Art Stubbs and the North Knights look to rebound from a disappointing 1-9 season last year. Stubbs intends to improve on the record by making sure his players not only play harder, but play smarter.
“We have a talented team. We want to do the little things right. We’re not the type of team that’s going to outpower you, so we’re going to play smarter,” says Stubbs, who is entering his fifth year as head coach of the Knights.
Stubbs assess the team’s size and skill in comparison to their CVC opponents: “We’re average, not a big, overpowering team. We have athletic ability and we have some speed. We got to coach them up.”
Starting quarterback Chris Petrone will be flanked by junior running back Darren Parrot and senior John Blassingame. Fullbacks will include sophomore Rotimi “Timmy” Owoh and senior Pat Wade, along with sophomore Andrew Schmid.
The team’s primary set will be the I formation, and the Knights plan on running the option, a style that requires quick thinking, good hands, fast feet, and polished teamwork.
Filling out the position players on offense will be senior tight end Matt Mansfield. The receiving corps will include seniors Alex Ruggiero, Tim and Dan McQuiggan, Zach Weale, and sophomore Justin “J.T.” Harris.
As in every offense, the I formation and the option live and die by the success of the linemen. This year juniors Thomas Mynes Adam Barroso, Connor Byrnes, and David Li join senior Matt Daruwala to make up a young offensive line.
The defensive line is more experienced. Mike Lyons, Jared Oberweis, and Dan Devery are seniors and they’ll be joined by underclassmen Ben Nunan and Max Everett. Defensive ends include seniors Dave Corson, Zach Weale, and juniors Timothy “T.J.” Steinhilber and Kevin Vazquez.
Brandon Rudolph will return to the starting linebacker spot, with fellow senior Wade and underclassmen Olwa and Schmid filling out the unit.
Although most of the position players will be playing both offense and defense junior Greyson Van Dyke, known for standout play on the baseball field, is expected to play only defense at the safety position. He will be joined by strong safety Ruggiero, free safety Manfield, corners Blassingame and Harris, as well as senior defensive specialist Mike Carpio and junior Steve Grierson.
The head coach says he’s been surprised most by Olwa and Harris, two sophomores who clearly worked hard in the off-season, and who he expects will be big producers in years to come.
Stubbs’ coaching staff has a lot of new blood. John Gargano returns as will be the offensive co-ordinator and Bill Martin is the Defensive co-ordinator. Jay Patsey is joining the staff as the offensive line coach, Rod Harris is the linebackers coach, and Steve Lattin is the QB coach. Jason Petrone is the coach of the freshman, assisted by newcomer Joe Benci.
Stubbs says the toughest game on the team’s schedule will be cross-town rivals South. He says an important game to prove something is the opener, a Friday night game on September 8 against Ewing. He also looks forward to Hamilton’s visit to North on October 14, since he is a former coach at that school. Naturally, the game that will get the most attention in town is the September 29 game between North and their cross-town rivals, held this year at South.
