Memorial Tigers
NJTCC Division 5
North 1, Group IV
2008: 5-5
Playoffs: None
Head Coach:
Brian Meeney
4th year (8-22)
Returning Starters
Offense: 8
Defense: 10
Offense: Multiple
Defense: 4-3
2009 Schedule
9/12 at North Bergen 1 p.m.
9/18 vs Marist 7 p.m.
9/25 vs Dickinson 7 p.m.
10/2 at Kearny 7 p.m.
10/9 vs Ferris 7 p.m.
10/16 at DePaul Catholic 7 p.m.
10/23 at Paramus 7 p.m.
10/30 vs Passaic Valley 7 p.m.
11/6 vs Wayne Valley 7 p.m.
Football Preview Guide
Team Previews
Bayonne
Dickinson
Ferris
Harrison
Hoboken
Hudson Catholic
Kearny
Lincoln
Marist
Memorial
North Bergen
St. Anthony
St. Peter’s Prep
Secaucus
Snyder
Union City
Weehawken
Growing Up
RB Denssy Porttoreal is one of 18 returning starters for Memorial.
Click Here for more photos from Memorial's football practice.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
WEST NEW YORK – Martin Ojeda and his teammates remember the blowouts. Ojeda was one of many who were pressed into starting action as sophomores for a Memorial squad that was 1-9 in 2007.
“It made us tougher,” Ojeda said about that 2007 season. “We got a lot of experience. It just made us really strong and we grew closer together because we were losing together. Now we’ve learned to win together.”
Coming off a 5-5 record and with 18 returning starters (more than eight are three-year starters), the Tigers appear poised for a successful season and a possible spot in the state playoffs.
“We’re in a position right now where the days of us getting smacked 50-0 are long gone,” head coach Brian Meeney said. “That’s a distant memory. We feel good about what’s going on, but we’re not complacent.”
Offensive Overview:
Ariel Soriano returns to QB after spending last year at receiver.
Senior running back Denssy Porttoreal may only be 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, but few in the county are bigger threats when the ball in their hands. The diminutive runner had more than 1,300 yards of total offense and scored 12 touchdowns a year ago. He is especially dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield when the Tigers spread the field.
“Denssy’s a very versatile player,” Meeney said. “We can hand him the ball, we can throw it to him, we can run screens, there’s a lot of different things we can do with Denssy. We find a way to get him the ball whenever we can.”
Senior Ariel Soriano shifts from wide receiver back to quarterback. Soriano, who caught seven touchdowns a year ago, is hardly a newcomer to the QB spot as he manned the position two seasons ago as a sophomore.
“We’re thinking that offensively we’re not going to miss a beat with Soriano under center,” Meeney said.
Ojeda and Henry Lopez are three-year starters that anchor the offensive line while Mickey Marte and Sammy Molina will start at wide receiver for Memorial.
Defensive Overview:
Junior Jermaine Reyes of Memorial returns at safety.
The Tigers return 10 starters on defense, but there will be a new focus and attitude on that side of the ball with the addition of defense coordinator Lou Zampella from Hudson Catholic. Zampella has brought over a new aggressiveness early on to Memorial’s 4-3 defense.
“Defensively we’re going to be different,” Meeney said. “Coach (Zampella) brings us a world of knowledge. I think we’ve got one of the top defensive coordinators in the area if not New Jersey.”
Junior Mike Acosta and senior Jonathan Munoz are returning starters who will create havoc from the edge and are joined by tackles Ojeda and Lopez on the defensive line.
“We like to think our d-line will be strong all around with the two big guys on the inside and the two returning starters on the outside,” Meeney said, calling them the strength of the defense.
Three-year starter Roly Perez mans the middle at linebacker and is flanked by Molina and sophomore Felix Borbon. Safety Jermaine Reyes leads the secondary.
Star Spotlight: Martin Ojeda RT/DT
Senior Martin Ojeda (right) moves over from guard to tackle in 2009.
At 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds, the strength of RT/DT Martin Ojeda doesn’t come as a surprise. His agility and versatility however, is not what you expect from a player of his size. Called “an advanced pass blocker” by Meeney, Ojeda moves from right guard to right tackle and according to Meeney, also has the ability to play center in college.
For good measure, the senior also plays defensive tackle and kicks for the Tigers. Ojeda’s success and improvement in multiple areas has been a testament to his passion of the game.
“The bottom line is that he lives football,” Meeney said. “Football is his life, all day, every day. He brings us leadership, he brings us hard work. If our best player is doing that it’s a good thing.”
“I love the competition,” said Ojeda, who participated in various lineman camps at Rutgers this offseason. “I learned how to compete.”
Colleges have already started to take note in Ojeda with Rutgers, Temple and James Madison among the schools to expressed interest.