GLEN RIDGE — The Glen Ridge High School football team had a special group of seniors last season. Among them were quarterback-defensive back Zach Konetzni, tight end-defensive end John Leone, wide receiver JP Labadia and linemen Thomas Barton and Alex Bowman, who helped contribute to a 5-4 playoff campaign.
“We lost some great players, some great leaders,” said third-year head coach Chris Strumolo.
But this year’s Ridgers return a good nucleus, looking to have another successful season.
“Every year is unique,” said Strumolo, whose team kicked off the season with a 20-14 overtime win over Newark West Side at home. “We’re looking to improve on last year, see the games that didn’t go our way, what contributed to that and fix some things program-wise with that.
“I think we have some good players. We’re returning a good amount of linemen, some skill guys that can help us.”
Indeed, Strumolo is excited about his two-way linemen, especially on the O-line. The three returning starters are junior guard Tyler Kamil, senior guard Fletcher Wiley and junior tackle Brady Gold, joined by junior tackle Marco Pavan and sophomore center Jack Deptula.
Junior Greyson Walton is the starting quarterback and senior Jimmy Gist, who is a standout placekicker, is the backup QB. The running backs are senior returnee Max Liloia and junior returnee Phillip Nelson. Sophomore tight end Matt Pereira had some nice contributions late last season. Juniors Michael Carillo and Aidan Kelly are the receivers.
“I think up front we’re going to be good. We’re going to be tough up front. We have some tough running backs that are tough kids,” said Strumolo, noting the offense will be more about ball control.
The defense also will be strong, noted Strumolo. The D-line will comprise the same players on the O-line. Kamil and Fletcher made first team and second team All–Super Football Conference—National Red Division defense, respectively, last year as linemen.
Liloia and senior Hunter Sicoli are the linebackers. Senior Jackson Golberg, junior Luke Foster and Carrillo will lead the secondary.
As Strumolo pointed out, any coach who says that they don’t want to win a state championship is lying. The goal for any team is to do that, and that includes Glen Ridge. But the most important thing is to “work hard, play hard. If we go out every game, play our best, wins and losses happen,” Strumolo said. “I want to be a good football team. Take the field, compete. In the 19 or 20 games that we played since I’ve been here, I think we have given every team hell by playing hard and doing things the right way, so the goal is to continue doing that and see where we are at the end of October.
“Hopefully, we’ll be in position to make a run.”
Notes – Konetzni made All-SFC–National Red Division first team defense and All-State Group 1 honors and is now at Williams College. Leone, who is playing football at Division 1 Bryant University, made all-conference first team. Barton made all-conference first team offense, and LaBadia and Bowman made all-conference second team offense.
Schedule
Aug. 29: win, vs. Newark West Side, 20-14 (OT)
Sept. 3: at Hoboken, 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 10: at Cedar Grove, 7 p.m.
Sept. 19: at Lincoln, 1 p.m.
Sept. 26: vs. Wallkill Valley, noon
Oct. 2: at Verona, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9: at Caldwell, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17: vs. Newark Collegiate Academy, noon
Oct. 24: vs. Whippany Park, noon
Photos by Joe Ragozzino
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