Cranford Cougars
August 26, 2023
2022:
- 7-3
- Lost to West Essex in the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 semifinals and beat Wayne Hills in the quarterfinals
- Wins included Summit, Woodbridge, Rahway, North Brunswick, Linden, and Scotch Plains-Fanwood
- Losses were to St. Thomas Aquinas and North Hunterdon
- Scored 274 points for a 27.4 average
- Allowed 147 points for a 14.7 average
Graduation:
- OL Kyle Fay – Villanova
- WR/DB Liam Godwin – New Haven
- RB/LB Shane Kanterman – Southern Connecticut State
- RB/DB Ryan Lindsay – Bates (Me.)
- WR Jake Carter – College of New Jersey (TCNJ) for baseball
Offense:
- Formation: Multiple Spread
- Returning Starters: 4
Quarterback:
- Tyler Veltre, Junior, 5-11, 175 – projected starter
Running Back:
- Fire Anderson, Senior, 5-5, 165 – will share position
- Amari Petgrave, Junior, 5-11, 190 – will share position
- Dylan Jones, Junior, 5-11, 175 – will share position
Wide Receiver:
- Sean Riley, Senior, 5-11, 170 – returning starter on the outside
- Luciano Fiorenza, Junior, 6-1, 165 – projected starter on the outside
- Niko Aloi, Junior, 6-2, 165 – projected starter on the outside
- Billy Caminos, Senior, 5-9, 165 – projected starter at slot receiver
- Jake Katz, Senior, 5-11, 165 – part of the rotation at slot receiver
H-Back:
- Ryan Carracino, Senior, 6-0, 220 – returning starter
- Justin Hoeffler, Junior, 6-1, 220 – part of the rotation; Bergen Catholic transfer
Offensive Line:
- Tom McCarthy, Senior, 5-10, 200 – returning starter at right tackle
- Ben Fossella, Senior, 6-0, 260 – returning starter at right guard
- Max Brown, Junior, 6-1, 235 – frontrunner at center
- Ryan Klimko, Senior, 6-1, 220 – projected starter at left guard
- Hunter Quinn, Junior, 5-11, 195 – competing at left tackle
- Jack Corcoran, Junior, 6-1, 200 – competing at left tackle
- Rob Ryan, Senior, 6-2, 250 – pushing for time
- Julius Bryam, Senior, 6-2, 240 – pushing for time
Defense:
- Formation: 3-3 stack
- Returning Starters: 4
Defensive Line:
- Ben Fossella, Senior, 6-0, 260 – will split duties at nose guard
- Mike Scotti, Junior, 6-2, 225 – will split duties at nose guard
- Amari Petgrave, Junior, 5-11, 190 – part of the rotation at end
- Arthur Hrycak, Junior, 6-4, 220 – part of the rotation at end
- Yousf Elashry, Junior, 6-1, 235 – part of the rotation at end
Linebacker:
- Ryan Carracino, Senior, 6-0, 220 – returning starter on the inside
- Will O’Keefe, Senior, 5-11, 175 – competing on the inside
- Jason Knight, Senior, 5-9, 170 – competing on the inside
- Justin Hoeffler, Junior, 6-1, 220 – projected starter in the middle; Bergen Catholic transfer
Secondary:
- Lucas Caldwell, Senior, 5-9, 175 – returning starter at the left strong safety
- Christian Moroses, Senior, 6-2, 205 – returning starter at the right strong safety
- Dylan Jones, Junior, 5-11, 175 – projected starter at free safety
- Joe Brodbeck, Senior, 5-10, 165 – returning starter at cornerback
- Niko Aloi, Junior, 6-2, 165 – frontrunner at cornerback
- Jake Katz, Senior, 5-11, 165 – competing at cornerback
Special Teams:
- Senior Ryan Carracino will be the kicker and junior Cristiano Ambrosio will punt
- Brodbeck and Caminos will be the return men
Schedule:
- Friday, 9/1, at North Hunterdon
- Friday, 9/8, Summit at home
- Thursday, 9/14, Woodbridge at home
- Friday, 9/22, at St. Thomas Aquinas
- Friday, 9/29, Rahway at home
- Friday, 10/6, at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
- Friday, 10/13, Linden at home
- Friday, 10/30, at North Brunswick
Concerns:
- Offensive line
- Playing many juniors: how fast do they get up to speed?
Recruiting:
- Carracino is receiving NESCAC interest
- Fossella will probably throw the shot put in college, throwing over 50 feet
- Others are D3 types
- Underclassmen:
- Hoeffler, Petgrave, Aloi, and Jones will play somewhere
Coach’s Comments:
“We try to stay consistent with our goals: to play for a state championship. We do it with Cranford kids and it’s important to have Cranford kids. It’s very important to our success.” – Head Coach Erik Rosenmeier