From 2011 to 2014, the Severna Park football team’s cumulative record was a very underwhelming 18 wins with 22 losses, and an offensive output of a mere 866 points. Meade High School, on the other hand, chalked up 33 wins with only 13 losses, and an offense that tallied a whopping 1,492 points. The catalyst behind such a performance? Offensive coordinator Will Bell.
“As an assistant coach he was very dedicated to the team. He worked extremely hard for the players and to improve himself as a coach,” said Rich Holzer, Meade’s head football coach from 2011-2014. Bell originally was brought on as an extra assistant coach prior to 2011, but gained Holzer’s respect and trust and was named the offensive coordinator for the 2015 season. “I had turned over the reins to the offense completely to him,” Holzer added.
When the Severna Park football head coaching job became available before the 2015 season, it was a match made in heaven for Bell. “Severna Park reminds me a lot of where I grew up, same type of environment and same type of student-athletes and academic standards,” he said. “The school is rich in athletic tradition, with lots of championships and lots of titles. My goal in coming here is to hopefully have a lot of success and bring something like that to the table with football.” Bell’s impact is already being felt on the team, and it is only the start of his second season.
In 2015 the team opened the season against Old Mill in Bell’s first ever game as the Severna Park head coach. In a 63-0 loss, there was nothing positive to take from the game. This year the team also opened against Old Mill, and the result was quite different. They were only down by a touchdown entering the fourth quarter, but lost 49-21. It was not about the final score for the boys, rather the solid sign of improvement. “We had a great first week against Old Mill, we competed hard and I think we had a big opportunity to win that game. Our kids and coaching staff truly believe that,” Bell said.
In that game, junior wide-receiver Josh Coffman, who is committed to play lacrosse at the University of Maryland, showed why he is a terrific two-sport athlete by having a little coming-out party of his own. Coffman scored all 21 points for the Falcons by receiving three touchdowns. “I was just going out there and trying to get us back in the game. Just having some fun out there.” Coffman credits much of his performance to Coach Bell, adding “Coach Bell has definitely made a positive impact on everybody not only in our program but in our school.”
The team is more confident now than ever before, led by a group of seniors that has heavily invested their trust in Coach Bell. “He’s a young coach with a new, fast-paced offense. He’s got everyone excited,” said Tim Hanratty, senior captain and starting quarterback. “We’re all really confident. I’m confident at my position, and everyone does their job. We want to come together as a team and win games.”
Offense is Bell’s specialty, and he has introduced a fast-paced system that takes a bit of time to learn but will pay off greatly in the long run. “Our offense is feeling a lot better this year. We’ve got some better athletes, we’ve put in the work in practice, and we want to keep it rolling all year,” Coffman said.
The team understands that their coach is holding up his end of the bargain by reinventing their offense and devoting countless hours to watching game-film, so they were extra motivated to work throughout the summer and preseason to match his commitment to the program. “We had like 50 kids showing up to the 7:00 a.m. summer workouts. I knew something was really starting to come together,” said Hanratty.
With such outstanding athletic tradition in sports like lacrosse, baseball and field hockey, the football team has always flown under the radar at Severna Park. Gone are those days. With a confident, athletic team and a group of committed seniors, Coach Bell is a fresh face working to take this program to another level.
