It was a great day at Union City High School, where five Soaring Eagles signed scholarship letters and eight in total made declarations to play on the next level.
Leading the way was standout offensive lineman Steven Gonzalez, who signed his national letter to attend Penn State, but did so with a bit of a heavy heart.
You see, Gonzalez lost his father, Jorge, to a heart attack two years ago. Jorge Gonzalez was his son’s biggest fan.
So Wednesday, when Gonzalez was among his teammates to sign his letter, he wore his father’s watch in honor. And he kept a seat vacant for where his father would have been seated for the signing. A sign was placed on the chair that said, “Reserved for Mr. Gonzalez.”
“I know he would have been proud of me and how I handled the whole process,” said Gonzalez, who was an All-State offensive guard for the Soaring Eagles and a Top 50 recruit for the Nittany Lions. “There are so many emotions running through me right now. I don’t even know what to think.”
Gonzalez was introduced to football at a late age, but picked it up quickly enough to become a standout lineman.
“This definitely makes it all final,” said Gonzalez, who gave a verbal commitment to Penn State last summer. “I definitely feel like I made the right choice.”
Gonzalez wasn’t the lone Soaring Eagle product to sign a letter with Penn State. Teammate Daiquan Kelly also signed with the Nittany Lions, after Kelly had originally given a verbal commitment to Syracuse.
“It’s a great day,” Kelly said. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I now have the opportunity to do something with it. I loved Penn State for a long time. It’s like a second family to me.”
And the two get to go to school together.
“To have the chance to go and play with my friend is like a dream come true,” Kelly said.
“It’s amazing to have Daiquan coming to the same school with me,” Gonzalez said.
But Penn State won’t let the two room together. Some sort of protocol. But they will be close enough.
Kelly was thought to be a defensive back on the college level, but he said Wednesday that Penn State plans to bulk him up and turn him into a linebacker.
“You can call me the next Kam Chancellor,” Kelly said, referring to the Seattle Seahawks’ hybrid defensive back/linebacker. “I’m going to make it happen.”
Early in the recruiting process, Jonathan Castellano had given a verbal commitment to Old Dominion, but changed gears and signed Wednesday with the University of Maine instead.
The speedy Castellano will play defensive back in Orono.
“I’m very excited,” Castellano said. “I wanted to have the opportunity to be a Division I player, but it’s something I never thought would happen. I’ve heard all my life that I’m too small, so I never thought I could play in college. I was too small and not able to play with the big guys. Well, now, I’m getting the motivation to prove everybody wrong. It’s a dream come true for me and an honor to share it with my teammates.”
Two other Soaring Eagles, namely running back Tamaine Boyd and lineman Kevin Mejia, both signed letters with NCAA Division II Northern Michigan University, while three others, quarterback Renaldy Tavares, running back Nawell Rojas and lineman Ariel Veras all signed on with Merced Junior College in California, coached by Bayonne native Bob Casey.
Union City head coach Wilber Valdez was ecstatic over the exciting day.
“It certainly feels good,” Valdez said. “We have so many kids in public schools who don’t get a chance like that. There are so many distractions that could occur with kids these days. But they stuck to the course. They have the right GPA, the right grades and they stay out of trouble. It’s a testament to them and to their families. It’s proof that hard works paid off. Something positive came out of all of this.
Added Valdez, “It validates our program and proves that we’re changing kids’ lives through a sport that we all love. Our younger players can now see that if they continue to work hard and develop, they can go on to college as well. They can do the right thing.”…
There were other signings Wednesday, happy celebrations at Hoboken and Lincoln that we will feature in next week’s Scoreboard…
The St. Anthony basketball team might be No. 1 or No. 2 in the state, depending upon which poll you look at these days. But legendary head coach Bob Hurley isn’t overly pleased with the way the 15-1 Friars are playing these days.
“We’re good, don’t get me wrong,” Hurley said. “But we’re acting too much like a team of underclassmen. The sense of urgency is just not there. We need our seniors [Markis McDuffie and Mohamed Bendary] to act as leaders and we’re not getting senior leadership. We’re too much of a finesse team and lack the toughness you need. It’s a big concern for what we have down the road.”
Hurley did say that this team has already faced perhaps the toughest schedule any Friar team has handled through 16 games.
“We’ve beaten some good teams,” Hurley said. “We have size and depth, but we’re just not tough.”
Hurley has been the toughest critic of his teams in the past, but if he sees something the team lacks, he should know more than anyone, even after winning a game Wednesday against a team called Central Jersey College Charter, 70-10. Yes, that’s not a misprint. The Friars held a team to just 10 points…
Weehawken standout McKay LeDuke has been selected to play in the prestigious New Jersey Scholastic Basketball Coaches Association’s North-South All-Star Classic that will be held at the end of the season. It’s quite an honor for the multi-talented LeDuke, who continues to fill out the stat sheet every single game…
On a very sad note, Jersey City lost a great guy and a key figure last week, when Tommy Shine passed away at the age of 54. For years, Shine worked for the New Jersey Devils in their sales and promotion department and was with the team when they first won the Stanley Cup in 1995. Shine then moved on to become the Jersey City Recreation Department’s assistant director, coordinating events at Pershing Field and helped organize the Sandy Koufax World Series when it was held in Jersey City.
Shine was a colorful character, a good friend to hundreds of people in Jersey City and Bayonne. He was always a joy to be around and always willing to help anyone and everyone. On a personal note, he was a good friend who along with this reporter delivered the eulogy for our friend Ed “The Faa” Ford when Ford passed nearly four years ago. Now, Shine has passed on as well. Rest in peace, Shiner…
Hudson Reporter Boys’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (15-1). 2. Hudson Catholic (15-2). 3. Marist (13-3). 4. Snyder (12-5). 5. Weehawken (10-3)…
Hudson Reporter Girls’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. Secaucus (15-0). 2. Lincoln (12-3). 3. North Bergen (10-4). 4. Marist (9-4). 5. Ferris (11-4)…–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.