Twin Valley’s Aris Drake couldn’t pass when military academy called his number
2024 Berks football coverage
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Aris Drake played quarterback in his final season of youth football. At 5-10, 200 pounds, he towered over the linemen in front of him.
“We ran quarterback power every play, pretty much,” recalls the Twin Valley senior lineman.
Fortunately for Evan Myers the quarterback spot opened up the next year when they moved Drake to the line. Now Myers tosses the football around while Drake, who has sprouted to 6-5 and more than 290 pounds, tosses around opposing linemen.
It’s worked out well for the Raiders, who won a program-record 10 games last season and are positioned to make a run at that number again this season. They head into their season opener a few weeks down the road as the favorite to win Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League and Drake is a big reason why.
His coach, Brett Myers, called him the Raiders’ most consistent offensive linemen last season and a key part of the equation that saw them rank No. 1 overall in the league in total offense and rush for a league-high 324 yards per game.
Drake, who earned second-team all-league honors in Section 3, helped spring the blocks that freed tailbacks Drew Engle and Evan Johnson to each top 1,000 yards, and some that helped H-back Ean Winchester – a towering fellow himself who’s now wrestling at George Mason – crash into the end zone eight times.
“I knew he was always going to punch it in,” Drake said of the bulldozing Winchester.
That goal-line fullback spot is open now. The Raiders will be looking for someone to take the ball in their ‘Jumbo’ package. Drake has offensive backfield experience. He moves well for someone his size. Could he be in line for that job?
“No, no,” he assured modestly the other day after completing a summer drill with the Raiders. “I’m gonna stay paving the way for that play, though. That’s what I enjoy most.”
Drake is a lineman at heart; that QB line on his football resume is just a blip on the screen. When it comes down to it he wants to put his hand in the dirt and hit the guy in front of him.
His joy comes from watching Engle, Johnson, or Evan Myers run across the goal line because of a play he executed 30 or 40 upfield. The only time he cares to visit the end zone is lift up one of his backs to celebrate a touchdown.
Drake’s role could change this season. He might not line up at tackle on every play. He could end up seeing time at guard, or tight end.
“He’ll probably play all six positions on the line,” Brett Myers said. “He’s athletic (enough) that it’s not a big deal for us to have him pull and lead on sweeps or anything else that we do. He’s smart enough to handle all the spots. You don’t get many (like that). He’s a nice player to have.”
The U.S. Naval Academy thought likewise. It was among more than a dozen Division I schools – Colgate, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Lehigh among them – to make him an offer. Drake declared it was ‘Anchors Aweigh’ in late June. He made the commitment to be a Midshipman for the next five years after he’s done at Twin Valley.
That’s something he didn’t see happening a few years ago when he broke into the Raiders’ starting lineup a couple weeks into his freshman season. He was thinking, hoping, of playing college ball. But at a military academy? No way.
“It didn’t seem interesting at first,” Drake said. “It’s something I had to look at.”
He said his mom wanted no part of it, either; she didn’t want to see her son shipped off to some distant shore. The more Drake investigated, the more he saw how a Naval commitment could shape his life in the best way possible.
“Once I got to the Naval Academy and got around (offensive line) Coach (Jay) Guillermo I got really excited for it,” he said.
Brett Myers has developed a fruitful relationship with Navy assistant coach Mick Yokitis, who scouts this area. When Yokitis was at Twin Valley last year, recruiting All-State lineman Paul McClune, he caught a glimpse of Drake and told Myers: “I’ll be back.”
Drake quizzed McClune about his decision to attend the academy and got nothing but good reports. He’ll join him, and Twin Valley grad Anthony Engle – a former Berks cross country champ and Player of the Year – at the Naval Academy. Quite a hat trick for Twin Valley athletics.
Drake is excited to be the third Raider in as many years to matriculate in Annapolis.
“I didn’t think this opportunity would arise (when I first started playing),” he said.
He has the opportunity because of his physical prowess, the hard work he’s put in off the field and his diligence in the classroom.
“It’ll pave the way for a pretty successful life for a young man,” Brett Myers said of a military academy commitment. Aris always took his academics seriously. I can’t remember him missing a practice or a weight lifting session, other than to attend a family funeral. I don’t remember him being out of school. He’s always doing what he’s supposed to do.”
