Ziobro brings experience to line
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
It’s been a roller-coaster ride of a summer for Manville High head football coach Brett Stibitz.
There’s been some anxiety about finding a new assistant coach and running an inaugural camp for young players, but everything has worked out just fine as the official start of the preseason approaches. Stibitz is feeling much better about things these days than he was at the end of the school year.
Stibitz learned late in the school year that assistant coach and offensive coordinator Chris Casamento was leaving to take over as head coach at West Windsor Plainsboro North. Casamento’s departure left a big hole in the MHS coaching staff and forced Stibitz to juggle the responsibilities of his current coaches.
Earlier this summer, Stibitz was concerned about how things would run smoothly with so many coaches taking on different roles. He considered taking over the offense and dividing the defensive chores between two assistants. Stibitz contemplated several options but after hiring Anthony Ziobro, he believes everything will fall into place.
Ziobro, 35, is the vice principal of the Somerset County Educational Services Commission, where Stibitz works. So, Ziobro is Stibitz’s boss in school but the roles are reversed on the football field.
”It’s interesting,” Stibitz said with a laugh.
Ziobro starred at Carteret High before playing at Virginia Tech. He was at VT during the same time MHS graduate and current assistant coach Chris Cebula played at Rutgers. Their careers overlapped by one year. Ziobro has coached at Union, Elizabeth, Rahway, Carteret and Stevens Institute.
”I’m very lucky to have him with the turn of events in the last few weeks,” Stibitz said. “He’s won state titles but he’s also had some O-for seasons. He’s been on both ends of the spectrum.”
Ziobro will work with the offensive and defensive linemen and wear two headsets in the press box, one for offense and one for defense. One look at the burly Ziobro suggests he’ll do just fine with the men in the trenches.
Cebula will take on a larger role as the new defensive coordinator, while Stibitz and assistant coach Rob Snyder will run the offense. Snyder will assume the official tag as offensive coordinator in his second year as a paid assistant coach. Ned Panfile returns as a volunteer assistant who will help run the defense, while John Bentz is back as the special teams coach.
Stibitz feels very good about the brains running his defense.
”With Ziobro, Cebula and Ned, I’ve got about 60 years of coaching experience on the defensive side of the ball,” Stibitz said. “My coaching staff has more knowledge than ever before.”
Manville isn’t blessed with as much coaching experience on the offensive side. Snyder played quarterback at MHS and is a dedicated, hard-working coach who will put in the time. However, it’s difficult to simulate game night pressure for a new coordinator trying to make the right call with the play clock ticking.
Snyder and Stibitz will work in tandem to guide the Manville offense. They’ll get a good opportunity to unveil their playbook at Montgomery’s 7-on-7 camp the next two weeks. The Mustangs have been successful at this venue in the past few summers and were scheduled to make two trips to Montgomery this year July 22 and 29.
Quarterbacks David Olmsted, Mike Hopkins and Brendan Nurnberger will get reps running 10 different plays out of 20 formations. All the other skill players will get a chance to make a good first impression on the coaches. It will be a young team in 2008 with only four seniors expected on the roster, so Stibitz will be looking for some new players to step up.
”We’re looking for personnel in the 20 formations to run 10 plays,” Stibitz said. “We’re keeping it very vanilla. We’re going to stand back, watch everyone’s footwork and see how they go. It’s been great the last couple of years. It really helps determine everyone’s positions.”
Stibitz has been pleased with the commitment of his players in the summer conditioning sessions. Most of the guys have been lifting and running on a regular basis and also attending unofficial practice sessions. The official preseason begins with double sessions Aug. 15.