Cam Walter and Scoop Smith were simply trying to pass the time.
Then seventh graders, the Woodland Hills School District students began talking about their idea on the way home from school one afternoon. When they got home, Smith said they began to jot down the initial concepts for what would become their clothing brand, “Isolated Ambitions,” in a notebook.
“We really started out just as an idea, we wanted to start a brand, you know, make some clothes, and make some money, too,” Walter recalled. “We made some shirts. Our first job was a couple shirts, they sold out quick, the whole school bought them and then we started making an Instagram page about it, TikToks, stuff like that. We’ve just been dropping clothes ever since.”
Now seniors, Smith and Walter are poised to continue the growth of their brand as their time at Woodland Hills winds down.
“We brought it to life,” said Smith of their clothing brand. “It’s crazy because, like, you know, as a kid you have all these dreams and ambitions. When you start to bring them to life and your dreams start to come true, it’s just wild seeing it.”
There’s also another more pressing dream, though, the childhood friends have their sights set upon this fall — state supremacy.
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Walter — the Wolverines’ all-time leading passer — is set to join Smith — who holds the school’s all-time receiving record — on one final ride to lead Woodland Hills to WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A championships.
“I love hearing the stories and seeing the pictures, from the parents, of them when they were young in Wolverines gear, 6 years old, and now they’re 18 years old and they’re still in Wolverines gear,” third-year Wolverines coach Brian Tarrant said. “That nostalgia and stuff, I’m a sucker for stuff like that. I think it’s like a fairy-tale ending if these kids can walk out on top.”
Like any good fairy tale, Walter has dealt with his fair share of adversity.
The quarterback has thrown for 3,698 career yards but missed the final three games of Woodland Hills’ campaign a season ago with his second torn ACL injury.
The Wolverines won their first conference title since 2015 last fall before falling to Bethel Park in the WPIAL playoffs with Walter and backup quarterback Prince Tarrant sidelined because of injuries.
“It was rough because at that point of time we were on a roll,” said Walter of his injury. “I felt like we had so much potential.”
After completing a lengthy rehab, Tarrant said Walter is now performing at “100%” and is hungry to lead his offense.
“I think we spent one night, we cried together, and he was a little down on himself,” Tarrant said. “I didn’t see any signs of feeling sorry for himself. Cam is a great kid, a great competitor, and he got back on the bike and it doesn’t look like he’s ever had a knee injury, other than the brace. He’s moving great.”
Smith said his confidence in Walter is high.
“I’m definitely excited for this team,” he said. “Just knowing that we have a chance to (win championships), I wouldn’t rather be with anybody else in this position.”
The feeling is certainly mutual for Walter.
Smith burst onto the scene as one of the WPIAL’s most electrifying skill position players four seasons ago when he and Walter were just freshmen playing for the Wolverines.
A Miami (Ohio) commit, Smith scored 15 total touchdowns a season ago, while racking up 38 receptions for 630 yards and rushing for 352 yards on 27 carries. He also returned two punt returns and one kick return for scores.
“We started playing together around 6 or 7 years old,” Walter said. “It’s super rare. It’s more than just a relationship in football. It’s also a friendship outside of it that makes the connection even stronger.
“We played basketball together, we play football together, we work out together,” he added. “Last year, we had every single class together. It runs deep.”
Tarrant said he expects Smith to further assert his status as one of the WPIAL’s top playmakers this season.
“He is who he is,” said Tarrant of Smith, who also excels in the Wolverines secondary. “He makes tremendous plays for us. He’s a tremendous leader for us. He is probably one of the best players that ever played at our high school just to be quite honest. There’s nothing that we ask him to do that he doesn’t try to do willingly and there’s nothing that he doesn’t succeed at.”
The Woodland Hills offense will also have a fresh influx of talent to assist its top two playmakers.
Running back and linebacker Zykir Moore, a North Carolina State recruit, is returning after missing most of last season with an injury to help anchor the Wolverines rushing attack and front seven on the other side of the football.
Senior center Roland Askerneese, who transferred from Gateway two seasons ago, will anchor the Woodland Hills offensive line along with right tackle Maleek Anderson, another Gators transfer.
“We’re all above (6 feet 3), above 275 (pounds), we’re a real big line,” Askerneese said. “If we just work as a team and have good chemistry and just put the work in to be where we should be, we are going to be a great line.”
Anderson said he is excited for the prospect of adding a seventh WPIAL championship and first PIAA title to the Wolverines program.
“Teams come in here and they know it’s a tradition,” he said. “The Wolvarena is a tough spot to play, it’s a good team. They just know that when they come in here it’s not going to be easy.”
And that starts with Walter and Smith.
“He’s the all-time receiver here,” Walter said. “I’m all time in passing yards here. There’s just so much more to go. We want to be bigger than that. We just don’t want the records. We want the state championship. We want the WPIAL championship. We want to do things that people have never done here before.”
Smith couldn’t agree more.
“This is a championship community,” he said. “We haven’t done that in a long time. I feel like this community deserves it.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.