Belleville HS football team defeats West Side in season opener, giving head coach Mario Cuniglio his first victory

Correction: Fort Lee defeated Ferris, 42-0

BELLEVILLE, NJ (updated Saturday 3:50 p.m.) – First-year head coach Mario Cuniglio and his staff want to transform the Belleville High School football program into a winning culture.

Though they made some mistakes, the Bucs took a step in that direction with a hard-fought 15-6 victory over Newark West Side in the season opener Friday night, Sept. 2, at Weequahic High School’s Untermann Field.

Gustavo Viana, a junior, accounted for the Bucs’ two touchdowns.

BHS sophomore kicker Anthony Coppiano opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

Later in the second quarter, senior Kyle Wash connected with Viana on a 50-yard TD pass to extend the Bucs’ lead to 9-0.

After West Side scored to cut it to 9-6 in the third quarter, Viana broke off a 65-yard TD run with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Bucs defense held firm the rest of the way to seal the victory.

The Bucs, who already matched last season’s win total, will host Fort Lee in their next game on Friday night, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. at Doc Ellis Field/BHS Municipal Stadium.

Reviewing the game film the next morning, Cuniglio and his coaches recognize that the Bucs need more work to get better. But overall, the Bucs will take the win and move forward.

“Collectively, we played pretty well,” Cuniglio said Saturday morning via a phone interview. “We made mistakes. Based on what we saw last night and what we did, we have some work that needs to be done. But a win is a win for us. We’ll take it and we’ll correct our mistakes and we’ll move forward against Fort Lee.”

Cuniglio particularly was proud of his team’s resiliency and effort.

“I like the fact that our kids didn’t give up. I liked how our guys were physical. We played with a purpose,” he said.

Nevertheless, the Bucs are now focused on correcting their mistakes as they get ready for Fort Lee, which won its season opener, 42-0, Ferris, also Friday night.

“We are in the process of fixing mistakes and honing in on things that we need to get better at,” Cuniglio said. “We’re going to take this win and take the momentum that we have, moving forward. We’re going to try to use that as a means to compel us into the game against Fort Lee.”

The Bucs certainly don’t have problems with showing enthusiasm, evidenced by Friday’s game.

“We’ve never seen a team as pumped up as they were,” Cuniglio said of his team. “I feel like now that we have a win under our belt, the first-game jitters are out, and now that’s behind us, i feel that we’ll play a lot better this week because of the fact that we have one game and have that experience under our belt. That is the advantage that I feel that we have.”

Cuniglio, indeed, was proud that his team’s hard work paid off with “W.”

“We’re very happy; we’re proud of the kids,” Cuniglio said. “They worked really hard. The bottom line is the hard work paid off for us, and we just have to keep coming and working hard and keep getting better each and every day. That’s the most important thing.”

The Bucs have plenty of motivation. With another victory, they will match their 2014 win total.

For Belleville, establishing a winning culture is the goal. And make no mistake, the Bucs want to taste more victories this season.