By: Ken Weingartner
When the South Brunswick High football team opens its season at home against Monroe on Friday night, Year 1 A.D. begins.
That’s "After Davidson," as in all-everything running back Vince Davidson, who graduated after rushing for 2,001 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2005 and setting the school record with 3,667 yards. He was the catalyst for an offense that averaged 25.6 points per game and helped the Vikings win their final four contests to finish 7-3.
"Well, we know we can’t count on one guy for 200 yards and two or three touchdowns a game," fourth-year coach Mark Prelewicz said. "We’re not looking for one person to take over his role; we’re looking for a lot of people to contribute."
Stepping into Davidson’s large shoes will be senior Greg McClendon. He will be joined in the backfield by senior fullback Joe Clancy, who rushed for 404 yards on 54 carries, a stellar 7.5 yards per haul, and scored five touchdowns last year. He also caught nine passes for 92 yards.
Strong-armed sophomore Mohammed Sanu takes over at quarterback, replacing Mario DeFelice, who graduated. Sanu’s throwing ability should take pressure off the running game and, hopefully, lead to a balanced offensive attack.
The offense will operate behind a veteran line led by junior center Dave Amrhein and senior tackles Joe Mecca (6-foot-2, 310 pounds), and John Viotto. Zach Shapiro and Felipe Olguin are the guards.
Ray Dasant is the top returning receiver; catching nine passes for 133 yards and a touchdown last season. He will be joined by a group that includes Mike Clark, Chris Laurita, Jimmy Mikedes, Tom Dunleavy, and Eric Lorber.
"We’re going to have a lot of people going in and out," Prelewicz said. "Who is going to be the one to step up? We don’t really know yet. As of yet, no one really has. We’re just trying to get the right mix in there.
"Having Mohammed and a line that can protect is a big plus. That’s going to help [McClendon]. He’s a shifty runner and can catch the ball out of the backfield. [Clancy] is going to run the ball a decent amount, too. We’re just looking to be a little more balanced this year; just loosen people up and complete some passes. The biggest question is who is going to catch them."
Defensively, the Vikings have to fill holes that might be even more daunting than the loss of Davidson. South Brunswick graduated leading tacklers Andrew Fellouris, whose 130 stops led Middlesex County, and Derek Shelcusky, both linebackers. Gone, too, are the top tacklers from the line, Zach Kensil and Jay Jackson, plus corners Tommy Hill (10 interceptions) and Jamal McKinney.
"It’s going to be interesting," Prelewicz said. "We’re going to have to come up with different schemes. We’ve got some athletes that can play; they just haven’t been in game situations."
The hard-hitting Clancy and Sanu will be the safeties. Amrhein, Viotto, Shapiro and Evan Nathanson will see time on the defensive line. Mike Powers, Joe Amejka, Khalid Weston and Nick Zastocki will play at the linebacker spots.
Amrhein and Viotto combined for 48 tackles and eight sacks last year while Amejka had three interceptions. But much, as the Vikings entered the final days of preparation for their opener, remained unsettled.
"We’re deeper on the line, so we might play more five-man lines than we did last year," Prelewicz said. "We’re going to move guys around and try to play to our strengths. That might be different guys week to week depending on what teams we play. It’s wide open, even this week, seeing who is going to be where."
If the Vikings can put the pieces together, they might be able to build on last year’s campaign, which saw them miss qualifying for the state sectional playoffs on a tiebreaker. The seven victories were the most since 1995.
"I guess the expectations are to have the guys believe what we’ve done is because of the system, not because of one or two guys," Prelewicz said. "A lot of guys are motivated. We have a lot of seniors that have waited for their time, and it’s a motivating factor for them to show what they can do.
"The playoffs are on our minds, but we’ve got a long way to go before that’s going to be decided. The big thing is to find our identity. You can’t really find that in scrimmages; you have to find that in battle."
CHALK TALK: The first of two "Chalk Talk" meetings will be held tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. in the faculty cafeteria. Parents of players at all levels from varsity to Pop Warner are invited to attend. Another meeting will be held Oct. 12 prior to the Homecoming Night game against East Brunswick.