Belleville HS football team shows more toughness as season looms

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BELLEVILLE, NJ – Getting tougher physically.

First-year head coach Mario Cuniglio has stressed that goal for his Belleville High School varsity football team ever since he took over the helm in the spring.

And judging by what he and his coaching staff have seen during preseason training camp, the Bucs have heeded that call.

“We like the fact that our guys have become tougher as a whole,” said Cuniglio, who was the Bucs’ offensive and defensive line coach for the past two seasons. “We feel like, from a conditioning standpoint, the strenuous activities that we’ve put them through are going to be the difference maker for us this season. In the past, I felt like our guys weren’t where they need to be from a conditioning standpoint. That is something from Day One that we decided that needs to be of utmost importance; for our guys to be conditioned and be ready to play four-plus quarters of football. That is one of the positives.”

The Bucs, indeed, are determined to turn around their fortunes, posting a total of five wins in the past four seasons and 14 wins in the last seven.

Cuniglio attended a Rutgers University practice during the offseason and was able to take a few things that can be tailored at the high school level. One of the things he took from that Rutgers practice was the implementation of music in the locker room as the players are getting ready for a practice and game. Music-playing has become a useful tool in helping the players get motivated.

Cuniglio and his staff have organized practices during training camp much like a college practice. Everything is broken down, period by period, with a certain amount of time allotted for each period.

And with the hot weather this summer, the Bucs are making sure they are hydrated.

Calling it one of the hottest summers for training camp in quite some time, Cuniglio feels the steamy conditions will benefit his team during the warm September games.

“At the end of the day, I think it’s going to make us better,” said Cuniglio. “Our guys are out there and they’re playing in it, and it’s going to be hot in September. As a staff, we feel like being out there and dealing with this element is only going to make us stronger as a whole.”

The go-to players for the Bucs on both sides of the ball this season will be tailback/strong safety Bryan Rivera and running back/defensive end Anthony Velez, both seniors. Rivera rushed for 780 yards and five touchdowns during last year’s 1-9 campaign, despite missing three games due to injury.

At the quarterback position, senior Kyle Walsh and junior Gustavo Viana were batting for the starting job.

The two-way linemen who will lead the way are seniors Luis Rosa and Nick Guardabasco and junior Mahmoud Youssef.

This season, the Bucs are competing in the newly-formed North Jersey Super Football Conference, which is a merger of the Super Essex Conference, Big North Conference, Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association and Northwest Jersey Conference. The conference has 113 teams in 19 divisions.

The Bucs are in the Freedom White Division. The other teams in the division are Irvington, Wayne Hills, Wayne Valley, Passaic Valley, and Millburn. The Bucs, however, will not face Wayne Valley or Wayne Hills this season.

In addition, the traditional Nutley-Belleville game won’t be played this year. It marks the first time since 1943 that the neighboring rivals won’t meet.

Cuniglio feels the new league will ultimately benefit the Bucs.

“With the change in the schedule and the moves that were made, it’s going to give us a chance to compete and build a program, and as time progresses, it will make us, I feel, a contender,” he said.

The Bucs have been through some tough years. They have finished 1-9 in three of the past four years (2012, 2013 and 2015), went 2-8 in 2014 and posted three straight 3-7 seasons (2009, 2010 and 2011).

For Cuniglio, the main goals are to build the program and change the overall culture.

“Overall, we’re looking to build a program,” said Cuniglio, replacing Joe Fischer, who was the head coach the last two years in his second stint with the Bucs. “That’s the first thing. The second thing we are looking to accomplish by season end is a complete change of culture, from what was, to what will now be and what will be expected.”

The Bucs kick off the season Sept. 2 at Newark West Side.

Schedule

Sept. 2, at West Side, 7 p.m.

Sept. 9, Fort Lee, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16, at Kearny, 7 p.m.

Sept. 23, Newark East Side, 7 p.m.

Oct. 1, at Snyder, 2 p.m.

Oct. 8, at Passaic Valley, 2 p.m.

Oct. 14, Roselle Park, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21, Irvington, 7 p.m.

Oct. 28, at Millburn, 7 p.m.