When Oscar Guerrero started his football coaching career a few years ago, he always dreamed of one thing: Returning one day to his West New York roots and coaching at his high school alma mater, namely Memorial High School.
Well, that dream has now come true for the 28-year-old member of the Memorial Class of 2000, because Guerrero was named last spring to replace Brian Meeney as the head coach of the Tigers.
As the 2010 season begins to kick off next weekend against Hoboken, Guerrero is confident that the Tigers are ready to make major strides towards improvement. The Tigers were 2-8 last season under Meeney.
“Things are going well and they’re improving every day, which is the most important thing,” said Guerrero, who spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Kearny High School. “We’re still in a transition period, but we have a good core group that is buying into what we’re doing and getting better.”
If Guerrero has to bring a point across, it helps that he is just like his players, only a few years removed. He’s one of them, a West New York kid, a Memorial Tiger through and through. He’s the first Memorial grad to hold the head coaching reins in over a decade.
“I think it’s a big help that I’m from West New York,” Guerrero said. “The kids can relate to me and I can relate to them. There’s something special about being back home and coaching kids in the place where I’m from. It can do nothing but help, being in a familiar position, as we build this program from the bottom up. We have to change the culture of football in West New York.”
Guerrero said that it will help having two of his former coaches, Ed Sargent and Scott Cannao, at the high school, with Cannao recently being named the school’s principal.
“If I need help, they’re there, and they’re there as a reminder of what Memorial football used to be like,” Guerrero said.
Leading the resurgence of Memorial football is junior quarterback Kenny Furlong (6-3, 200), who has displayed some leadership skills during the preseason practices and scrimmages.
“Kenny is a hard worker who has been throwing every single day, looking for his shot,” Guerrero said. “He’s picked up the offense quickly and comes ready to practice every day. He made the decision easy for me to start him at quarterback.”
Junior Chris Gomez (5-8, 200) is the starter at tailback. Gomez isn’t blessed with breakaway speed, but he’s a strong, hard runner who can churn out yardage.
“Chris can make the most out of a little run with his hard work,” Guerrero said.
The fullback is junior Elicio Olivares (5-8, 180). Seniors Jonathan Carpio (6-2, 200) and Ron Lewis (5-9, 175) more than adequately man the wide receiver positions. Talented senior Jermaine Reyes (6-1, 230), who comes from a large family of former Memorial grid standouts, is the tight end.
Juniors Darius Saffold (6-3, 220) and Pedro Sierra (6-0, 270) are the bookend tackles, with juniors Felix Borbon (5-10, 230) and Bryan Lima (6-1, 270) at guard. Junior Martin Rodriguez (5-8, 220) is the center.
Defensively, the Tigers will use a 4-4 formation, so Saffold and Rodriguez are the defensive ends, with Lima and Sierra at tackle.
The outside linebackers are Gomez, who played a lot at the position a year ago, and senior Cristo Dominguez (5-10, 200). Borbon and Reyes are fixtures at inside linebacker. Reyes had a fine season last year at the position and should be one of the best defenders in the county this season.
Olivares and Lewis are the cornerbacks, with Carpio at safety.
Guerrero likes the idea that the Memorial roster is jam packed with juniors.
“I look at it as a positive, because the kids are willing to learn and we’ll have them for another season,” Guerrero said. “It’s exciting that the majority of this team will be coming back next year.”
The Tigers open the season next Friday night against Hoboken, then face St. Anthony in Jersey City the following week.
“We’re going to have some growing pains,” Guerrero said. “But I’m excited to get started. I’m excited to be back home, and we now have to focus on the process of getting better.” – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.