When Wilber Valdez took over the Union City High School football program last year, he wanted to make sure that the Soaring Eagles reached new heights.
They did, qualifying for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV playoffs and shocking everyone by defeating top-seeded West Orange, 19-14, in the first round.
The Soaring Eagles finished 6-5 in the first year of the Valdez regime and now, the former Ferris head coach and former Hoboken and University of Miami standout wants more.
“I think you definitely have to use it as motivation for this season,” Valdez said. “It’s definitely a springboard for better things to come. The first two years of the new program weren’t what anyone expected, so we may have exceeded expectations last year, coming off a 3-7 season. We have to use last season as a springboard, a reference point.”
With that in mind, Valdez wants the Soaring Eagles to start thinking about a return trip to the playoffs right now.
“It has become a realistic expectation now,” Valdez said. “Just like it is at St. Peter’s Prep and North Bergen, we were there and want to stay there. We have a lot of kids back from last year and we’re working even harder than ever before to make sure we make it back. The goals are so concrete and realistic. We think we’re a state playoff team.”
Valdez said that the entire scenario has changed now in his second season.
“Last year at this time, we still had some kids who weren’t buying into what we were doing,” Valdez said. “We had some that were and some that weren’t. That’s probably the reason why we started off 0-2 last year. Once we had some wins, we got better.”
Leading the way for the Soaring Eagles is senior running back Steve Le (5-11, 190) who rushed for 1,200 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.
“The expectations for him are huge,” Valdez said of the returning Hudson Reporter All-Area back. “We expect him to be a leader on and off the field. The other kids on the team look up to him, so he has to play at a higher level. He’s a physical player who shows no fear.”
Le already has some college scholarship offers, but could play himself into a better prospect this season.
Another key returnee is junior quarterback Isiah Moreira (6-3, 190), who developed into a fine field general as a sophomore starter last year.
“He has a year of experience under his belt and he has the experience of a state playoff victory,” Valdez said. “He’s done very well in our scrimmages, completing about 70 percent of his passes. He’s also going to be more of a runner this year. We’re taking the training wheels off him, because he’s ready to blossom into the big-time quarterback we know he can be.”
Junior Nick Espana (5-9, 190) is the Soaring Eagles’ fullback.
“He’s as tough as nails and he’s a hard runner,” Valdez said of Espana. “He’s very strong, but he also has explosiveness. He’s going to get the ball a lot because he has the ability to pop it.”
One halfback is another returnee in senior Roy Santiago (5-9, 170).
“He may be the fastest of the three we have back there,” Valdez said of Santiago. “We line him up all over the field to take advantage of that speed. He stretches the field as a deep threat.”
Valdez said that he will also use senior Juan Cruz (5-11, 195) and sophomore Owen Roman (5-9, 170) in some backfield sets.
The wide receivers are senior Antonio Pacheco (5-9, 170), who had 16 receptions last year as a junior, and senior Jason Perozo (6-6, 190).
The tight end duties are being shared by seniors Angelo Martinez (5-11, 180) and Keven Roman (5-9, 220), who has been moved from guard to tight end this season.
The tackles are senior Carlos Vincent (6-4, 240), who started last year, and senior Luis Lazo (6-3, 275), with junior David Bretton (5-10, 230) and senior Euromar Contreras (5-11, 210) at guard and junior Jeffrey Rodriguez (5-10, 260) at center.
Defensively, the Soaring Eagles will use Vincent, Contreras and the imposing Perozo at defensive end, with senior Kevin Arias (6-0, 250) and sophomore Adrian Oceguera (5-10, 255) at defensive tackle.
Keven Roman, a three-year starter at linebacker, anchors that corps, along with Cruz, who had an astounding 12 sacks from that linebacker slot last year. Senior Lorenzo Rodriguez (5-10, 170) and Martinez will also see action at linebacker.
The cornerbacks are Santiago and Pacheco, with Espana at strong safety and Lee returning to his free safety slot. Junior Rafael Colindres (5-9, 170) will also see action in the secondary and may climb into the mix at running back on offense.
The Soaring Eagles will have no breathers to start the new season. They kick off 2011 with a showdown against St. Anthony in Union City on Friday, Sept. 9, then take on Lincoln.
“It’s absolutely important to get off to a good start,” Valdez said. “We don’t want to be playing from behind like we did last year. I think we have a good chance to do well early, although we’re playing two formidable opponents. The goal is to get off to a 2-0 start this year and hopefully we’ll hit a steamroll all the way to December.” – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.