Young Caseys hope to build on momentum

BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Red Bank Catholic will need Donald Porzio to run over people once again this season, as they look to replace some offensive firepower they lost to graduation.CHRIS KELLY staff Red Bank Catholic will need Donald Porzio to run over people once again this season, as they look to replace some offensive firepower they lost to graduation. This year’s Red Bank Catholic football team is pretty young, for the most part, but that won’t stop head coach Frank Edgerly from expecting a lot from his players.

“I’d like to see this team get back to the state playoffs,” he said. “What type of record that will require I can’t dictate at this point, but we’ll need to play well to get there.”

And in doing so, the Caseys, like most teams in the Shore Conference, will be facing some unfamiliar foes this season, thanks to the Shore’s new divisional alignment.

“We’ve got some new teams on the schedule, and not having head-to-head experience against them will certainly make things interesting,” the coach said. “We’ve got Long Branch, Wall, Monmouth Regional, Keyport and Neptune on the schedule this year, and Wall is the only one we’ve really faced in the past.”

Edgerly, who is entering his eighth season at the helm for RBC, has few experienced players to turn to for leadership.

The offense will be led by junior Lou Bianchini, who has the tough job of replacing the graduated Ryan Kalish, one of the top all-around athletes in the Shore last year. Bianchini will be protected by what Edgerly feels will be a strong offensive line, which will include the likes of junior Jake Brahney at left tackle, senior Walter Russell at left guard, senior Anthony Alfano at center, senior Gary Dorsi at right guard and sophomore Bill Lista at right tackle.

Senior Harry Flaherty is the tight end, while Edgerly plans to use a slew of players at wide receiver, starting with senior Ryan Smith, junior Peter Batesko and senior Matt Bijas.

In the backfield, RBC will feature four players, all of whom offer a distinctive style of running the ball. Senior Tom Cooney is a bruising fullback, while fellow senior Donald Porzio is an elusive back whose shiftiness made him one of the Caseys’ top weapons last year.

Throw into the mix junior Michael Wilbur and sophomore David Reeves, and RBC will post a significant threat with its running attack.

Many of the same players will get the nod on the starting defense, with Smith, Batesko, Cooney and Porzio manning the secondary, and Wilbur, Flaherty and senior Kenny Anderson starting at linebacker.

The defensive line will consist of Russell and Brahney, as well as senior Ed Schmidt and junior John Kinzel at the two defensive end positions.

Through the preseason, Edgerly was pleased with his team’s development.

“We got off to a good start,” he said. “We had a good scrimmage against Raritan, and we held our own against Manasquan, which is one of the top five teams in the state.

“We’re a young team, but with hard work we’re likely to get better with each week.”

With so many young players making the transition to varsity football, the coach expects some growing pains along the way.

“We need to improve on both sides of the field at the line of scrimmage,” Edgerly said. “But I think as those units continue to evolve, we’ll be in good shape.”

The Caseys will be tested right away, since they open on Friday night against a Matawan team that hopes to regain some of its past glory this season.

While this year’s schedule for the Caseys no longer includes powerhouses like Raritan and Manasquan, adding the likes of Long Branch, Wall and Keyport does little to lighten the task at hand for RBC.