Sal Fife
West Deptford offensive line, defensive line
6-foot-1, 280 pounds
Key stats (6 games): Eagles offense, 1,723 rushing yards, 23 touchdowns
How will you achieve the dream of playing college football?
“It will take hard work,” Fife said. “It takes trusting the people around me to help build me up. It takes having a mission, having a goal. Since I started playing football at three years old — ever since then, I wanted to play college football.”
What is it like to know that reaching that goal is so close?
“It feels good,” Fife said. “It feels great to know your hard work pays off. All the time and resources you put in are finally paying off.”
How much are you making sure that you’re ready, on the classroom side, for college?
“Being a student athlete, I want to pick a school that not only has great football, but has great academics,” Fife said. “I want to pick a place that has great resources to help me in my future. I’m looking to go to school for pre-law. Hopefully, one day I will be a lawyer. It’s a career that I’m really interested in. I think I’d be very good at it.”
Coach John Emel says:
“Sal is a great kid,” Emel said. “He’s been a four-year starter. He’s been a leader for the last two years on off the field. Sal is a high-academic, high-effort kid. He does a lot of work into his getting better. Year-round, he’s trying to take his game to another level.
“Two guys handle the ball every play, the center and the quarterback. They have to be smart guys. They’re in the middle of everything. The ball is everything, so you want smart guys handling the ball. It’s good to have guys like Sal at a key position like center.”
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at to********@***il.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: West Deptford, Fife lead from the front
