NBC, BRHS football teams put in hard work

By: Sean Moylan
   Last year the Northern Burlington County Regional High boys’ varsity football team went 7-3 but failed to make the playoffs because of power points.
   The Greyhounds graduated four two-way starters from that stellar group in Andy Hoyer (OL/LB), Troy Richards (WR/DB), Bobby Bauma (OL/LB) and Johnny "Let’s Get Ready to Rumble" Humble (OL/ DL). They also graduated Bryan Henry, who started as a defensive back, and Jake DiCioccio, a starting running back.
   Yet one of Northern Burlington head varsity football coach Jon Reising’s greatest strengths is making sure he and his staff prepare younger players for varsity football. So while the Greyhounds will miss those guys, they will be ready to play some solid football this season.
   "It’s a different team," noted Reising. "Last year we had a very large senior class. This year we have a good class of seniors, juniors and sophomores."
   In the backfield NBC will feature seniors Kirkland Hamilton and Joe Wolfer at the fullback position. Hamilton, however, may see some time as a running back as well. Senior Blake Campbell and junior Andrew Bothwell will also get playing time at running back as Reising plans on rotating his backs a lot this season.
   Strong-armed junior Joe Washington and talented senior Jared Morris will fight it out for the starting spot at quarterback. Although NBC is pretty young on the offensive line, senior R.J. Melton has experience as a starting guard. Ron Garrrett (a junior offensive tackle), Steve Ferrara (a senior offensive guard), Will Morgan (a junior center), Zack Fray (a senior offensive tackle), Dan Reinis (a senior offensive guard), Frank Capra (a junior guard), Zack Way (a sophomore center/offensive tackle) and Ryan Asay (a sophomore offensive guard/tackle) are the Greyhounds’ other linemen.
   At wide receiver NBC has Jarrett East-Brown (senior), Josert Fonseca (senior), Andre DeCastro (senior), Nate Pryce (junior) and Ian Moyer (sophomore). And Northern’s tight ends are Boomer Walton (sophomore) and Lorenzo Capeles (junior).
   On defense, Hamilton, Reinis, Ferrara and Garrett will be the mainstays on the defensive line.
   Wolfer, Walton, Melton, Bothwell and juniors Jeff Townsend and Keith Dzuira are the varsity linebackers. And in the secondary, NBC has East-Brown, Campbell, Fonseca and sophomore Thaddeus Richards. Fonseca, once again, will be the team’s kicker and punter while East-Brown, as well as others, will return kicks and punts.
   Reising’s varsity assistants are Joe Washington, George Chis-Luca, Dennis Mallon, Jack Yost and Gene Darling. Ron Honeyford and Rick Doppler will coach the freshmen team this year.
   "I like this team a lot. They’re hard-working kids who give everything they’ve got. Nobody has a big attitude. They just want to play football," said Reising. "Our number one goal is we want to play as a team."
   Northern Burlington could be pretty good this year, but with so many new players it’s too early to make any predictions. Reising, a tremendous student of the game of football, would like is team to learn the fundamentals of football and the ideas and history of football. NBC will open at home against Cinnaminson on September 7th.
BRHS
   While the Bordentown Regional High varsity football team won’t be three or four deep at each position this season, for head varsity football coach Larry Larned that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
   "We really have a chance to shock some people this year. Our numbers are down but we have more kids who are dedicated and hard-working this year," said Larned, who took a different approach this past off season and ran the toughest and most intense summer program in years. Moreover, the Scotties did more lifting and running in the off-season than they’ve ever done.
   "We’re strong at the skill positions," added Larned, who will use either senior Tim Gola or junior Justin Moya, a transfer student from Georgia, at the quarterback spot. Both are 5′ 11".
   Josh Slezak (senior), Wayne Cobbs (senior), Taylor Griffiths (sophomore) and Spike Pascual (junior) give the Scotties depth at the running back position that they haven’t enjoyed in years. While at fullback Bordentown will feature Dan Romano (senior), Thomas Lee (junior) and Ricky Sentak (sophomore). All are aggressive and athletic players. Slezak, Romano, Pascual and Griffiths double as linebackers while Cobbs and Sentak are defensive backs. Lee plays on the defensive line on defense.
   "The defense looks solid. We’re playing together as a unit and no one is trying to be a standout hero," said Larned, whose team recently enjoyed a successful scrimmage versus Allentown. This year Bordentown has 13 seniors, nine of whom started at least one way last season. Cobbs, J. Moya, Pascual, Griffiths and Sentak may be new to the program but they’re all fitting in very nicely.
   Bordentown’s other returning varsity players are as follows: senior John Hull (TE/LB), senior Kyle Moya (TE/LB), junior Pete Pulhac (WR/DB/P/K), senior Joe Polkowitz (OL/DL), junior Leon Jackson (OL/LB), senior Adam Hurley (OL/DL) and senior Scott Stillwell (WR/DB).
   In addition to the previously mentioned backfield players, other key newcomers on the Scotties are junior Cody Getchell (OL/DL), senior Terrance Calhoun (OL/DL), sophomore Tyler Ryan (QB/DB), junior Corey Hudson (WR/DB) and sophomore Ben Walker (WR/DB). Larned could add a player or two before the start of the season.
   Like many successful football programs, Bordentown has put a Big Brother, Little Brother system into place where each senior and junior teams up with a freshman or a sophomore to show him the ropes. The learning curve for the sophomores is not as great as it once was though, because many players are coming up from the Bordentown Bulldogs youth football system and know what they have to do.
   At 6′ 1" Pulhac is Bordentown’s tallest player. And Getchell, a 6-foot, 265-pound lineman, Jackson, Hurley and Calhoun are the Scotties’ only players who weigh over 200 pounds. Yet while Bordentown lacks size and depth on the offensive line, it does have strong players who are in tremendous shape. Slezak, K. Moya and Jackson are team captains.
   Bordentown Hall of Famer Larry Carthan is back as the defensive coordinator and the running back coach. Defensive line coach Joe Sprague and offensive line coach Kevin Galbraith will work together while Ernie Covington and KC Rivera will coach the wide receivers and the defensive backs together. Bordentown had a 4-4 junior varsity record last season.
   Last season Bordentown was 1-9 but the club has done a lot of bonding since then. The current Scotties’ players really love and want to play football.
   "This year I’ve learned to keep expectations high," said Larned, who is entering his second season as the head coach. "The team’s attitude and work ethic are much improved. This should lead into some surprised as we get into our schedule."
   Bordentown is scheduled to open the season with a tough road game versus Holy Cross on September 7th.