The fall sports season is officially underway, and that means the autumn’s biggest draw is back, too: football. While High School North, coming off an 0-10 season in 2012, does not face its cross-town rival until Friday, November 8, both teams are preparing for their season openers on Thursday, September 12. South, 9-2 last year, faces Trenton, while North plays at Rancocas. The News caught up with their captains to learn a little bit more about their lives on and off the field.
#b#High School South#/b#
Nick Benfer plays fullback and defensive tackle for the Pirates. He said his parents, Joanne and Dave, did not initially take to him playing football. They relented, though, and he started when he was eight years old. Benfer, who is also a member of the track team, said it’s not too difficult to balance school and sports once the seasons get going. “When you get home, you know you have to get straight to your work because you don’t have much time,” he said. “My grades are better during the season because I procrastinate less.” He plans on attending college after high school. He’s not sure where he wants to go or what he wants to study, though science is his favorite subject. His older sister, Kelly, attends the University of Alabama.
Diego Cuitino enjoys physics and hopes to study engineering or something similar in college, which is not surprising considering his dad, Alberto, is an engineering professor at Rutgers University. He would like to attend either Rutgers or Carnegie Mellon, but he is still researching other schools.
On the football field Cuitino plays middle linebacker and right tackle. He is also a member of the lacrosse team. Cuitino has two brothers: Nico, 19, and Lucas, 14. Their mother, Desiree, is a carpenter. She is also the president of the booster club.
Cameron George is the son of Natalie, a clerk, and Joseph, a mechanic. He pulls double duty for South as a running back and a cornerback. He said he was always interested in college and professional football, so he picked up the sport at age 13. He said the most difficult part of the game is holding on to the ball.
George, who also plays rec basketball, doesn’t find it difficult to balance football and school. He said study hall and free time after practice give him and his teammates more than enough time to get their work done. George enjoys math, and he plans on attending college after graduation.
TJ Lanzetta had always been an NFL fan, so he started playing football when he was 10 years old. He currently plays at safety and wide receiver for South. The hardest part of playing safety, he said, is “reading what the offense is going to do.” Lanzetta has an older sister, Darian, who attends New York University, where she plays club softball. Their parents are Paige, a teacher at Beth Chaim, and Thomas, the chief operating officer of MediaWhiz.
#b#High School North#/b#
Sports seem to run in Jack O’Connell’s blood. His twin brothers Patrick and Sean run track and cross country at James Madison University. His younger brother Bradley, an eighth grader at Community Middle School, plays baseball. Brendan, a fifth grader at St. Paul School, runs cross country and plays baseball and basketball. They keep their parents, Kenny, an engineer, and Katherine, a real estate agent, very busy.
O’Connell, who would like to go into business or engineering, also plays baseball and basketball. He said he uses the bulk of his free time on schools work. “You have to really use your study halls, lunch, and the time at the end of class to do your homework,” he said. “When the season gets in full swing, it really takes a toll on your body. You really have to get your work done first.”
Frank Tsaur is a wide receiver and cornerback for the Knights, and it’s the latter position that requires a little extra. “Playing cornerback, some of the kids are a lot younger, so you have to make sure they know their assignments,” he said. “You have to help them out and make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.” He started playing football in his freshman year at North, but not after first convincing his dad, Jerry, a computer programmer, that it was a good idea. Tsaur also wrestles and plays lacrosse. His brother, Sean, is a former North wrestler and their mother, Wanlin, is a reference librarian at Rider University.
As a youth soccer player, Brian Zalma was always bigger than his peers. His coaches said he should try football, so after spending some time watching NFL games on television, he decided to sign up for Pop Warner. It was love at first sight, he said, and he currently is a linebacker for the Knights. “You’re basically the captain of the defense,” he said. “The hardest part is making sure everyone is aligned right and adjusted to the offense just a few seconds before the play starts.”
Zalma, who also runs track, pursues sports off the field, too. He hopes to pursue a career in exercise science or nutrition and is currently looking at the University of Maryland and the University of Pittsburgh, and Cornell and Princeton are also recruiting him. Zalma has a sister, Erica, who attends the University of Delaware and is a former North cheerleader. Their parents are Mark, an IT director at Johnson & Johnson, and Michelle, a claims manager at CB VATAmerica.
