Shady Side Academy’s Critchlow helps football team rise

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 6, 2018 | 10:36 PM

The Shady Side Academy football team is in the middle of a highly successful season. Senior Ethan Critchlow, a 6-foot-4 230-pound defensive end and right tackle, is a big part of the success.

Critchlow was selected to second-team all-section on defense last year and received honorable mention at center.

“The coaches wanted to move me to defensive end this year,” he said. “I had no problems with the move. I just wanted to do what it takes to help the team win.”

The move has been a huge success as Critchlow has amassed eight sacks and double-digit tackles for loss. Against Neshannock, he recorded four sacks and 10 tackles.

“I play on the edge, and lately I’ve noticed that teams are running away from me,” he said. “But that’s OK with me. There are tremendous linebackers and defensive backs behind me.”

He has been recruited by several colleges, most of them Division III along with a few D-I schools. He has offers from Wooster and Rose Hulman.

“I’d like to stay relatively close to home,” Critchlow said. “I recently visited Tufts University in Massachusetts, and I liked it there.”

He plans to major in engineering.

Though Critchlow is enjoying this season’s success, he vividly recalls the 0-9 record of 2016.

“It was a tough season. We had to forfeit the last game because of so many injuries,” he said. “Two weeks before that game, I broke three knuckles on my snapping hand but I still played against Deer Lakes and I was ready to play that final game but we just couldn’t risk getting anybody else hurt. We wanted to play.”

Despite the final record, he and his teammates knew there was a silver lining.

“We were still absolutely optimistic about the future. We knew we were going to be good in 2017 and very good in our senior season this year. Last year was an eye-opener for us. We knew we had turned the corner even though we narrowly missed the playoffs.”

Critchlow suffered a setback last year when he contracted a stomach illness that caused him to lose 40 pounds.

“I went from 255 down to 215. I was able to put 20 of it back on. After the weight loss, I began working on improving my quickness and strength.”

He’s not concerned about the team suffering a letdown.

“The coaches won’t let us,” Critchlow said.

“We’re playing it one game at a time, and coach (Chuck) DiNardo and the rest of his staff keep pushing us forward. We just want to keep winning. If we just play our game, we’ll be fine.”

Marty Stewart is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shady Side Academy