Enthusiasm grows at Imani Christian with numbers up, talent abundant

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, August 17, 2023 | 9:02 PM

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Imani Christian’s practices look different this summer than last, largely because there are twice as many players.

The Saints have around 30 on the roster nowadays, which gives coach LaRoi Johnson confidence the program can make a big jump in his second year there.

“My guys played well and did everything they could (last season), but when you have 17 guys, it’s hard to get things accomplished the way you would want,” Johnson said. “Now we have full-fledged practices, full-team practices, with offenses and defenses. It’s a little bit different of a look than we had in the past.

“Even with past Imani teams that I coached (as an assistant), some of the better ones, we didn’t have these numbers.”

Imani Christian featured a young lineup last season when the team went 4-6 overall, 2-5 in the conference and finished tied for sixth in the Class 2A Allegheny. The lumps they took then let the Saints return 10 of 11 starters on each side of the ball now.

Among those returning starters are two players with multiple Division I offers: junior linebacker Dayshaun Burnett and sophomore running back/defensive back David Davis.

Burnett (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) has offers from Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia, along with Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke and others. He’ll play various positions on offense, at times including quarterback.

“The kid is going to play every position you can think of,” Johnson said. “I can see his offer list going up, because you’re about to find out how athletic he is.”

Though only a junior, Burnett said he’s ready to become a leader this fall.

“I know I can lead, but I’ve never had a leadership role as an underclassman,” Burnett said. “To ask me to do it for the younger guys will be tough, but I know I can step up.”

Davis (6-0, 175) opened eyes by rushing for more than 200 yards in back to back games early in his freshman year. Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia are among his early offers.

His coach calls him Pennsylvania’s best player in the 2026 graduating class.

But Johnson also said he’s equally optimistic about the talent around the team’s two young stars. That depth includes Markus Williams, a 6-3, 185-pound junior, who can flex between tight end and wide receiver, senior defensive back Isaiah Arrington (5-10, 180), who plays bigger than his size, and lineman Fred Woodfork (6-2, 270), a two-way tackle and senior leader.

Stephen Vandiver, a junior, will see time at quarterback, but also has the versatility to play defensive back and wideout.

“He’s a really athletic kid who can do a lot of different things,” Johnson said. “He can throw the ball, and he’s impressed us with his ability to scramble.”

A freshman to watch is Gabe Jenkins (6-0, 167), who’ll fill a nickel linebacker spot this fall but could become another future standout in the secondary.

“We have a good young crew,” Johnson said.

This is Johnson’s second season at Imani after four seasons at Sto-Rox, where his Vikings teams went 37-9 and reached the WPIAL finals twice. He previously was an assistant coach at Imani and at University Prep.

At each job, year two was pivotal.

“The track record says in year two there’s a huge jump,” Johnson said. “I feel like this team is right on the same path as any other place I’ve been in year two.”

Sensing the importance of this summer, he deviated from the norm and took his team away for camp. The team practiced at Crestfield Camp near Slippery Rock. This was the first time Johnson took any team away for camp.

“There are a lot of young kids trying to figure out things, so I thought a change of setting would be very good,” he said. “There’s something brewing … and we’ve got a lot of kids who have to learn what it is to be a winner.”

Writer Amani Clark-Bey contributed.

Editor’s note: Due to a production scheduling conflict, the preview for Allegheny Conference team Serra Catholic will appear later this month.

Imani Christian

Coach: LaRoi Johnson

2022 record: 4-6, 2-5 in Class 2A Allegheny Conference

All-time record: 37-53-0

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.26 vs. Steelton-Highspire at York Suburan, 5:30

9.1 Brentwood, 7

9.8 at South Allegheny, 7

9.15 Steel Valley*, 7

9.22 at Serra Catholic*, 7

9.29 at Burrell*, 7

10.6 Apollo-Ridge*, 7

10.13 at Derry*, 7

10.20 at Ligonier Valley*, 7

10.27 Yough*, 7

*Conference game

FAST FACTS

• Imani Christian, which joined the WPIAL in 2012, made the playoffs three straight seasons from 2016-18, reaching the WPIAL Class A championship game in 2017. The Saints fell to Jeannette, 35-34.

• With 29 boys in grades 10-12, Imani Christian would be the smallest school playing PIAA football during this two-year cycle, except that a co-op with Propel Braddock Hills adds 127 boys to the school’s enrollment total, which bumps the Saints up to Class 2A.

• Imani Christian graduate Kenny Robinson, a safety who has been turning heads in Steelers training camp this year, had his number retired by his high school alma mater in 2022.

• Imani Christian will open with perennial Pennsylvania power Steelton Highspire at the York Rose Bowl showcase at York Suburban High School on Saturday, Aug. 26.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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