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Dream for dear ol’ dad

BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

The elder Misenheimer is an assistant coach to high school buddy and East head coach Jeff Safrit. Considering he began his coaching career in 1981, stepson Danny has grown up on the football field.

As a 250-pound Mustang senior, Danny now owns it.

Fans knew he was something special when he was knocking runners for a loop as a freshman. They knew it when he was one of the best linemen in the state as a sophomore. As a junior, they were convinced he was the best.

So if they got a kick out of his play, what about dear ol’ dad, who stands on the sidelines, just a few feet away from every play?

Yeah, Darrell, we know. It’s unreal.

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Unreal is the life lived by Darrell Misenheimer, who started coaching 17 years ago and watched Danny run around on the South Rowan field when he was two years old.

``Bobby Parker used to give him a fit,’’ laughed Dad. ``Danny was like a manager. You’d tell him to go get something and he would.’’

But going home with a football coach, Danny’s manager days were numbered. Even when he started playing in the third grade, Darrell could sense something. When he got to the sixth grade, Darrell was getting cold chills.

``Danny was tough to handle,’’ he said. ``At Erwin he just got better.’’

But when Danny got to East Rowan, it was Darrell’s turn to take over. He pointed his stepson toward stardom, where the sky’s the limit.

When asked what role he has played in Danny’s success, he pointed to his foot.

``Most of the time, I’m the butt-kicker,’’ said Darrell, who sports some menacing hair on his chin and a pro wrestler body. ``I flat out get on his tail.’’

But he seems so level-headed.

The best game Dad ever saw son play was in his sophomore year. Concord tried to run away from him and he made tackle after tackle from behind. All the while, Dad was in the sidelines going crazy inside.

``You wouldn’t imagine it,’’ Darrell says. ``When you watch him make a big play, it’s unreal. He’s so smart, football-wise. He spends more time watching film than most kids. He really uses his head.’’

Unfortunately, his head isn’t quite high enough. Despite hearing from the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, North Carolina, Clemson, Maryland, South Carolina and practically everyone else, he hasn’t received any concrete offer yet.

Why? It sounds silly to those who have watched him but he might not be tall enough.

Danny Misenheimer is 6-foot-1.

Safrit likened his situation to that of former North Rowan lineman Jeff Chambers, also a quality human being with the same ungodly gifts as Misenheimer, ironically in the same sports, same events and same positions.

``I feel Chambers was the best lineman we’ve seen since I’ve been head coach,’’ said Safrit, a five-year veteran. ``He had to go to a smaller school (Western Carolina) than he could’ve because of height.

``I think Danny is the best lineman around now and if that’s going to determine where he goes, I think they’re missing out on a pretty big heart.’’

Talk about that to dear ol’ dad and he uses his favorite word: ``unreal.’’.

``The big schools want that 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 kid but it’s what you’ve got under that jersey,’’ he said. ``That’s the name of the game. I told him, `If you want to go to a big school, you have to outwork people. You won’t get there on your size.

``Right now, he might be leaning more toward wrestling. They don’t care how tall you are. They just want you to get after it.’’

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Danny couldn’t speak for himself because he is currently in Ohio with a North Carolina all-star wrestling team.

So Darrell is the spokesman. His goals for Danny?

``I know he’s not going to make any prep All-American teams because they want those bigger kids,’’ he said. ``But I’d like to see him make all-state. Or our conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.’’

Ask Safrit and he’ll say those are goals that can be attained for the four-year Mustang star.

And he thanks Dad.

``One of the reasons that Danny is so good is that he works hard,’’ Safrit said. ``No. 2, Darrell works his butt off that much harder.

``When Danny first started here, it was tough on both ~ how they handled the bad situations. It’s easy to handle the good ones. They’ve learned from it. It’s been a good experience for both of them.’’

If Safrit and Dad want any support in their effort to get the big-time coaches to overlook Danny’s height, it is North Rowan coach Roger Secreast, who happened to coach Chambers.

Secreast, who is also going to be a Shrine Bowl coach in December, was told last week that the Post may have Danny come to Spencer to pose with Cavs quarterback Mario Sturdivant for the front of the preseason football section.

``Bring him over,’’ Secreast said with a grin. ``And you can leave him.’’

Think about that for a minute. Dear ol’ dad letting Danny wear another color besides Mustang burgundy?

Now, that would be unreal.

Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor of the Post.