Imhotep QB Mikal Davis Jr. is headed to Army. His journey is driven by family and forgiveness.

The right leg is a jackhammer, constantly thumping against the aluminum stands. It comes along with a shrill beacon.

Mom’s penetrating voice has always had a way of piercing through the crowd.

The audio bundle stands next to his older brother’s squinting, analyzing eyes, calmly sitting there breaking his nervous tension by munching on and spitting out sunflower seeds.

Mikal Davis Jr., Imhotep Charter’s three-year starting senior quarterback, can’t escape them.

Mom’s voice and big brother’s eyes are bound to find him on the Panthers sideline. They are comforting. Having their support drives Davis. And it’s not only on a football field where the voice and eyes follow. He felt their presence in the spring on a shallow river in West Africa by the light of a cell phone.

Mom (Candace Campbell) and older brother (Rae’Quan Williams) were there with him as they always have.

This Saturday at noon, Public League powerhouse Imhotep Charter will play Catholic League Class 5A champ Roman Catholic in the District 12 (city) championship. The Panthers will be embarking on another run toward the PIAA Class 5A state championship as part of a doubleheader at Northeast High School, followed at 4 p.m. by the District 12 Class 6A title game between defending state champ St. Joseph’s Prep and Public League winner Lincoln.

At the eye of Imhotep’s attack will be Davis, who has committed to Army, ranked No. 8 in his class with a 3.8 GPA, and was among the Imhotep students who traveled to Africa in May to build filters during Ghana’s water crisis.

His improbable odyssey to West Point began with a stubby, husky kid who used to flop on the ground and fake injuries as an excuse not to play, to someone who sleeps with a football and who diagrams plays on napkins, copybooks, any form of paper he can get his hands on.

There is a reason why Davis, 17, is heading to Army.

“We’re a team, we follow Kal everywhere, and Rae’Quan has helped me raise him. We keep a foot on his neck,” said Campbell, who endured childhood trauma at age 3 when her father was killed. She graduated from Cheyney University in 2002 with a degree in criminal justice and currently works in human resources after 10 years in child welfare.

“We don’t allow Kal to do anything without him checking with me first,” Campbell continued. “When he was younger, he did not understand. He has learned to appreciate the discipline when he got older.

“I was raised by my mother and I knew as a parent, raising young Black men in Philadelphia, if I was not a certain way as a parent, Kal would not have turned out the way he has. With Kal, I knew he was something special once he played at 12 [against 170-pound eighth graders and high school freshmen].

“None of this has been easy, but for him to go to Army, and the success he has had on and off the field, the sacrifices were worth it.”

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As a three-year starter, Davis has a record of 36-5, leading the Panthers to two straight District 12 Class 5A titles. This season, he has rushed for 450 yards and seven touchdowns, and has passed for 1,658 yards, with 13 touchdowns against three interceptions while completing 60% of his passes.

“My mom and brother are not good cop-bad cop, they’re bad-cop bad-cop,” Davis said, laughing. “I can hear my mom everywhere. She has that high-pitched voice you can hear over everything and everyone. It can break glass.

" I can remember last year when we played Whitehall, I can hear my mom after a broken play, yelling right there in the front row. The guys at school tell me all the time, ‘Your mom is crazy.’

“When I was 8, I used to make excuses. One time, the coach said something to my mom like, ‘Football is not for every kid.’ That ended that. I remember going to my bedroom after a practice, and my mom let me have it. I can’t say what she really said to me, but that woke me up.”

Davis, at 6 feet and 211 pounds, is sneaky large. He has tree trunks for legs and poise that belies his age. Army projects him as a dual-threat quarterback and in constant contact with him. In his high school career, he has accomplished everything — except one vital piece that this next month will be geared toward: winning a state championship.

Imhotep has appeared in seven state finals (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022). The Panthers have won one, the Class 5A title in 2015, becoming the first Philadelphia public school to win a state championship in football.

Davis is well versed in the Panthers’ frustration in state title games.

“The teams out West have a right to say we are chokers, because we are, until we win,” Mikal said. “This year matters to me. It matters to us. Nasir Boykin is considered the best quarterback to ever come out of Imhotep. He was the starting quarterback for ‘Tep in 2015 when they won the state title.

“I want to leave as the best. I have to earn it, though. I want us to go undefeated and finish 16-0. If that happens, I will declare myself as the best-ever quarterback to come out of Imhotep. This is it. It is all or nothing.”

Mikal “Mac” Davis Sr. was a star running back at Franklin Learning Center, good enough to gain the attention of Division II Indiana (Pa.). The elder Davis also grew up in a strong family foundation. He just had a problem pulling himself away from the plight of the North Philly streets.

About 245 miles northeast of Philadelphia, Mikal Sr. does what he can to keep up with his son while he is in a federal penitentiary, serving time for a nonviolent crime involving drug distribution.

Campbell says Mikal Jr. has the demeanor of his father and his father’s build — only taller.

“Me and my dad have always had a good relationship,” Davis said. “I love my dad. He’s a part of my success. I always wanted to be with my dad. When I was younger, sometimes I didn’t want to come home, because my dad definitely spoiled me.

“A few years ago, we had that talk when I was around 15, when he was locked up. He got emotional. He apologized to me for what he did, and I know he’s proud of me. I’m not embarrassed by my dad at all. He may have not made the right choices, but he is still my dad. He is a great father to me.

“The one thing I asked him was: Why? There were certain things my dad would do, when I would sit as a kid and wait for him and he wouldn’t show up. It hurt. My dad broke it down. He told me how bad he felt. He was accountable. I know this crushes me and I know it crushes him.”

It’s why Mikal Sr. feels as if he’s serving two sentences — one behind bars in Cambria County and the other being denied watching his son play live.

“I not only had to apologize to Mikal Jr., but to all my kids and loved ones,” he said via text. “That’s why I let them know, yes, I made a mistake, but one mistake doesn’t determine who you are. That’s why I tell Mikal Jr. to stay focused. One slip and you might blow what you have worked so hard for. Never give up on your dreams.

“Missing this segment of Mikal’s life in the physical form is a day-to-day nightmare. He knows I’m his No. 1 fan and best friend, so not being able to attend every event of his hurts. I try to find the positive in every negative. I get to talk to him on the phone or on video before and after the games to discuss how he played. I know we have a bond and an understanding that can’t be broken.”

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He traveled Cambria County to visit his father before the season started. They spoke about expectations and continued to strengthen their bond. Davis knows he could have disassociated himself from his father.

It stretched his visceral bounds of forgiveness.

“God gives his battles to his toughest soldiers, and I have a good idea that no one coming into Army has a father in prison, but I won’t deny my dad,” he said. “I know my father would smack me if I did anything to blow it.”

Someday, the elder Davis hopes to be in person to watch his son play in the Army-Navy game. The game returns to Lincoln Financial Field in 2027.

“I must say proud is an understatement for how I feel about what Mikal Jr. has accomplished on the field and in the classroom,” Mikal Sr. said. “I will give him most of the credit for his success. He has worked very hard. The part I play is keeping him mentally prepared for all the ups and downs that come with sports and life.”

A month from now, if everything goes as planned, Davis could be kneeling on the frigid turf at Cumberland Valley High School, wiping the tears after a state championship victory from his face after hugging his mother and brother — and thinking about his father.