Darryl Brown-Williams always loved being around football.
But when it came to playing it, he was a little unsure of himself.
Brown-Williams is a senior at Franklin Towne Charter High School, and the Frankford native couldn’t play football at his school because the Warriors don’t have a team.
Instead, Brown-Williams became a fan of the Frankford Pioneers. He’d go to games and really liked what he saw.
Then he got some good advice.
“I loved football, I was a big fan my whole life, but I played one season for the Lawncrest Lions when I was 13 and I didn’t know what I was doing and I wasn’t that good,” Brown-Williams said. “My brother (Bryant Williams) told me I should play for Frankford. He played for Frankford and for coach (Damon Brockington). Brock helped him a lot. He told me if I tried out, I would learn a lot.”
So Brown-Williams did. Because he attends Franklin Towne, he’s able to play for his neighborhood school, Frankford. And now he’s a member of two schools he loves. But that definitely means hustling.
Brown-Williams has a little over a half-hour to get from his school to football practice. It sounds challenging, and truth be told, it would probably have been a problem for him before he started playing football. But his new sport has been a complete game changer and it’s made his life a lot easier in some aspect. It just calls for some discipline.
“I get out at 2:28, football starts at 3 p.m. It depends, sometimes I have teammates with cars or we take public transportation, SEPTA,” Brown-Williams said. “You have to pay for it if you’re late, I’m usually not late. Being late is a big thing. You get out of school and go to practice. Unless you have something you have to do for your school, you have to get there.
“Playing football changed everything. It was everything, my whole daily routine. Get up earlier, earlier for class so I wouldn’t be late at school so I could go to football practice. I have like five other teammates from Franklin Towne. They came out with me. The Franklin Towne guys, we all are in the same boat. New to football, and trying our best.”
Their best is pretty darn good.
After finishing 3-9 last year, including 0-5 in their Public League divisional schedule, the Pioneers rebounded to go 9-2 and a perfect 5-0 in Public League divisional play.
Frankford lost its opener to Council Rock South and didn’t lose again until the District 12 Class 5A championship game where it fell to Roman Catholic.
Other than that, it was a perfect year including bringing home a Public League championship.
“Last year was tough,” said Brown-Williams, who became a starter last year, his first playing high school football. “We weren’t playing our best. We were more motivated this year. We know the feeling of losing, we didn’t want to feel it again. We lost week one, but it was different. We were all motivated, we knew what the goal was and that was to win the championship.
“Winning the championship meant everything. It was for me and the guys on the team, but also for all the guys who didn’t win while playing here. Frankford football is a family. We wanted to win for all the guys like my brother who didn’t win. They deserve it.”
Frankford’s loss to Roman was a tough one, but luckily it wasn’t the final one. The Pioneers have a new dance partner on Thanksgiving, Simon Gratz.
“Having another game helps a lot,” Brown-Williams said. “We can go out and just have fun. We are going to have fun. Just go out and play with our guys.”
All the Pioneers are Brown-Williams’ guy, but he does have a close bond with his coach.
When he decided to go out for football, Brockington was a pretty big reason for it. He trusted him coming in and now that he’s wrapping up his football career, the bond has only gotten stronger.
“Brock is a father figure, he’s definitely someone I look to for help,” Brown-Williams said. “When Brock tells me something, I do it because I always know he has my best interest at heart. He wants us to succeed, he wants to see us do better. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank my brother for sending me to play football. It’s changed my life.”
Next year Brown-Williams has options.
He has a 3.2 grade point average at Franklin Towne and the First-Team All-Public middle linebacker who made all the calls for the Frankford defense could certainly contribute at the college level.
Right now he’s also thinking about going into the military.
“It’s a lot like football, I love that you get structure from it,” Brown-Williams said. “I have an uncle who was in the Marines and a few cousins who served. I think it’s a system thing, having to wake up, having set things to do, get me adjusted to a certain system. It’s like football, but not football.”
Brown-Williams is excited about the future, and he’s thankful for his past and present. He also might follow in his role model’s footsteps.
“Playing football at Frankford is great because we saw everything come together,” he said. “Seeing me improve personally and seeing other people around me improve. We’re always a work in progress. People see a difference in me, almost everyone that I interact with.
“I plan on changing the world one day. I want to inspire people, change people’s lives and give back through the knowledge I’ve learned. I’d love to coach football. It’s second on my list other than military, being a coach. I might become a teacher. I know how much a good coach can mean.”
