With Coach Donahue stepping up as the new Football Head Coach, many GA students are excited to see what the football team can accomplish this Fall season, with many players competing at an extremely high level.
Two players to look out for are Captain AJ Towsen ‘25, a wide receiver, and quarterback Xavier Stearn ‘26.
Both Towsen and Stearn are central players to GA’s football team, posting impressive numbers and helping GA achieve success in many games.
“I think they’re the best quarterback-receiving duo that have played at GA,” Coach Donahue said. “AJ has the single-season receiving yards record, and Xavier’s 32 yards away from the career passing yards record as a junior; no one compares to them at GA.”
Additionally, both these players hold significant leadership positions on the team, helping unite the squad and push them toward success. Although Stearn is not a captain yet, being a junior, he still holds an important role in leading the team to success.
“You can be a leader without being a captain,” Towsen said. “Xavier is one of the best leaders on the team, helping keep everybody in check. People look up to him because he’s that guy, a role model. Everyone understands how hard he plays and the hard work he puts in, and they admire him for it.”
“Watch Xavier when he’s not on the field,” Coach Donahue said. “He’s constantly cheering on his defense and also constantly is making sure everyone’s on the same page.”
As a current captain, Towsen holds an extremely important role on the team, which he has grown into over the years.
“AJ is unique,” Coach Donahue said. “He was a sophomore captain for basketball, which immediately showed his ability to be a great leader, and it’s been really cool to watch him develop further. He’s always a great vocal leader and does an awesome job getting to know everyone on the team. This year, he really has developed his leadership style in practices, practicing so hard that it translates to others.”
Not only do these leaders weave important relationships with other players, but they also have strong connections with their coaches, giving them responsibility for their team.
“When something’s wrong at practice, coaches usually turn to the captains first,” Stearn said. “Then they will always speak to us as a group—a team.”
The respect goes both ways between coaches and players, with the team’s leaders looking to Coach Donahue for motivation.
“Whatever he’s doing, we role model after it,” Towsen said. “He brings energy. He works. He keeps you accountable. It just flows throughout the team.”
The team’s traditions are also a huge factor in increasing unity. They allow the team to come together and know each other better.
“In previous years, we’d have breakfasts on the morning of every game day,” Towsen said. “Recently, we changed this to team dinners. Over the past five games, we’ve had a dinner the night before.”
Their gathering as a team helps bring them together and get to know one another off the field. Bonding through this tradition further enhances their performance as one team when playing.
With Coach Donahue’s support, the team has also put in the work throughout the off-season.
“Playing Haverford, we held up better in the trenches,” Coach Donahue said, referencing their first Inter-Ac game against Haverford on October 10. “That’s all our work from January through May, four times a week lifting. That’s not my work. That’s what they did – I just showed up and gave them the opportunity.”
As a current junior and already the starting quarterback with great success, Stearn will step up into an even larger role next year for GA’s football team. Additionally, he is looking forward to seeing both Coach Donahue’s team and leadership progress.
“This year is a year for Donahue to build a strong foundation,” Stearn said. “He’s building a base for a great program. So, I’m just excited to see not only this year’s success but the progression into next year.”
As Towsen looks to the future, he wants to soak in his last year of high school football.
“It’s my last five games of high school football,” Towsen said. “It just hasn’t hit me yet, but it’s pretty crazy.”
Both Towsen and Stearn have and continue to achieve great success in GA’s football program, leading on and off the field. In the future, both will look to achieve great things as players and as people.