There’s no question that Vince Ascolese would love to wipe the calendar year of 2008 from his already impressive and legendary memory book.
The long-time head football coach at North Bergen High School, who ranks second among active New Jersey high school coaches in career victories with 326, had to endure both professional and personal strife during the course of the grid season.
For one, Ascolese’s football team was thoroughly beset by injuries. From the minute that preseason practices began, the Bruins were dropping like flies.
“It was a disaster in terms of injuries,” said Ascolese, who has been coaching high school football in Hudson County for 46 years. “I don’t know if we ever had something like that before. Every week, our lineup was changing. We could never get into any kind of flow, any kind of sync. It was terrible.”
Because of the multitude of injuries and the ever-changing starting lineup and roster, the Bruins were an uncharacteristic 3-7 last season, Ascolese’s first losing season since he took over the North Bergen program in 1973. The season also ended the county’s longest consecutive playoff streak at 21 straight appearances, as North Bergen had been a part of the NJSIAA state playoffs every year since 1987.
In fact, it marked only the third time in Ascolese’s 36 years with the Bruins that they failed to make the state playoffs.
That alone is enough reason to forget the year.
However, there was also the personal side. Right smack in the middle of the season, Ascolese was diagnosed with bone cancer. He was enduring grueling back pain through the early practices and scrimmages, then went to receive medical attention, when the cancer was discovered.
For a while, Ascolese wanted to keep his illness secret from his players, but when he had to receive extensive medical treatment to combat the hideous disease, he eventually caved in and revealed to his team that he indeed had cancer.
“I don’t think it had an effect on them,” Ascolese said. “It was just one of those years. We turned the page and just moved on.”
Now, a year later, the Bruins appear to be headed back in the right direction. And the “Poppa Bear” of the Bruins is apparently healthy, geared up for another gridiron go-round.
“I feel fine,” Ascolese said, with his cancer apparently under control. “No question, I’m ready to move past what happened last year.”
Because the Bruins had so many injuries, Ascolese was forced to install younger kids to play varsity right away.
“We had a chance to get the younger kids some playing time, and that experience now is going to help us,” Ascolese said. “It did a lot of good for us. Maybe it was all a blessing. You never know. But these kids worked very hard in the off-season. They wanted to make sure that they forgot last year as well. They worked through the winter and into the summer, getting ready. It’s a credit to them how hard they worked.”
There was another thing that took place in the off-season. Ascolese and his coaching staff decided to scrap the old Delaware Wing-T formation that the Bruins used since what seems like the turn of the century and installed a new open offensive approach, with the quarterback operating out of the shotgun and receivers out in a spread formation.
“My son Michael [a long-time member of his father’s coaching staff] found it on the Internet and said to us that this is what we should be doing,” Ascolese said. “Because of the kids we had coming back, he was right. You can teach an old dog new tricks. The old dog knew that this was the right thing.”
It’s not exactly a run-and-shoot formation, but it is definitely a different look for North Bergen football. It’s more like a hybrid of a mixture of offenses and definitely a change of pace.
“We put it in during the summer and it wasn’t easy for the kids to learn, but they worked hard at it,” Ascolese said. “No doubt, we saw a difference right away. They handled it well. I like it. It gives us a lot of options and best utilizes what we have.”
What the Bruins have is a dangerous 1-2 punch in the backfield, with junior quarterback Peter Ramanand (6-0, 175) and senior running back Carlos Mateo (6-0, 205).
Ramanand started last year as a sophomore wide receiver, but was quickly moved to quarterback and he flourished, with both his passing arm and his fleet feet.
“He’s gotten bigger and better,” Ascolese said of Ramanand. “He is a better passer and throws it well, but he can also run with the ball. He’s the key of what we do.”
Mateo has excellent speed and good size in the Bruins’ new one-back set.
The two combined for more than 240 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the Bruins’ convincing 43-8 win over Memorial last weekend to start the season. It avenged a loss that North Bergen suffered at the hands of the Tigers a year ago.
Senior John Stark (5-11, 200) has moved from tight end to wing back. Stark is a three-year varsity player for the Bruins. The slot back is junior Chris Adorno (5-7, 155), who also has plenty of speed to burn.
The receiving corps is talented, with junior Justin Glennon (6-3, 220) leading the way. Senior Josh Martinez (5-10, 185) and junior Chris Vann (5-9, 150) will also get the chance to catch Ramanand’s passes.
Senior Ryan Lopez (6-1, 220) and junior Alain Forbin (6-3, 260), who has the makings to be a good one, are the tackles, with seniors Mike Beltre (5-10, 215) and Rafael Palacio (6-0, 270) at guard and senior Roberto Diaz (5-9, 210) at center.
The defense features Matos at defensive end, where he was very impressive last year, along with junior Anthony Nardello (5-9, 170). Senior Chris Durand (5-9, 305) is a force at defensive tackle.
“Don’t let the size fool you,” Ascolese said. “He can run as fast as anyone.”
Senior Anthony Salciedo (6-1, 220) is the other defensive tackle.
The inside linebackers are junior Lou Obregon (5-10, 215) and sophomore Anthony Calabrese (5-10, 200), while the outside linebackers are Stark and Vin Ascolese (6-2, 175), the coach’s grandson, who played a lot last year as a freshman.
Vann and Adorno are the cornerbacks, with Martinez playing safety.
There is one glaring fact to notice about the Bruins. Although a lot of the players have experience, the roster is still relatively young.
“We’re still young, but when you’re green, you grow,” Ascolese said.
The schedule is different this season, with games against Teaneck, West Milford, Fair Lawn and five-time defending Group III state champion Wayne Hills on tap.
“The schedule is a challenge and one of the toughest we’ve ever faced,” Ascolese said. “I think the travel part is insane. I’m a Hudson County guy. I welcome the challenge of playing the new schedule, but I certainly miss playing the other Hudson County schools.”
One thing is for sure. The Bruins will be vastly improved this season.
“We’re counting on it,” said Ascolese, whose team faces Bayonne this weekend. “We’re hopeful.”
Things are much better all around than a year ago.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.