This preseason was definitely the hardest in Zach Naszimento’s young coaching career.
The Weehawken head coach began his fifth season with the Indians and faced the prospects of not having a season altogether, because the numbers on the Indians’ preseason roster were dangerously low.
“We have only five kids back from last year,” Naszimento said. “We finished 5-4 last year and in a sense, I’m glad we didn’t make the states [playoffs] because we were so banged up that we might not have been able to play the game. We had one kid with a broken ankle. We had a few concussions. We had another kid with a broken rib. I don’t think we could have played a state playoff game.”
So instead of playing in one of the NJSIAA-appointed consolation games, the Indians decided to end their season.
“I had no choice,” Naszimento said. “I had to do it. I couldn’t play it.”
So when the Indians started to make the first steps toward the 2016 season in August, Naszimento could not field an entire team.
“Frustrating is not the word,” Naszimento said. “It’s tremendously hard to practice when you don’t have a full team. It’s nerve wracking and tough because you don’t know what to do.”
But the numbers have been trickling into practice recently, especially since school opened for another year.
“The kids we have are tremendous,” Naszimento said. “They work incredibly hard. They should be commended.”
There are now 28 kids total – freshmen and upperclassmen – at Indians’ practices now in the days prior to the first scheduled game.
“We’re trying to run a real program,” said Naszimento, who also doubles as the school’s athletic director. “But it’s real difficult.”
And there was a real point in late August where Naszimento seriously considered pulling the plug on the entire season. It got that bad.
But the Indians survived and will face Bogota this weekend in the season opener, thanks to the dedication of the returning players.
One of those returnees is senior quarterback Nick Anasa (5-9, 170), who was the starting signal caller last season.
“I expect a lot out of him,” Naszimento said. “He did a lot last year managing our offense and will have to do more this year. But he’s much more comfortable in the role. He’s been a leader for us, on and off the field. I’m very proud of him. He’s an extremely coachable kid.”
The running back is senior Brayan Padron (6-2, 210), who will be expected to be a workhorse like Joan Andujar was last year.
“He has to be that kid like Joan,” Naszimento said. “He just has to. We run the football and Brayan runs the ball. He has to put this team on his back.”
Sophomore Jaden Rodriguez (5-9, 160) – the Indians’ resident “J-Rod” – will be one of the halfbacks.
“He’s going to be a good one,” Naszimento said. “He’s going to be the next good football star from Weehawken.”
Senior Brian Perdomo (5-8, 155) rounds out the Indians’ talented backfield.
“He can catch the ball as well,” Naszimento said.
Junior Joe Pinhasik (6-3, 185) is the Indians’ main threat at wide receiver.
“He has good hands and he’s aggressive,” Naszimento said.
Sophomore Rex Fukuda (5-10, 180) is the tight end.
The offensive line features imposing Shane O’Rourke at tackle. O’Rourke is every bit of 6-foot-3 and weighs 300 pounds. O’Rourke is a three-year starter for the Indians.
Senior Chris Mendez (6-0, 260) is the other tackle, with senior Wally Martinez (6-1, 240) and junior Jean Kruel (5-10, 220) at guard and sophomore Miguel Rosado (6-3, 240) at center. Martinez played tight end last year.
Despite the Indians’ off-season woes with participation, they do now have size along the line.
Defensively, the Indians use a 4-3 set, with Martinez and O’Rourke at defensive end, Rosado at nose tackle and Mendez at the defensive tackle.
The linebackers are Fukuda and Kruel, with monster Padron roaming the middle. Senior Marco de la Hoz (5-9, 190) will also see action at linebacker.
Padron is the key.
“He has to do well for us,” Naszimento said. “He’s legit. He’s a college football player.”
Sophomore Jimmy Lopez (5-8, 150) is one of the cornerbacks, with Perdomo returning to his starting slot at corner. Pinhasik and senior Miguel Espinosa (5-10, 160) are the safeties.
As you can see, the Indians cannot afford a single injury anywhere. With nine players going both ways, the Indians have no recourse but to stay healthy.
“I think we’re going to be alright now,” Naszimento said. “I think we’re going to do or try to do the best we can. We’re going to control the clock and control line play and play our game.”
It won’t be easy…
There was a strange way for the season’s first football game to end last weekend. With 6:20 remaining in the third quarter, St. Anthony was leading Morristown-Beard, 30-20, when a Friar player was carted off with an apparent serious injury and left the game on a stretcher and left the Caven Point Cochrane Stadium in an ambulance.
There was only one problem: Jersey City did not have a backup ambulance to provide coverage on Friday night, so when the ambulance didn’t return to Caven Point after 45 minutes, the game was apparently suspended at that point.
It is going to be very interesting to see how the NJSIAA rules on the resumption of this game. I think if the outcome will determine the state playoffs, then it will have to be resumed. We will see…
We’re now at No. 10 in our countdown of the Top Sports Characters of the last 25 years. And that distinction goes to Ralph Marino of North Bergen.
Long before he became a character, Marino was a great athlete. He was an All-County and All-State catcher for the North Bergen High School baseball team and a star for the town’s Build Better Boys Baseball league squad.
But in the summer of 1974, while playing in a 4B game, Marino was involved in a violent collision at home plate. The results were staggering. Marino suffered a broken neck between his fourth and fifth vertebrae, causing permanent paralysis.
Marino then had to endure several surgeries just to stabilize his neck and to allow him to function as a quadriplegic.
Marino didn’t allow his injury to deter him. He became an assistant basketball coach at North Bergen High, working under four coaches. He was a guidance counselor and attendance monitor for the high school.
But what made Marino a character was his approach as a coach in the chair. He would not allow the chair to be a deterrent to what he was doing. He coached with flair and even used some colorful language to players and officials. He was beloved by the kids who he coached and hated by the opponents he faced. When people referred to Marino, they would say, “He was a real piece of work.”
Marino retired from North Bergen a few years ago and isn’t as much of a fixture as he once was. He sporadically makes an appearance at a charity function, but now chooses to take a low profile. But anyone who ever faced North Bergen in any capacity – youth basketball, PAL or high school – had to remember Ralph Marino for his presence in the chair and with his voice…
Don’t forget, St. Anthony High School will host a special 50th anniversary coaching gala in honor of legendary Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Hurley on Friday, Sept. 23, at the Casino in the Park in Jersey City.
There is a host of different ways to contribute to the cause, which include sponsorships and the advertising journal. Tickets for the dinner begin at $150 and contributions are tax deductable, because they go directly to the high school.
For further information, contact the St. Anthony Development Office at (201) 653-5739 or visit online at www.stanthonyhighschool.org… – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com