Punters of the football, according to Isaac Parks, are like lawyers. Nobody wants to deal with them until they have to. And then you’d best have a damn good one.
Consider Manny Matsakis and the Ohio Valley Ironmen “lawyered up.”
Parks is just one of the many cool stories of the gridiron gods still trying to claw their way into pro football, and they’ll all be showing their stuff starting Saturday, 7 p.m., at the John Marshall High Stadium in Moundsville, where the Ironmen will battle the Cincinnati Dukes.
The Ironmen have been practicing this week to prep for their battle with the Dukes, who have several games under their belt this spring while competing in another league. The Ironmen will have had all of six practices in by then, but Coach Matsakis is undeterred.
“We can’t control that,” he said. “All we can control is get a little better first quarter to second quarter and so on and see how it looks.”
They look good in pads, and they’ll look good “coming off the bus.” There’s ample size, speed and pedigree on the roster. And Matsakis is a known offensive mastermind, although he admits that “just a slice of the pie” will be on display Saturday. He’ll keep adding sweet slices as the weeks wear on. Pro tip: Keep an eye on superback Terrell West, the smallest guy on the field and a whirling dervish of evil intentions on a spin cycle.
But when all else fails on offense, check out Isaac Parks, a two-time Div. II All-American punter from North Carolina Pembroke. Parks had his college career sabotaged by the 2020 covid season but has refused to let his career die. (For a fun ride, check out his Isaac Punts YouTube channel — he’s got 128 thousand subscribers. Discover the Darkside of Football — the special teams.)
“I’m the last person the teams wants to see on the field, but like a lawyer I’m worth the money, and when you find a good one you never let them go,” he said with a smile.
Like so many others on the team, Parks is hoping to use his time with the Ironmen as a springboard to a higher level, perhaps even the NFL. He averaged 43.8 yards per kick as a sophomore, and then 45.7 as a junior at Pembroke. He dropped 19 punts inside the 20-yr-line that year, versus just seven touchbacks. He was as good as any punter in the country.
Then covid took over. He tried to transfer to a couple of schools to continue his career, but the compliance department couldn’t make it work for various reasons.
“Took a lot of the wind out of the sails,” he admitted. But he kept working on his craft, vigilant, meticulous, and always looking for an opportunity to show off the boomstick.
Then, at a recent tryout camp in Cincinnati, he caught the eye of Manny Matsakis.
“It was 38 degrees that day and he was just booming the ball,” Matsakis recalled. “He’s got a live leg. He can bang it. He can give you the distance and the hang time you want. It’s just consistency he needs to show throughout the season to get to the next level.”
Like many of the players on the Ironman roster, Parks faced a tough decision on whether or not to leave home to pursue his dream. Back home in North Carolina, he left his wife Shania and 18-month-old daughter Sienna.
“I’ve worked so hard (on punting) the last six years, for this one year now. I finally get to do what I’ve been practicing for the last six years. But it was tough. It was a tough decision to come and play in between some very important months in my daughter’s life and then giving this one last shot to make it to the NFL or UFL to continue my pro career. I have many long nights thinking about, should I go, should I stay. What’s the responsible thing to do as a husband and what’s the responsible thing to do for myself, you know? So, I made my decision with my wife’s blessing.”
So, Shania Parks’ husband and the rest of the Ironmen will go for it on Saturday versus Cincy in what promises to be a delightful evening of professional football. Great tickets are still available at www.ohiovalleyironmen.com.
Great story! Great guy!