Camdin Crouse’s future in football seemingly came crashing down in 2012, when the former Robert Morris University quarterback lost his leg in an ATV accident.
Three years later, he’s back on the sideline as a football coach, this time for a semi-professional team based in State College.
These days, they’re called the Port Matilda Flash. They’ll have to wait another year to adopt their new name, the State College Flash. For Crouse, joining the team as a coach was his avenue back into the sport he loves.
“I’m a part of the family now and I can’t leave these guys,” he says. “Being back around football, it’s nice to see pads hitting, to see the camaraderie of all the guys, all that stuff.”
Crouse isn’t the team’s head coach, but on Saturday afternoon, he took the team’s primary leadership position in its rivalry game against the Morrisdale Storm Runners. A number of scuffles broke out during the game as the two teams, which are very familiar with each other, battled it out in the fifth week of the Great Eastern Football Association season.
“A lot of our guys played for them,” Crouse says. “I know their coach was one of my coaches in high school. All the guys know each other. It’s pretty heated.”
The Flash dominated the game, winning by a score of 34-12. They’re off to a successful start on the season, earning their fourth win in five games on Saturday, but the team is still waiting on community support.
“There are three more home games for the season,” says Peter Colletti, a linebacker and tight end on the Flash. “We would love to get some support out there and let people know what we have to offer to the community.”
The Flash do offer some football during Penn State’s offseason, but they strive to be more than just an outlet for entertainment. The team sports pink and black on its jerseys, and while the colors are a nod to Penn State’s original scheme, the pink is also representative of breast cancer awareness.
“A lot of teams in the league have awareness games,” says Anthony Noland, a linebacker on the Flash. “We want to get our name out there. When we have games like that, we want to have a big crowd here to donate.”
The league also takes a staunch stance against racism. Thor Morlow, who plays on the defensive line, stressed how important that is to the Flash after Saturday’s game.
“One of the big things we stand up for as a league is against racism,” he says. “It’s about everyone coming together and being a unit. We stand against racism totally and completely.”
While he applauds the philanthropic efforts, for Crouse, it’s still about the pigskin.
“We want people to know we’re out here playing football,” he says. “We’re supporting a cause, but also, who doesn’t like seeing football on Saturdays? We have guys sacrificing something every Saturday to come play. That’s the most rewarding part.”
While the Flash want their name out there to earn a fan following, they’re also looking to harvest talented football players in the area. But when asked if he’d like to see Nittany Lion quarterback Christian Hackenberg in pink and black, Crouse opted to stick with Matt Mazzara, a State College native who played college football and basketball at Saint Francis Universty.
“I think we’ll keep our quarterback. We were struggling at the position last year but he came and picked us up this year,” Crouse says. “He’s a good leader. He’s a good overall athlete and a better kid than he is a football player. He’s the heart of our football team and he brings us all together.”
Crouse is clearly a cerebral quarterback, and he showed that toward the end of Saturday’s game. On a designed pass play, Mazzara recognized the defense’s tendency to crash the right side of the line. He saw space to the left and darted toward the goal line for a touchdown that sealed Morrisdale’s fate.
While the Flash don’t yet have a dedicated fan section, they make up for that on the sideline. The roster is extremely vocal, and players could be heard cheering each other on all game long.
“We’re a team. You have to be happy for your teammate’s success,” Crouse says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a backup or a starter, you have to be rooting for that guy ahead of you. We’re a family.”
For more information on the Flash’s upcoming games and the Great Eastern Football Association, you can check out the team’s website here.
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