Football

August 23, 2010

Restoring pride

Kenny Furlong, Memorial

Junior QB Kenny Furlong is one of many first-time starters for Memorial.

Click Here for more photos from Memorial's football practice.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

WEST NEW YORK –Oscar Guerrero knows he has a difficult challenge in front of him as he enters his first season as head coach at Memorial. But while the Tigers have struggled in recent years, Guerrero knows firsthand that success at the West New York school can be obtained.

As an offensive lineman, Guerrero played a key role on a Memorial team which went 10-1 in 1999. Now, as he returns to his alma mater, one of his first tasks is to restore that winning culture to the Tigers.

“I’m a product of that,” Guerrero said. “Sometimes the younger kids tend to forget that success at places like this (in 1999) didn’t happen long ago… Success is possible here and I think we got kids are buying into that and they understand that there is a certain pride in wearing the black and orange and we’re trying to restore that around here.”

Guerrero, who spent the past two years as the head coach at Kearny, basically gets to start from scratch at Memorial. Just four starters return from last year’s 2-8 squad, giving Guerrero an opportunity to build the program from the ground up.

“We’ve got a nice young group and that’s not always a bad thing,” Guerrero said. “We have kids that are hungry and dying to prove themselves in the county and we look at that as a positive.”

Offensive Overview:

Ron Lewis, Memorial

Senior wide receiver Ron Lewis is one of 10 new starters on offense.

The Tigers have undergone a complete overhaul on the offensive side of the ball. Jermaine Reyes is the only returning offensive starter from a year ago and he moves from fullback to tight end.

Junior RB Chris Gomez will be the primary ball-carrier after being a backup last season and has impressed early on in practice.

“Chris Gomez is a kid who we are really excited about,” Guerrero said. “We feel he is a powerful runner, a kid who can do some good things when the ball is in his hands.”

Senior Mike Perez will also see carries at running back while junior Kenny Furlong takes over at quarterback for Memorial.

Seniors Jonathon Carpio and Ron Lewis give Furlong a pair of athletic targets at wide receiver.

Most of the starting spots on the offensive line are still up for grabs as guard Felix Borbon is the only one to have currently locked up a starting role.

Defensive Overview:

Chris Gomez, Memorial

Junior Chris Gomez is one of three returning starters at linebacker.

Inexperience may be an issue at many positions, but linebacker isn’t one of them. Memorial has three returning starters at linebacker with Borbon and Reyes on the inside and Gomez on the outside.

“They are very athletic, very tough kids and they’ve been doing a good job of learning the system and being physical at practice,” Guerrero said. “We think that group of kids will be huge for us. They’ll have to make a lot of tackles for us and we think they’ll be up for the challenge.”

Senior OLB Cristo Dominguez will be the other starting linebacker and is one of eight first-year starters on defense.

Juniors Darius Saffold and Martin Rodriguez hold down the defensive end spots with Bryan Lima and Pedro Sierra on the inside.

Lewis and Elicio Olivares start at cornerback with Carpio at safety.

Star Spotlight: Jonathon Carpio, WR/S

Jonathon Carpio, Memorial

WR/S Jonathon Carpio is a three-sport athlete for the Tigers.

Last spring Jonathon Carpio used his long arms and jumping ability to make an impact for the Tigers on the volleyball court. As he enters his senior season, those skills have the 6-foot-0 ready to make a similar impact on the gridiron at receiver.

“I go up for the ball no matter what,” Carpio said. “Whenever I see the ball, it’s mine.”

That aggressiveness should help make him a favorite target of starting QB Kenny Furlong on offense.

Carpio, a three-sport athlete who swims during the winter, was a reserve both on offense and defense a season ago, but is slated to play a pivotal role on both sides this season. The increase in playing time isn’t the only change for Carpio as he shifts over to safety from cornerback.