It’s hard to read about North’s successful 3-1 campaign so far on the football field this season without seeing Jaymar Anderson’s name highlighted as a key contributor. The star running back has been a huge boost for North, which has a multi-pronged running attack, which also features Tyrone Parker, Chris Banks, and a lineup of other talented fullbacks.
Following his break-out performances in the first few weeks of the season, though, Anderson is grabbing the attention of many around the division.
Anderson’s mother, Kera, says her son has been dedicated to football since he was a toddler. “Around age 3 or 4, he would walk around with a helmet on. It’s just amazing to see his drive and ambition. I haven’t had to encourage him from day one.”
He began playing at five, in Williamstown and then Franklintown. He moved to the Germantown section of Philadelphia, because of his mother’s business — she is self-employed and works in hospice care, her schedule is hectic. “His coming to Philadelphia really was just not for him,” she said. “But my business was here. I’m based here.”
Because of her schedule, Kera’s mother and brother said they would help out, and Jaymar’s uncle, who lives in Plainsboro, took him in.
Jaymar’s main concern, however, was whether he could pursue his interests. “When we made the decision to send him [to Plainsboro], he asked, ‘Mom, will I be able to play football?’”
When he found out that North had a football program, the transition for Anderson was easier, she said. It also helped that the district was known for its academics. Anderson says he has improved in school since coming to WW-P.
North coach Chris Casamento said he had not known of Anderson until he was approached by the player shortly after he moved to the area. “He walked onto the field with his mom and said, ‘I want to play football,’” recalls Casamento, who noted that his paperwork was already filled out. “He was ready to roll when I met him.”
That’s because of his dedication to playing the sport, says his mother, who is at his games every weekend. “I’ve been giving him kudos for wanting to do something and staying disciplined and staying focused to doing it,” she said.
When Anderson arrived at North last year, he contributed to the team but did not receive the acclaim, especially with North’s running game dominated by the play of Sean Reed, a key running back and linebacker for the Knights who graduated last year.
But the Knights opened this year with a 3-1 record, and Anderson has been the highlight of the season. He rushed 30 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns against Trenton. In the team’s loss to Notre Dame on September 19, Anderson ran 86 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the game. In the second quarter, Anderson had another touchdown run for 64 yards.
Casamento said a big part of Anderson’s success comes from his work in the off-season. “He lifted weights and got himself ready, and he physically improved his body,” said Casamento.
“After last year’s playoff loss, me and [teammate] Walter Dunston hit the training room,” said Anderson. “Three hours a day, five times a week.”
Anderson said he began playing football when he attended one of his cousin’s games and asked the coach about playing. When the opportunity later came, the coach put him in. “I’ve been playing from that point on,” Anderson said.
In fact, says Kera Anderson, her son has played in every season since he was five.
The good news for North — and the bad news for the team’s opponents — is that the Anderson is going to be around for a while, as is Parker, a sophomore. Parker is averaging around six yards each carry and went 34 yards on just five carries in North’s victory over Hamilton. Also in the first half of the team’s loss to Notre Dame, Parker had a 21-yard touchdown run. Against Princeton, he ran eight times for 73 yards and two TDs.
As Anderson looks forward to the rest of the season with his team, he says he does have hopes of playing football in college. But academically, Anderson also has big goals: he aspires to go into law and become an advocate for juveniles, as well as serving as a mentor.
“In particular, he wants to advocate for the younger people who are in the [prison] system, which just took my heart away,” says his mother. “He’s a very caring and very warm person.”
And the fact that he has been saying he wants to go to college and play football since he was 8 years old, and has been dedicated to doing so ever since, shows he is on the right track to fulfilling those goals, she said. While he hasn’t heard anything official yet, Kera Anderson says she has heard that several colleges are interested in scouting her son in the future.
The Knights will face Rancocas Valley at home on Saturday, October 8, in what will prove to be a competitive match-up during the school’s Homecoming weekend celebration.
“On paper, the more we look at it, it’s an even match-up,” said Casamento. “We feel we should win the game. They’re very similar to Hamilton, so it’s going to be a tight ball game.”
However, with the Homecoming crowd on hand, Casamento is hoping that a large crows will turn out to support the team. “It’s a big game, big crowd, big challenge,” he said he told his team. “Are you up for it?”
