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Email: "PIAA Class AA Football Semifinals: Loyalsock vs. Dunmore (Saturday, 1 p.m. at Shamokin)"
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It seemed like a safe proposition.

Kyle Van Fleet was weeks away from beginning his senior season at Georgetown where he had become one of the Hoyas’ best players. He had the speed of a Division I athlete, and the night before he had edged his younger brother Jamie in a race.

So why not race Jamie again the next day at one of Loyalsock’s summer football practices?

Kyle accepted the challenge — then regretted it as he fell behind Jamie. Little Brother easily won and secured family bragging rights.

“It was one of the more humbling experiences of my life,” Kyle said. “I figured this was going to be easy. I went out the next day in front of about 40 of his players and I got smoked bad.

“It’s kind of crazy, a linebacker beating a Division I receiver.”

But Jamie Van Fleet is no ordinary linebacker. A unique blend of speed, power and intelligence, he has had one of the best defensive seasons in Loyalsock history. The senior has broken his own single-season record for tackles while helping his team reach new heights.

Van Fleet and Loyalsock are District 4 Class AA champions for the first time ever and Saturday they will play in the Eastern Region final against Dunmore for the first time.

“He’s a great football player. We’ll have our hands full with him”, said Dunmore coach Jack Henzes, who once coached against Jamie’s father, Duane. “He’s a terrific linebacker and is one of the best football players we will have faced this season.”

What once seemed crazier than a prep linebacker outracing a Division I wide receiver — a basketball school like Loyalsock reaching a state final in football — is now a distinct possibility and Van Fleet is a big reason why.

“He’s awesome,” guard Shawn McMahon said. “He gives us a big lift. We see him stuffing people and that gives us even more adrenaline.”

That adrenaline always seems to be pumping. The middle linebacker has 143 tackles, five sacks and two fumble recoveries this season.

Van Fleet dominated in Loyalsock’s 35-14 state quarterfinal win over Delone Catholic, recording eight tackles and a sack that showcased his arsenal of tools. The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder sped past the line, forced Delone quarterback Noah Landi to his right, then chased him down and ended a fourth-quarter drive.

Everywhere Delone ball carriers went in the second half, Van Fleet appeared right behind, ready to strike. On one third-quarter possession, he blew up a play in the backfield for a three-yard loss before making the tackle on the next two downs and forcing a punt.

“He’s a stud,” Delone coach Steve Wiles said. “He deserves a lot of credit. He flies to the football, he reads well and he’s all over the football field.”

That Van Fleet hurts opponents with his mind as much as his body is no shock. Football literally is in his blood.

First there is father, Duane, who started at West Scranton and then became a three-year starting center at East Stroudsburg, where he also served as team captain.

Next came oldest brother Justin, who helped Loyalsock turn its program around earlier this decade. During his final two years at Loyalsock, the Lancers went from 3-7 to winning 15 games and reaching the postseason twice. He then played college football at Susquehanna.

Kyle was a year behind Justin. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards his senior year while earning Sun-Gazette Player of the Year honors. He went to Georgetown, made an immediate impact and ended his career by being the Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Obviously, Jamie had some big shadows to escape. And at first, the player who now has a motor that never stops was stuck in neutral.

“Justin and I got mad at him when he was a freshman (in 2004) because he’d be out hunting instead of working in the weight room,” Kyle said.

But as Jamie grew into his body, he also grew into a more mature and disciplined athlete. He started attacking the weights and attacking opponents the way his father and brothers before him had. He started carving his own niche.

“My brothers mean a lot to me,” Jamie said. “Looking up to them and seeing that they were pretty good athletes I felt like I kind of had to fill in their shoes.”

As a junior, Jamie developed into one of the area’s best linebackers. He broke the team record for tackles in a season with 130 and helped Loyalsock reach districts for the first time since 2001. Loyalsock lost in the quarterfinals, a loss that spurred Jamie to work even harder in the offseason.

On a senior-laden team with high expectations for 2007, Jamie has stepped into a leadership role. Whether it be through his play or his talk — like when he staged an impromptu players only meeting at halftime of the Delone game — the captain has always found a way to spark his teammates.

“He doesn’t say much, but when he says something we listen,” defensive end Pat Green said. “But he mostly says it in his actions, making big plays and big stops. We take that more than any words.”

Kyle couldn’t speak after losing to Jamie in last summer’s race. But he wasn’t the first person surprised by Jamie’s speed. The versatile athlete stunned many sprinters last spring when he ran a 22.9 in the 200-meter dash and helped the 4x100 relay team win several races.

Jamie runs a 4.35 40-yard dash, and with great lateral quickness and terrific closing speed, he’s tough to get past. He also can drop into pass coverage and defend some of the opponent’s fastest receivers.

That talent also doesn’t hurt on offense. Playing both tight end and fullback, Jamie has run for 292 yards and a touchdown and caught 10 passes. To understand what he’s all about, look at a fourth-quarter run against Hughesville in the district quarterfinals.

Jamie took a hand-off, burst through a hole and met a defender about 10 yards downfield. He ran over that defender. Then he ran over another one. Another Spartan grabbed hold and Jamie flung him to the ground. A few more defenders piled on and Jamie took them for a ride that ended 47 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

That’s who he is.

“Jamie is a combination of Justin and Kyle,” Loyalsock coach Dick Delaney said. “He’s strong like Justin was and he’s fast like Kyle was.

“Jamie really is the heart and soul of this football team.”

 

 

 

 

 

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