It’s not every day that a Hudson County high school football team gets a Super Bowl hero as a head coach.
Well, Hudson Catholic has its very own Pro Bowl defensive end as its head coach, namely former New York Giants standout Leonard Marshall.
Marshall decided to take the head coaching job at the McGinley Square school last May, after former coach and athletic director Chris Demarest left after just one year. Marshall might not have had any head coaching experience prior to arriving at Hudson Catholic, but he’s certainly doing his best to get accustomed and acquainted to his new role.
“It’s really been a smooth transition,” said Marshall, who played 10 years with the Giants and was a member of both Super Bowl champions. “The parents, the school’s faculty, the administration, the alumni, and the students have all been 100 percent supportive of my mission and what I want to do. It’s really been great.”
The soon-to-be 49-year-old Marshall, who earned Pro Bowl honors three times during his career with the Giants, said that some of the players realized his impressive background.
“I think they looked at me as a guy who did it, who walked the walk and backed it up,” Marshall said. “They look at me as someone who had a plan and turned out to be successful.”
Marshall was very impressed with the way the Hawks went to work over the summer.
“They worked hard and were ready,” Marshall said. “We ran the summer like a pro camp, and the contact was intense. They handled it well. We had a lot of freshmen and sophomores out there, but they were very competitive kids who wanted to get better.”
Marshall said that he was thankful to have been able to retain the services of assistant head coach Ryan O’Flaherty, a Hudson Catholic grad (2005) who has been an assistant under the last two head coaches, namely Rob Stern and Demarest.
“He’s been able to help me an awful lot,” Marshall said of O’Flaherty. “Ryan is someone I want to help groom to eventually become a head coach. I’m teaching him some of my defensive strengths, and he’s helping me understand the [Delaware] Wing-T [offense]. There are a lot of different formations there I never saw before. One good thing is, when you put our heads together, we have good chemistry.”
The Hawks have another Super Bowl hero as an assistant coach, namely Dwayne Sabb, another Hudson Catholic grad (1987), who is the best player to ever come out of the school. Sabb played for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 1995.
“Dwayne has also been a big help,” Marshall said. “We have a very good staff, a committed staff. I’m very fortunate to have a good coaching staff to work with.”
One of the first things Marshall did when he took the position was moving last year’s tight end Matt McMonagle (6-6, 240) and turning him into the biggest quarterback to ever wear a Hudson Catholic football uniform.
“He’s a pitcher in baseball, so it made perfect sense to me to make him a quarterback,” Marshall said of McMonagle. “At his size, it’s tough to be a quarterback. When I first saw him, I figured he was big and awkward, but he’s worked so hard into becoming a quarterback. I continue to tell him every day that he just has to play within himself and not try to do too much and have an out-of-body experience. He’s doing very well.”
Marshall is blessed to have a very deep and talented backfield, led by returning senior starter Oscar Torres (5-10, 185) at tailback. Torres was the leading rusher for the Hawks in their lost 2-8 campaign a year ago.
Marshall has others in the backfield that he can count on, guys like senior Deaglan Walsh (5-10, 185), junior Byron King (5-8, 185), sophomore Champion Smith (6-0, 190), and promising freshmen Robert Montanez (6-0, 190) and Herb Johnson (5-7, 170).
“It’s not a bad thing to have that kind of depth in the backfield,” Marshall said.
The wide receivers are senior Aaquil Ingram (6-2, 205), a returning starter at that position, and junior Taj McNeal (5-10, 185). Junior Brandon McWayne (6-0, 190) is the tight end.
The starting offensive line features only one returning starter in senior Sage Williams (6-0, 215), who is one of the last links to the 2008 team that played for the Non-Public Group 2 state title.
The rest of the offensive line features underclassmen, guys like junior tackle Michael Debari (5-8, 260), junior center Jamal Hoge (6-2, 305), junior guard Nasean Haskins (6-3, 310), and sophomore tackle Josh Asmad (6-0, 235).
Defensively, the Hawks will play a 3-4 defensive formation – and that should come as no surprise, as it is the defense that Marshall played with the Giants.
“What can I say?” Marshall laughed. “I’m a [Bill] Parcells guy.”
Junior Anthony Haddad (6-1, 220) will join Williams at the defensive end slots, with Hoge playing the nose tackle.
The outside linebackers are Ingram and Smith, whom Marshall is very high on as a linebacker. King and Walsh man the inside linebacker slots.
Sophomore Kevin Albert (6-0, 180) is one of the cornerbacks along with freshman Johnson. Torres, who played safety last year, returns there again this year, joined by McNeal, who also has a ton of potential as a defensive player.
The Leonard Marshall era began last Saturday with a resounding 39-13 victory over Montclair Immaculate. The Hawks received two rushing touchdowns from Torres, a punt return for a touchdown by freshman Johnson and an interception return for a score by Smith.
“It’s definitely very helpful to get a win to start the season,” Marshall said. “It’s going to go a long way in terms of confidence. This is a team that won just two games last year. But no one has been successful striving to be mediocre. There’s no such thing as average in football. We have to play above average and work hard. But I’d say we’re moving things in the right direction.”
The Hawks will travel to Massachusetts this weekend to play Westfield High, a school just outside of Boston, for the second game of the Marshall plan.
“I’m having a great time with these kids,” Marshall said. “I’m watching great teenagers become great young men. I’m thrilled.”
Everyone at Hudson Catholic will be thrilled if the Super Bowl hero keeps on winning football games as the team’s head coach.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.