MacInnis

The Blue Storm football team is off to a great start. So far they are 3-1 on the season, their only loss coming against Maryland School for the Deaf in an away game. Two weeks ago, during Family and Alumni Weekend, the Storm played their eight-man rival Perkiomen School, winning 38-18.

A stand out from that game was senior running back Ryan Maclnnis ’23, who rushed for five touchdowns and four two-point conversions scoring a career high 36 points and setting a school record. 

Head Coach Andy Brown commented on Maclnnis’ game, saying, “One of the reasons someone can have such a standout or record-breaking game like Ryan is because everyone else shows up and does their job. The linemen do their job, the quarterback makes the right reads, the defense stops the other team and gets the ball back to the offense. While one may get the accolades of a touchdown and stuff, it’s definitely a team effort.” 

The Mercersburg News sat down with MacInnis to ask him about the team and his football career.                                                                                                                                               

When did you start playing football? I started playing my sixth grade year going into middle school. I started out playing the safety and running back positions.

What enabled you to play so well in the game against Perk? Honestly I don’t really know. My line just played really well. I had blocks and got to see the whole field. All I had to do was run. They opened everything up for me.

What was your mindset going into that game? Honestly I was thinking about all the time I missed last year due to injury. I felt like I had a little bit of something to prove, and I felt like I kinda knew the team needed me to play my role to the best of my ability. So I came in with a lot of confidence, so honestly while playing the game, I wasn’t really thinking; I was just having fun.

What's your favorite part of football? I think the bus rides back from a win, as well as the bus rides to a game, are so much fun. Everyone kinda just messing around, loud music, especially on the long road trips when it’s dark and everyone’s awake. Just good energy.

Where does your passion for the game come from? I always grew up loving sports, always watched football and baseball with my dad, and as I got older, my love only grew. The teammates and coaches I've met have helped me to keep pushing that passion, kept inspiring me and motivating me to keep playing and always do better.

Who is your role model? I would say my dad. Me and him are very alike. He kinda tries to push me to do the right thing and tries to make me think things through before I do them. He inspires me to be more like him, and not be as stubborn and as stupid as I can be sometimes.

What are some areas of your game that you can improve on? For me a big thing I need to work on is, while playing a good team, just kind of hold back and not try to take over the game and trust that everyone will do their job. I missed making some short plays by jumping the gun when trusting my blocks, that just comes with some film study.

Are you looking foward to anything coming up in the season?: I enjoy every practice, I enjoy every game. Kind of don’t want the season to end but I look forward to every day, the coaches and players we have. It’s the highlight of my day every day.

The Blue Storm is currently in a bye week and plays its next game away at Delaware County Christian School and ends its regular season at home against Valley Forge Military Academy. The Storm is looking to keep its momentum going into the Keystone Football League playoffs starting on November 5.