Andrew Aromando throws a pass during a Robbinsville High football practice Aug. 24, 2015. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
Elijah McNeil flips a tire during Robbinsville High football practice Aug. 24, 2015. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
Jack Shea, Corey Kale and Greg Moyer battle during practice. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
The returning members of the Robbinsville High School football team have mixed feelings about its 0-10 season in 2014. The Ravens would love nothing more than to wipe the nightmare completely from their minds, but also feel the need to reflect upon it in order to inspire them to better things this year.
“Every single time we’re practicing and working hard, when we start thinking ‘Oh let’s give up, let’s take it slow, let’s not go 100 percent,’ that’s when you gotta think back to how brutal it was last year when we struggled to compete,” quarterback Andrew Aromando said. “That should make us think ‘Let’s work harder, let’s lift more so that won’t happen again.”
Aromando is a senior captain along with two-way lineman Derek Sander and linebacker/running back Anthony Lattera, who both agree that it’s important to be spurred on by last season.
“We’re returning starters, we know what it’s like to be on field when you’re losing and we can think back to that,” Sander said. “Most of the guys this year are mentally tough guys. We know you have to motivate yourself and not give up, and if we all do that it motivates all of us.”
“It was a tough season, but it made kids more committed to be more successful this season,” Lattera added.
Looking back, everything was in place for a rough Ravens season.
The Ravens received a jolt before last season even started when head coach Irving Fryar was charged with bank fraud and dismissed from his duties. Long-time assistant Andrew Patterson took over, meaning the Robbinsville players had to learn their third new system in as many years. Throw in the fact there were nine new offensive starters and eight new starters on the defense, and you’re talking about severe growing pains.
“0 and 10 is never fun, but we ignored it as much as we could, and we’re gonna turn it around this year,” Sander said.
“0 and 10 wasn’t expected,” Patterson said. “But we have very smart kids, they did a good job of keeping things in perspective. When you’re out there starting as a sophomore, you knew there was a lot of learning to do and we’re playing teams that had a core group that had been together for a while.”
Robbinsville suffered eight losses of 20 points or more, five of 30 or more and two of 55, but it also lost two by a combined eight points. Patterson said that not once did any player drop his head.
“I was never concerned with them giving up,” Patterson said. “This year’s senior and junior class, we’ve got no quitters. My biggest concern all year was the experience factor, and it came to fruition in the end. We were doing things mentally right, but just the experience factor of the game was too tough. It wasn’t like they got disheartened because it was ‘Hey, we’ve been playing four years and we’re 0-10.’ They knew they were young and kept their heads on straight.”
A year later, there is plenty of experience as Robbinsville has 16 seniors who can “see the light at the end of the tunnel,” according to their coach.
“I really think this probably should be the best team on the field that we’ve had in the past four years,” Patterson said. “I think this is the best team pound-for-pound, across-the-board best team at every position. It will be a group of experienced kids who care about the program and do everything it takes to win.”
If the first scrimmage at Donovan Catholic (formerly Monsignor Donovan) was any indication, things are vastly improved this season.
“We were leaps and bounds over where we were in our first scrimmage last year,” Aromando said. “Last year we had trouble clicking on the field because we were learning another new system. This year everyone is doing their jobs and molding together to have a complete team effort. It’s like night and day, everyone is succeeding and doing their jobs well. There’s a different aura around the team.”
Patterson felt the scrimmage “went a little better than planned. Last year at this point I was still figuring who the o-line was. This year, most of our base offense went off without a hitch.”
This year’s line looks to be four seniors—left tackle Matt Spiegel, left guard J.P. Suttile, center Ryan Bondoc, right guard Sander—and Caedan Wallace, a sophomore varsity newcomer at right tackle.
“There is no standout on the line,” Patterson said. “But they all know their job and they do it well. That’s one of the things we saw (against Donovan Catholic).”
They will be charged with protecting Aromando, who had a bad statistical season as a junior but showed enough talent that he is getting mild looks by some Football Championship Subdivision schools and some intense overtures from Division III programs.
“He looks better,” Patterson said. “He’s in better physical shape than last year as far as being a potential runner. He’s lost about 15 pounds, he’s gotten quicker, dropped a half second in the 40 and his arm has gotten stronger. It’s tough to take a junior quarterback, who’s a very good quarterback, and say “Here’s your third system, go against a defending champion and run this.’ That was my biggest fear, kids getting their third straight math lesson.”
Aside from improving physically, one of Aromando’s main goals this year is to keep his team focused and enthused, no matter what is transpiring during a game.
“Last year really helped me improve my body language, and that’s important,” he said. “If I did something right but it didn’t work, I still had to have positive body language. I’m the quarterback, I’m the leader. If everything started getting to me and I had have bad body language, that’s going to rub off on the other guys. I have to stay positive.”
He seems to be doing that.
“He’s a good leader,” Lattera said. “Even when things are going bad, he keeps guys motivated. That’s an important quality to have coming off an 0-10 season.”
The Ravens running backs will be senior Elijah McNeil and junior Jordan Hellman, while juniors Corey Kale and Taylor Twamley are receivers, while junior Chris Curran could also see some time there.
Twamley is one of three triplets, along with Kyle and Jared.
“We don’t call them the Twamleys,” Patterson said. “We call them Kyle, Jared and Taylor because they are three distinctive people with different personalities.”
All three will be in the starting defensive secondary, while Jared is a reserve receiver and Kyle a reserve running back. Also competing for time in the secondary are Kale and senior Greg Moyer. The defensive line includes Caedan Wallace and his brother Carson, along with Jordan Hellman. McNeil will be at linebacker.
“This team is a very talented team,” Aromando said. “We have a lot of pieces in place to succeed. It’s gonna come down to who wants it more. When it comes down to the fourth quarter it comes down to coaching and conditioning. Football is as much mental as physical, one play can turn the tide.”
Considering last year’s record, the Ravens figure they could sneak up on a few teams this year.
“Our senior class is physically talented, we know the system this year,” Sander said. “And the guys below us are very good. I think we can surprise some teams and get this thing going.”
“I think there are definitely teams that are gonna overlook us,” Lattera said. “They’re not going to expect to lose, so in close games I think we can definitely beat them in the fourth quarter. I think we can definitely get to the playoffs, maybe make a run. We have a lot of potential.”
And they have the ghost of ’14 to spur them on.
“That wasn’t fun at all,” Aromando said. “But it did help us for this year.”
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