Senior running back-cornerback Caleb Ebersole brings a lot to the table for the Northern Bedford Area High School football team, but Black Panthers coach Jeff Batzel summed up one of Ebersole's best attributes quite neatly.
"He's the kind of kid we can move around substantially,'' Batzel said.
For instance, the 5-7, 155-pound Ebersole plays fullback on offense, but the Black Panthers can use him in a couple other different offensive roles, too.
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Northern Cambria football coach Jeff Batzel
"On offense, he's primarily a fullback, but he can run from the tailback position as well, and he can go out and play a slot for us, too,'' Batzel said.
Defensively, Ebersole is just as versatile.
"He's a cornerback, but he can also come up and play a wide-side defensive end or he can also play linebacker,'' Batzel said.
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Ebersole said that he has a passion for football, and isn't shy about showing it.
"I like to yell around some at times,'' he said. "I really enjoy football - it's pretty much my favorite thing to do. It's taught me a lot of lessons about how to work together and achieve things.''
Batzel said that Ebersole can be a vocal leader as well as a leader by example.
"He's a very fiery, enthusiastic type of kid, and I really think he's a leader in that way,'' Batzel said. "He's very vocal, he gets our guys going, and he works very hard. He loves football, and he's very enthusiastic about it.''
Northern finished 8-3 last year, losing to Windber, 34-7 in the second round of the District 5-A playoffs after beating Meyersdale, 40-20 in the opening round. Ebersole is optimistic about the future fortunes of this year's Black Panthers' squad.
"I think we'll do well this year,'' he said. "We did make the playoffs last year, but losing to Windber like we did caused an especially bad feeling. We need to focus on the task at hand this year, and I think we'll have a shot at winning districts.''
