Harlan making a smooth transition at Peddie

By: Sean Moylan
   At a lesser high school, Geoffrey Harlan’s transition to Athletic Director and head varsity football coach could have been a rough one. However, Peddie High School has always had a way of doing everything above board with dignity and class.
   It should come as no surprise that Susan Cabot, the Associate Director of Athletics at Peddie, is showing Harlan the ropes and helping him learn the everyday duties that come with being an AD. And last year’s head football coach, Frank deLaurentis, is on Harlan’s coaching staff as the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. In other words, Harlan is a very welcome new addition to the Peddie athletic staff.
   Moreover, he has a high positive energy level, which is contagious.
   "I see a lot of talent in the Peddie program. Our goal (as a football team) is to play with a lot of confidence and energy on the field," said Harlan. "We want to be ready to go every time."
   Although he and his staff are still putting the final touches on the complete varsity roster, Harlan already has a pretty good sense of who his big guns will be this season.
   One player who is sure to make an impact is junior Mike Brown, who had several big kick off returns last season. Brown will start at left cornerback but he will also see action as a tailback.
   Senior Nick Buroojy is a projected starting two-way lineman. Will Clark, a junior, is expected to start at the outside linebacker position but he’ll also see time as a fullback.
   Derek DeBellis, a post grad from football country in Pennsylvania, has looked good as an outside linebacker and a offensive lineman.
   Junior Joe D’Ermo is a local kid from Cranbury with skills at the tight end and defensive tackle positions while junior Chris Douthett is a solid middle linebacker and offensive tackle.
   Senior Malcolm Evans has already earned the starting spot at strong safety and he will also be used as a wide receiver. Junior Andre Ford has looked good as a receiver and senior Tom Golden is a solid tight end.
   Harlan has been very impressed with junior Dylan Isenberg as a player and will start him at strong safety.
   Post grad Jaashawn Jones is new to the squad, but he has already made a strong positive impression with his skills at running back and as a linebacker. And at 6 foot 1 inch tall and 220 pounds, Jones has good size as well.
   Sophomore David Kenney has turned heads with his skills as a quarterback and as a defensive back. But John Nitti, a post grad from New York, is also a pretty good quarterback as well as junior Tommy Burns, who hails from Pennington.
   East Windsor’s own Brian Reilly, a sophomore, worked very hard in the off season to develop into a very capable linebacker and offensive lineman. Senior Justin Sinclair will be a two-way starter at the wide receiver and cornerback spots. And senior Derrick Tengco will start at center and anchor the offensive line and he’ll also see action as a nose tackle.
   In addition to deLaurentis, Harlan has Marty Mooney (an offensive line coach), Doug Herrin (a special teams and defensive backs coach), Peter Kraft (a secondary coach), Adam Bethea (a defensive line coach) and Rich Maley (a quarterbacks coach) on his varsity staff.
   Meanwhile Pat Clements will be the head coach of the junior varsity football squad and he will also work with the receivers. Harlan, himself, is the offensive coordinator and works with the running backs.
   Although Peddie was 3-6 last season, Harlan does not want to settle for just making it back to .500.
   "Our goal is to win the MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep league) Conference," said Harlan.
   Let’s hope his winning attitude remains contagious. Peddie has a scrimmage at Edison on September 7th. It is scheduled to open its regular season with a road game versus Polytechnic Prep Country Day School on Saturday September 16th.