WAYNESBORO – Mark Saunders might just feel like the luckiest man alive.
Not just to be a head coach, but to be alive.
Saunders, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and married to Waynesboro Area Senior High School alumnus and current varsity girls’ volleyball head coach, overcame Non-hodgkin’s lymphoma. Five years and intensive chemotherapy and physical rehabilitation later and Saunders is in a happier place.
“I really feel fortunate,” said Saunders, the new head football coach at WASHS.
Saunders replaces Joshua Sprenkle, who succeeded Steve Myers and held the position for four seasons.
Saunders is no stranger to the Waynesboro football program. Following a six-season stint at Chambersburg High School, Saunders joined the Waynesboro staff as freshman coach in 2015. In 2016, the former college football player and later college football coach coached quarterbacks.
Then came 2017.
“It started with just a little twinge in my back,” Saunders recalled. “Mindy Rouzer – bless her soul, may she rest in peace – said she could feel some lumps in my back. She was my chiropractor. The next morning, I could not walk at all.”
Saunders, who spent 19 years in the college ranks and spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles under the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship, had a tumor on his spinal cord and was concerned he may never walk again.
“I had emergency surgery,” he said. “After going through all the chemo, I couldn’t walk. I had to learn how to walk again.
“I had to go through a lot of rehab. The main concern was, and I asked my doctor if I’d be able to walk again – and they weren’t really sure. It depended on how fast the nerves (regenerated), if they regenerated at all. It was hard work.”
Non-hodgkin’s lymphom, also known as NHL, is a cancer of the immune system. There are more than 200,000 cases in the United States each year, and it is treatable. It is possible for NHL to last several years or be lifelong, according to Dr. Karthikeya T M.
Saunders, whose son Ethan plays football at the University of Delaware, is back on his feet and back on the sidelines.
He was offensive coordinator for the 2021 Indians when the team finished 9-3, including the school’s first-ever District 3 playoff win.
The Tribe finished 3-7 a season ago, the team’s first losing season (not counting a 5-6 season in 2019 that included a district playoff defeat) was 2013.
“I just had that itch (to coach again),” said Saunders, who worked as a radio and television analyst at high school games in 2022. “I talked to my wife, because I had told her, prior to last year, I think I’m done. I have a true love for the game. I really feel like I’m back at home.”
Saunders embraces a broader view of football. He noted that when he was at Chambersburg, 21 players went on to play football in college.
“I think football teaches a lot about life” he related. “That’s the first thing I would say. We all go through trials and tribulations in our lives. Team sports help you navigate those problems. The wins and losses kind of overshadow how the game is meant to be. I see my job now as being an ambassador of football. Things you learn now will help you the rest of your life.
“When I was in Chambersburg, during that six-year period, we got 21 guys to college. One kid ended up at the University of Kentucky (C.J. Johnson).”
Saunders is coaching a team with only seven seniors on the roster, a list that includes returning starters Robert Howard, Owen Long and Andrew Soffe. Three other returning starters are Kyle Swanson, Bryan “Tank” Benedict and Ben Williams.
Long and Williams, both offensive lineman, will play on an offensive front that Saunders said averages about 255 pounds.
“We got some good kids. We only have seven seniors on this team. That offensive line is going to average 6-4, 255. All of them can run and are very athletic. What our kids lack in terms of experience they make up for in working hard.”
Saunders, a member of the Forsythe County (NC) Hall of Fame and the Parkland High School Hall of Fame, will be the team’s offensive coordinator, which will be based on multiple wing formations.
“I see Xs and Os, but inevitably I see who’s playing there,” Saunders explained. “I see the personnel we have. It gives you a chance to highlight their strengths.
“From a coaching standpoint it takes a lot of film watching. That’s what I love. I’m back to my old self, waking up at 4:30. It’s not so much what I know it’s what the kids can do. “
Williams, a junior who will play right guard, and Long (right tackle) will be joined up front by center Kyle Swanson (junior), Matt Bossler, a freshman left guard, and Mick Torbica, a sophomore left tackle.
Sophomore Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt will be the team’s starting quarterback. Benedict will play fullback. Nathan Noland and Hayden Nolan will play in the slot, while Calvin Myers will play wide receiver and Cody Morgan at tight end.
On defense, the starting lineup will be: Williams , Long, Nate Adkins and Anthony Ausherman on the line; Parker Hull, Nathan Noland and Andrew Florek at linebacker; and Hewitt-Frazier, Howard and Benedict in the secondary.
Waynesboro opens the season on Friday at home against Spring Grove. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The rest of the schedule:
Sept. 1, Hershey, 7 p.m.
Sept. 8, at Chambersburg, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15, Greencastle-Antrim, 7 p.m.
Sept. 21, at Northern, 7 p.m.
Sept. 29, Susquehanna Township, 7 p.m.
Oct. 6, at Gettysburg, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13, Mechanicsburg, 7 p.m.
Oct. 20, at Shippensburg, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27, at East Pennsboro, 7 p.m.
ROSTER
Seniors – Jeremy Blanks (RB/LB), Brett George (WR/DB), Robert Howard (WR/DB), Parker Hull (OL/DL), Owen Long (OL/DL), Michael Skehan (OL/DL), Andrew Soffe (K)
Juniors – Ethan Alldredge (RB/DB), Nathaniel Adkins (OL/DL), Bryan (Tank) Benedict (RB/DB), Hayden Bullard-Richards (WR/DB), Andrew Florek (RB/LB), Kaleb Mentzer (OL/DL), Cody Morgan (TE/LB), Nathan Nolan (RB/DB), Hayden Nolan (RB/DB), Gunnar Shifflett (WR/DB), Owen Shockey (WR/DB), Kyle Swanson (OL/DL), Ben Williams (OL/DL)
Sophomores – Carson Costella (OL/DL, Alex Duncan, Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt (QB/DB), Sage Henson (WR/DBZ), Devin Keefer (RB/DB), Jacob Lauer (TE/DB), Carter Long (OL/DL), Ryan Martin (TE/LB), Riley Muller (OL/DL), Sam Quesada (RB/LB), Shaun Smith (TE/LB), Ayden Strausbaugh (QB/DB), Mick Torbica (OL/DL), Austin Willequer (QB/DB)
