Austin Phillips: Soul of the Stags

Austin Phillips lined up at outside linebacker, hunched forward and ready to rush. It was third-down-and-goal and Good Counsel was about to take the lead in the Washington County Athletic Conference championship game. The Falcons handed the ball to star running back Caleb Porzel, who ran off-tackle to the right. Phillips came on a blitz, fired into the backfield, wrapped Porzel up and dropped him at the line of scrimmage. Pandemonium ensued on DeMatha's sideline. One play later Good Counsel missed a field goal and the game remained scoreless.

"I had around 15 tackles in that game, but that was a key play," said Phillips, now a senior middle linebacker. "It was one of the best moments of my life."

Phillips had heard it all before. Ever since Good Counsel beat his DeMatha Stags on national television last year there was all this talk about the Falcons snatching the WCAC title away from DeMatha. Good Counsel didn't stand a chance. Phillips and the revamped Stags defense went on to win 34-7 for their sixth straight league title.

"You know there was all this hoopla about Jelani Jenkins and Caleb Porzel (Good Counsel running backs), but they didn't scare me," Phillips aid. "I was happy to go up against them. I love challenges. I never run away from them."

Phillips has been facing challenges all his life. Physical shortcomings, injuries, critics and recruiters have been swimming around him like hungry piranhas. But Phillips has snared them all: He's the starting middle linebacker on the No. 1 team in the state.

"Play after play he's always there," said DeMatha coach Bill McGregor. "As a coach, when you know he's in the lineup, you don't have to worry about that spot. He comes to play and he'll give you effort, enthusiasm and leadership. He's everything you want out of a football player. He's as fine a player as you'll find pound for pound."

There are players on DeMatha's defense who stand over 6-feet, run 4.4 40-yard dashes and bench press over 300 pounds. There are players on DeMatha's defense who are known throughout the region as the best at their respective positions. They are players on DeMatha's defense heading to Division I colleges, destined to play on national television.

Phillips, an undersized 5-foot-10, 225-pound linebacker with average speed, probably isn't one of them. But make no mistake, Austin Phillips is the soul of the Stags. He is the prevailing voice, the signal caller, the leader in the middle.

"With all the guys we have, I'm more of an underground leader," Phillips said. "But I take care of my defense … I'm very confident and I take pride in what I do at middle linebacker."

Phillips had to earn his position the hard way. Last year he showed up for varsity tryouts a virtual unknown. He wasn't fast enough to play in the secondary and his size precluded him from playing on the line. He wasn't exactly an ideal linebacker either, but that's eventually where he stuck. Initially, Phillips rode the bench as an understudy to his veteran teammates. But every day in practice he played with an unrivaled intensity. Eventually he started earning repetitions with the first-string defense. Then he forced his way into the starting lineup.

"Everyone has always been doubting me," Phillips said. "But I love this game of football and I'm going to give everything I have on every play. My heart and work ethic stand out."

That attitude stems from a father, Ambrose, Sr., who embodies discipline and hard work. Ambrose starred at DeMatha back when McGregor was still the school's defensive coordinator in the early '80s. McGregor recalls an ultra-focused player who never made mistakes and could lock down a receiver one-on-one. Ambrose went on to VMI, where he started for three years.

Ambrose's first son, Ambrose, Jr., played offensive guard at DeMatha. Like his father, the younger Ambrose brought focus and discipline to the gridiron. Junior graduated and continued his career at Randolph Macon.

Now, the third Phillips son is following the family tradition.

"The whole family is DeMatha through and through, and they're all the same type of player," McGregor said. "They were all good, solid football players who never made mental mistakes, practiced hard and gave it all they had."

There's something else that separates the Phillips clan: Leadership. Each of them brought extra energy and enthusiasm to the huddle, which endeared them to players and coaches alike. Austin, for his part, is lauded for keeping a positive, upbeat attitude in the face of adversity.

"He's not like other high school kids and his Dad and brother were the same way," McGregor said. "His level of maturity, his enthusiasm and his hustle are something special."

After a stellar junior season in which Phillips recorded 57 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and five sacks, the rising senior set high goals for 2009. But his plans quickly derailed. More challenges awaited.

During summer 7-on-7 practice, Phillips and fellow linebacker Marcus Coker went full tilt in pursuit of the ball. They didn't see each other and ended up colliding, two trucks smashing head-on. Phillips sustained a concussion and missed the remainder of the preseason.

The woozy linebacker recovered in time for the season opener against Riverdale Baptist, but he wasn't 100 percent. Still, he played effectively, helping his team to a 38-0 shutout. A week later, however, he sustained a second concussion early in the Gilman game. This time Phillips missed the next three weeks.

Including the rest of the Gilman game, DeMatha surrendered 71 points while Phillips was out. In the three games he's played since, the Stags have given up just 35 points, including just one touchdown apiece against St. John's and Bishop O'Connell.

"Our defense is totally different with him in the lineup," McGregor said. "He just makes us so much more physical. He's great at the point of attack, he's going to hit somebody and he's going to make things happen. We go from being a good defense to a really good defense with him in there."

McGregor insists Phillips is playing well ("you can't play any better than he is right now") but the linebacker says he's still not in peak condition.

"I'm still knocking off some rust but I'm back in the full swing of things," Phillips said. "I've been fighting all season. It's been tough."

But Phillips is used to fighting. He fought the doubters who thought he was too short. He fought the critics who didn't think he'd ever play at DeMatha. His current battle (other than injuries)? Recruiters.

On a defense where half the players have a Division I scholarship, Phillips is still searching for his first offer on any level. Apparently a 5-10 linebacker isn't exactly first priority for colleges. But Phillips, ever the optimist, is confident he'll be suiting up on Saturday's next year.

"I can play college football," he said. "I get overlooked by the other stars, but it's not always about size. I see guys like Brian Westbrook (Eagles running back) and London Fletcher (Redskins linebacker) who aren't the biggest guys but play with a lot of heart. If I continue to give it all I've got I can contribute to a college team. Give it all - every time."

Local Division I-AA schools such as Towson are interested in Phillips, according to McGregor. An offer could come at season's end.

"Whoever takes him is going to get an outstanding football player," McGregor said. "I can see him being a co-captain of a football team some day."

Apparently he already is. Watch this Friday when DeMatha plays Archbishop Carroll. No. 41, the proud, overachieving DeMatha linebacker, will stand at midfield for the coin flip. A captain of the defense, a stalwart among stars, the soul of the Stags.