When Dominik Montanez was attending Edison Elementary School in Union City as a youngster, he noticed one thing:
He was fast.
“We used to have races in the schoolyard and I was always one of the fastest ones,” said Montanez, now a junior at Union City High School and a member of the school’s football team. “No one could beat me. That’s when I first noticed I could run pretty fast.”
Montanez then took that speed with him to play in the Union City Pop Warner football league, getting his first taste of the gridiron there.
“Since I’ve been in eighth grade, it’s been all football,” Montanez said. “I just wanted to prove that I could play football in high school.”
A year ago, Montanez was a sophomore on the first-ever Union City High School team, but Montanez had to bide his time playing behind established running back Steve Ulacia.
“He played a little and backed up Steve,” said Union City head coach Joe Rotondi. “He got a couple of carries here and there.”
Montanez said that he didn’t mind playing behind Ulacia, who was a two-time All-Area player, first at the now-defunct Union Hill and then at Union City.
“I knew that Steve was the featured back and I could learn a lot from him,” Montanez said. “Once he graduated, I knew that I could get my chance to do my own thing and be a featured back like him. I had a feeling I could do that.”
Rotondi definitely liked what Montanez could bring to the table.
“I was hoping that Dominik would be able to break out this year,” Rotondi said. “I knew he had the potential to be a pretty good back. I knew he had the physical tools, and the speed? Well, he has explosive speed. He’s not the biggest kid in the world, but he’s tough and has great athleticism. I thought we could groom him to do what Steve did for us.”
But no one knew exactly what Montanez could do. He had to prove himself in game action. Running up on the roof at Union City High only goes so far. You need to do it when the lights are on.
“I worked hard in the off-season to get ready,” Montanez said. “I knew that I had to do my own thing this year. I just had a feeling I could do it. I might have been a little nervous coming into the season, because I was getting my first real chance with the varsity. But I felt like I could do it.”
Last Friday night, when the Soaring Eagles faced Dickinson, Montanez certainly did it. He cemented his place as the Union City go-to back by making the big plays in a 39-15 victory.
Montanez carried the ball 12 times for 205 yards and scored touchdowns of 57 and 80 yards respectively, leading the Soaring Eagles to the win.
And for his efforts, Montanez has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week, the first such honoree for the 2009-10 scholastic sports season. The weekly feature will culminate next June with the presentations of the Reporter Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
“I was surprised, real surprised, that I got that much yardage,” Montanez said. “I never thought I could rush for that much.”
Rotondi was not shocked by the total.
“He’s now our home run hitter,” Rotondi said. “We need a big play, then we give the ball to Dominik. “He was pretty impressive Friday night. When he gets going and he’s out in the open, he’s going and no one is going to catch him. He has great speed. There are going to be some people in the county who think they can run with him, but I don’t know if anyone is faster. I don’t think he’s that much of a secret anymore. When he’s in the game, he has the chance to break the big one every time.”
Rotondi wonders whether Montanez knows how good he really is.
“I think he still doesn’t realize his potential,” Rotondi said. “He’s only a junior and has a lot to learn. He’s a very humble kid and works hard every day. He’s always doing agility drills to get better. I tell him that he can take some plays off on defense, but he’s making plays on that side as well. He’s only going to get bigger and stronger, so I like to see where this goes.”
Montanez knows now that the pressure is on him, because teams are going to be gunning to stop him.
“People are telling me that I can do it, that I can get 1,000 yards this season,” Montanez said. “I know that people are going to focus on me, but I just have to go out there and play my game. I’ve done it once and now I have to keep trying to do it again and again.”
After all, the fast kid in the courtyard at Edison School is developing into a fine football player. All Dominik Montanez has to do is keep on running like the wind. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.