Cunningham had active day
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Jack Cunningham made an impact on both sides of the ball last Saturday as the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North football team topped Hightstown, 18-8, for its first win of the season.
”He was active, no doubt about it,” WW-P North coach Chris Casamento said.
With snow falling throughout the day and the Knights heading into the game winless, Cunningham did all he could to help make sure the Knights came away with a win.
”We saw the snow at first and thought it was awesome,” said Cunningham, a senior two-way lineman. “We were so excited and everything. It was a blast and hard to get used to the cold. You could not feel hands or arms. But after the first quarter, I was completely numb and entire team was the same way.”
On the offensive line, Cunningham helped open holes that allowed Josh Bloom to run for two touchdowns and Brian Zalma to run for another. He made his biggest impact on defense, where he had three sacks, four tackles for a loss, batted down a pass, forced a fumble and also recovered a fumble.
Jack Cunningham is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
”It felt so good to win,” Cunningham said. “It’s been hard because we have a young team and it is hard to keep that many kids into the game. They are all new and came up from the JV and freshman teams. We say all the time you guys have to learn from every game, every play, every snap. Every game is new and they learn a great deal from each game.”
While the Knights have not been successful in terms of wins and losses, players like Cunningham have helped keep the spirits up and the focus on getting better. Against Hightstown, playing in the unusual conditions that came with the steady snowfall, Cunningham was also able to lead by example.
”That was a lot of fun,” he said of the impact he had on the game. “I had three sacks, a batted down pass, forced a fumble and recovered one also. That felt great. On offense they would slide because the snow and ice was hard to get your feet down. I thought the entire line played great the whole game. Josh had time to pass the ball because the line played great.
”We want to win and we want to have fun playing the game we all love. It is a blast. This is my last time being a Knight and I don’t want it to end.”
Cunningham is one of the few players who returned this season with varsity experience for North. So more than many other seniors before him, Casamento has relied on Cunningham to lead.
”He was one guy that had started last year,” Casamento said. “He started 10 games on defense and five at left tackle. He was the one mainstay we had coming back. He has done a great job leading the guys and keeping them together. He’s kept them focused and been a leader by example.
”Without all those kids with experience around it is harder for you to lead. He has done a good job holding his own. At the same time, when you don’t have 11 guys around you making plays it is that much harder to get the job done. He’s been very consistent and it is impressive what he done.”
Cunningham hopes to leave North having showed the younger players the proper work ethic they will need going forward. Casamento thinks his senior captain has certainly done that.
”You see the kids are pushing the sled around and when Jack is up the sled moves with a marked difference,” Casamento said. “He’s the one kid that is a veteran presence that we have. Even something that falls under the radar like hitting the sled, you can see the difference. He’s ahead of everybody else on the growth curve.”
But the growth has been there for the Knights, with Cunningham helping make a difference.
”The kids really turned the corner in that game,” Casamento said. “It’s hard to keep saying we look good in practice, we look good in practice. We’ve had some good weeks of practice, but then we lose again. This week we had some success. We still have two games left and the younger kids are starting to turn the corner. I think they will all learn from this and get better and we’ll see what happens. I am more encouraged than I was five weeks ago. Even if we didn’t win, I have seen improvement.”
But that growth will have to come next year without Cunningham, who Casamento can see playing football at the next level.
”He is 6-4, 230 pounds and he still has room to grow,” the North coach said. “Colleges look at him and think they can coach him up. He will be able to play and has the potential to keep getting better.”