Aiden Ruiz
BLOOMFIELD — When it comes to the Bloomfield High School football program, one thing’s for sure: the Bengals will always put in the work.
That’s been the mindset of every one of Mike Carter Sr.’s teams since he took over as head coach back in 1991.
“I like the work ethic” of the team, said Carter during an interview at an Aug. 14 practice at Foley Field. “I like the camaraderie. They worked really hard going to a couple of summer camps going in and we’ve been going at it hard since” the middle of June.
The Bengals, who kicked off the season with a 13-7 road win over Newark Central, return a good nucleus from last year’s 5-5 squad that qualified for the North 1, Group 5 state sectional playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Among the senior returning players who will lead the way are running back-linebacker Aiden Ruiz, RB-defensive back Tayler Guerrero, wide receiver-defensive back Christian Cradle, RB-DB Brian Heredia, WR-DB Michael Mickens, offensive lineman-defensive lineman Makai Douglas and tight end-DL Mekhi Wilson.
The Bengals graduated quarterback Jeremy Tejada, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. Junior Derek Kittner and Mickens will share the QB duties.
Guerrero was the team’s second-leading rusher, behind Tejada, last year.
The Bengals, as usual, face a daunting schedule, with the likes of East Orange Campus, West Orange and Montclair among their opponents. Carter is confident his team will rise up to the challenge.
“I’m optimistic. We play a very tough schedule, but I think we have a shot to compete with the people we have here,” said Carter, a 1979 BHS graduate.
Giving a consistent effort will go a long way toward achieving a successful season. “We gotta be very consistent,” Carter said. “We gotta play very fundamentally sound ball. We gotta get better at tackling this year. We gotta get better at controlling the ball and moving the ball and being more consistent at putting points on the board. Those are all things we are working hard at and I think we can do it.”
Notes – Entering his 36th season at the helm, Carter has tied legendary football coach Bill Foley for the longest tenured BHS coach. Foley coached from 1915-50. This also marks Carter’s 40th season on the coaching staff; he was an assistant coach prior to taking over as head coach.
Schedule
Aug. 28: win, at Newark Central, 13-7
Sept. 4: vs. East Orange Campus, 6 p.m.
Sept. 10: at Montclair, 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 18: vs. Clifton, 6 p.m.
Sept. 26: at Barringer, 1 p.m.
Oct. 2: vs. West Orange, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9: vs. Nutley, 6 p.m.
Oct. 17: at Bayonne, noon
Oct. 22: vs. Livingston, 6 p.m.
Photos Courtesy of Jerry Simon
Photo of Mike Carter Sr. by Joe Ragozzino
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