Post 51 – HS Football – Preview: Westwood

August 22, 2018

2017 In Review:  The Cardinals were 9-2, losing to Newton in the North Jersey Section 1 Group 2 semi-finals to Newton after beating Ramsey.  They scored 368 points for a 33.45 average, while allowing 177 for a 16.09 average.  Wins included Mahwah, Ridgefield Park, and Cedar Grove, while their other loss was to River Dell.

Graduation Losses:  TE/LB Joey Kramer – Dartmouth, OL/DL Joe Hyland – Salve Regina, OL/DL Dylan Henry – Western New England

Offense:  Westwood runs a multiple spread and returns two starters and a few who played.  The quarterback will be senior Anthony Corrubia (6-2, 195), who started defensively.  Running back returns a committee of junior Jaden Brown (6-0, 165), senior Nick Baez (5-10, 185), and senior Tyler Giordano (5-10, 183).  Fullback will have senior Steven Riedel (6-2, 210) and junior Will Borgesen (6-1, 180).

Returning at the receivers are senior Alex Daley (6-3, 190) at wide receiver and senior Christian Maiz (5-11, 175) at slot receiver.  In the mix will be junior Kevin Ranoff (6-0, 185), sophomore Zach Rannon (6-3, 200), and Riedel as an h-back.

The entire line graduated the guards will be senior Benny Dahdah (6-0, 245) and Tyler Myack (5-11, 190), with Dahdah being a defensive starter.  The tackles will be juniors Luke Rekucki (5-11, 175) and Justin Edinger (5-10, 230) and center is a battle between junior Rich Veneziano (5-9, 205) and senior Andrew Loverich (5-10, 185).  Also in the picture on the lien is junior Keon Fraser-Morrison (5-10, 185).

Defense:  The Cardinals run a 4-3 and return six starters.  Dahdah returns at tackle and he will be paired with senior Oladipo Amusan (6-0, 260), while the ends are Fraser-Morrison and Myack.

Linebacker returns Riedel in the middle and Borgesen on the weak side, with Borgesen pushing for time.  Junior George Sengos (6-1, 180) will man the strong side.

The secondary returns Corrubia at free safety, Giordano at strong safety, and Maiz at cornerback.  The opposite corner will be either Brown or Baez, while sophomore Ian Borgesen (6-2, 160) will get time at safety.

Special Teams:  Returning at kicker is senior TJ Constantine and Ian Borgesen will be the punter.  The return men will come from Brown, Daley, and Maiz.

Schedule:

Friday, 8/31, at River Dell, 6 PM
Friday, 9/7, at Dumont, 7 PM
Friday, 9/14, Ramsey at home, 7 PM
Friday, 9/21, at Fort Lee, 7 PM
Friday, 9/28, Lakeland at home, 7 PM
10/5-6, Bye Week
Friday, 10/12, Mahwah at home, 7 PM
Friday, 9/19, at Pascack Hills, 7 PM
Friday, 9/26, Demarest at home, 7 PM

Recruits:  Riedel will be a 1-AA player and Dahdah will wrestle.  Corrubia and Amusan can play D3.

Concerns:  Graduating the entire offensive line and most of the defensive line.  They also need to make up for the production of Kramer, who had a very good year.

Coach’s Comments:  “We have to get ready quickly for River Dell in the opener.  There will be growing pains and it will be a work in progress.” – Head Coach Dennis Hard

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.