The Union City High School football team graduated a lot of its skilled players from an excellent team that posted an 8-3 record a year ago.
With that in mind, Raven Josiah saw it as a chance to step in and get some quality playing time.
“We had three amazing running backs,” Josiah said. “I was the fourth one up. It was hard for me to get in and play. At the end of the day, I just had to wait for my turn. It was time for me to step up.”
Union City head football coach Wilber Valdez realized that he needed Josiah to become a senior leader, especially in the backfield.
“He showed a lot of promise,” Valdez said of Josiah. “He had a good combination of speed and strength. Unfortunately for him, he was behind the others. With the others graduated, we felt that he was more than capable of filling in. I definitely thought that Josiah could step in and I knew he put in a lot of time working in the offseason to get ready. It was always more of a mental thing with Raven.”
The Soaring Eagles opened their 2015 season against Seton Hall Prep and things didn’t go well for Josiah. He carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards in a 21-6 loss.
“He had a tough first game,” Valdez said. “He didn’t capitalize on his opportunities. He let the lack of experience and being on the big stage get to him. His confidence was definitely hurt.”
“It was my first start and I had a lot of pressure on me,” Josiah said. “I was thinking too much instead of just playing the game. Instead of doing what I usually do, I panicked.”
Josiah’s mother, Virginia Rabinovich, showed her incredible support to her son.
“She really helped me a lot,” Josiah said. “She took the time to focus on me. She takes the extra step so I can play at the next level.”
Rabinovich reached out to Valdez to see if there was anything the two could do to help boost Josiah’s confidence.
“So we had a parental conference,” Valdez said. “It was me, Raven’s mother and Raven. We had to focus and let him know that he was still our guy. She was very supportive of him.”
Josiah said that his mother provided a ton of self-help and motivational material, including one special book.
“It’s called ‘The Courage to Win’ by Lisa Brown,” Josiah said. “I read the entire book.”
In the book, Josiah pulled out an interesting bit that hit close to home.
“It read, ‘Just remember why you started playing the game,’” Josiah said. “You were just having fun. It wasn’t stressful. I just had to remember to just play and have fun, to love what I’m doing.”
Valdez also issued the same decry.
“I told him to go out and play,” Valdez said. “His ability was very good.”
However, the Soaring Eagles were set to face Montclair in their second game of the season. It was not an easy chore, considering Montclair had defeated Union City four straight times over the last two years
“There were so many variables involved,” Josiah said. “We had never beaten them before. I had to step up as a leader of the team. I knew I could do it. I just had to play and show everyone I had the ability to do it.”
“What happened was in the past,” Valdez said. “We had our shot against Montclair in the past and didn’t get it done. This was another year. I think the team took advantage of it. They wanted it.”
And mostly, so did the running back who felt he had let his team down during the first week of the season.
“I could see it in his eyes,” Valdez said. “The first game, he was like a deer in the headlights. But this time, he was a lot more confident. He was ready for it.”
Josiah carried the ball 19 times for 194 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Soaring Eagles to a thrilling 42-34 victory over state-ranked Montclair.
For his efforts, Josiah has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
“It has to be a huge confidence builder for him,” Valdez said. “Instead of over thinking the situation, he just ran with it. He showed he had breakaway ability, because he had two good runs for touchdowns (34 and 38 yards respectively). If he’s able to run away from Montclair kids, that’s good to see. It’s an extreme confidence booster, especially for a kid who works so hard. He gets up early before school and puts in the time before classes begin.”
Josiah runs track during the winter and spring months, so that experience on the track is paying dividends.
“I really hope so,” Josiah said. “If I keep doing what I’m doing, then it would have paid off. Anything can happen. We would love to win a state championship. That’s the ultimate goal. I just have to practice and try to be consistent and take it to another level.”
Valdez believes that Josiah can play on the collegiate level.
“I’m excited for him,” Valdez said. “I think this is going to make him work harder. He always pushes himself in everything he does.” – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.