Cumberland County Jets Football Return With Senior Heavy Team

The Cumberland County Jets are flying into week one of the regular season, led by first-year Head Coach Eric Belew.

After 2018 saw the Jets play one of the toughest schedules against teams like York Institute, Livingston Academy and Upperman, the 2019 rendition of the team returns 15 seniors. Quarterback Trevor Parsons returns as well, and has looked the part of a leader for the offense, according to Belew.

“Trevor is certainly a leader on our team, he’s been a joy to coach,” Belew said. “He’s probably the only kid I’ve ever coached where I have to keep convincing myself that he’s a teenager … we can install a lot of (plays) because of what he can mentally comprehend.”

His greatest leadership trait, Belew says, is how he remains level-headed no matter what the situation is.

“Just how he handles every practice or situation, he’s very even-keeled,” Belew said. “When he messes something up, he’s eager to hear what his coaches have to say … we expect him to make big plays, but we really expect him to keep his composure when things go south.”

It’s a senior-heavy team, but Belew recognizes they haven’t had the experience of pushing through the tough times. Handling adversity remains a part of the game he plans on focusing on.

“These kids haven’t seen much success on the scoreboard in their career,” Belew said. “Usually when you get into these situations, it’s easy for kids to be defeated and back away … they’ve done a very good job with responding well in these situations (in scrimmages).”

The Jets season opens on the road, as they travel to take on the Scott High School Highlanders on Friday, at 7:30 P.M.