broken leg.
Jordan Meyer, the Blazers’ top offensive and defensive linemen, didn’t make it to the second practice due to a double ear infection. He was back for the season-opener but wasn’t 100 percent after missing two weeks of conditioning practices, as well as the preseason scrimmage.
Wide receiver/defensive end Harrison Dellisaint was knocked out of the scrimmage with a dislocated elbow.
On and on it went for the Blazers, who saw their top player, linebacker Ethan Kryman, miss the second half of the season with a dislocated elbow.
At one point Okuniewski, in his first season as head coach at Boone, was down 16 starters.
The Blazers won just one game, in Week 3 against Muhlenberg.
They had other chances to win: They led Elizabethtown 16-13 in the third quarter in Week 6 before losing in overtime.
A week later they led Penn Manor 10-0 but didn’t score in the second half and lost 14-10.
They ended the season with seven straight losses.
A few weeks after their final game the Blazers have scored a victory: The Joe McLaughlin Sportsmanship Award, presented annually by the Reading Football Officials Association.
McLaughlin was a well-respected official in Berks for decades and a driving force behind the football official’s association.
Okuniewski was proud of how his players weathered such a trying season, and proud that their effort was noticed and recognized.
“It is easy to talk about fixing culture,” Okuniewski said, “but displaying sportsmanship is something that is reflective of our families and players. They had every excuse to pack it in, hang their heads or act out negativity.
“I am proud of our kids for sticking together and not getting flustered when so many things outside of our control worked against us. We had some internal conflicts within our team that could have impacted us, but our kids gave their best effort to play the game the way it is supposed to be played on Friday nights.
“Something was working (within our team) that (was) not reflected on the scoreboard,” he said. “We were outmanned, but our young kids who were forced into roles they were not ready for carried themselves the correct way.
“That stemmed from the leadership we saw from our injured guys. They stayed around and did what they could to help those guys.”
Kutztown received the sportsmanship award in 2022, and in 2020. Twin Valley received it in 2021.