Jami Sands-Boyertown

After more than two decades as an assistant, Jami Sands has become the head football coach at Boyertown. “It’s refreshing and it’s a new challenge. It’s almost as if I was a chef getting new ingredients. It’s gonna be exciting,” he said. Sands was the defensive backs coach at Wilson, his alma mater, for the past four years. He ran for nearly 1,600 yards as a senior in 1995. Sands averaged a staggering 8.6 yards per carry for his career with the Bulldogs. He’s a member of the Wilson Hall of Fame. Sands talked about leaving the staff in West Lawn. “You have to follow where the opportunities go. You can’t always have everything perfect the way you want,” he replied. Sands is a 2001 graduate of Kutztown University. He played both football and baseball for the Golden Bears. Sands spent eight seasons at Lancaster Catholic with head coach Bruce Harbach. He was the defensive coordinator when the Crusaders won the state championship in 2009. Sands was an assistant under Mark Evans at Manheim Township for eight years before going to Wilson. He coached alongside Doug Dahms who holds the Bulldogs school record with 185 victories. Sands takes over a Boyertown program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2013. The Bears were (3-7) overall and (1-4) in the Liberty Division of the Pioneer Athletic Conference in 2023. “It’s a very good division. It’s gonna be a gauntlet for us to run. It’s not a friendly schedule for a first-year head coach,” noted Sands. The Liberty Division includes Spring-Ford, Perkiomen Valley, and Owen J. Roberts. Those three schools won 26 games a season ago. The Bears fell to Methacton and Pottsgrove by just three points apiece. Justin Konnick stepped down following two years at the helm. Sands has been busy evaluating the returning players at Boyertown. “The boys have not been discouraged with moving positions, trying new things that they’re maybe not comfortable with. It’s been a real positive,” emphasized Sands. There are some holes to fill at the skill positions. Cole Yesavage and quarterback Ryder Gehris graduated. Yesavage rumbled for 1,448 yards and 16 touchdowns on a whopping 204 carries. Senior Nick Billetta and junior Logan Oakes will see time at running back this fall. Jason Oakes, Logan’s older brother, led the Bears with 67 tackles last year. Connor Foskey is expected to take over at quarterback. Juniors Tilman Henley and Connor Houck will be two of his targets. Sands makes his head coaching debut this Friday when Boyertown hosts Upper Perkiomen. “I’m just thrilled that Boyertown has given me that opportunity,” he said.