It’s been a date that the Union City football team has been waiting for since last November, a rematch with Montclair, after the two battled tooth and nail in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group V semifinals.
As the schedule makers would have it, the two teams get together this weekend in just the second game of the regular season. The Soaring Eagles recovered from a sluggish start to defeat Seton Hall Prep to open the season two weeks ago.
“We would have had this game scheduled regardless of the outcome last year,” Union City head coach Wilber Valdez said. “We knew we would see each other Week Two. The kids are excited about the chance to play Montclair again. Anyone who saw last year’s game knows how hard Montclair fights and how hard we play. It was such a close game.”
Montclair emerged with a 40-35 victory, but everyone at the game all agreed that it was a game for the ages.
“We’re excited to get another crack at them,” Valdez said. “They have a lot back from last year and they’re obviously a very good team.”
Valdez likes the way his team rebounded against Seton Hall Prep, rebounding from a 17-7 halftime deficit to win 48-24.
“I think we needed a sense of urgency and that’s what happened in the second half,” said Valdez, whose team received three second half touchdowns from Nawell Rojas in the win. “We went back to playing our game. We had to match their intensity and we did.”
Valdez was pleased with Rojas’ performance. With a team full of top college prospects, Rojas tends to get lost in the shuffle a little.
“He is definitely overlooked,” Valdez said of Rojas. “He’s right there with the rest of them. He has a tremendous work ethic and he has all the tools. He’s fast and tough.”
One of the fastest and toughest Soaring Eagles is wide receiver/defensive back Daiquan Kelly, who made news last week when he announced that he’s going against his initial verbal commitment to Syracuse and will commit to Penn State instead.
With that announcement, Kelly will join current teammate Steven Gonzalez and St. Peter’s Prep quarterback Brandon Wimbush as recruits headed to Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions next fall.
Kelly said that he wanted to go to Penn State all along, but because of the NCAA’s restrictions against the school, the Nittany Lions didn’t have a scholarship to offer him.
“It was very disappointing when they didn’t offer me at first,” Kelly said.
But last week, the NCAA lifted the restrictions against Penn State because of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and returned five scholarships to the football program. Right away, head coach James Franklin contacted Kelly to see if he still wanted to become a member of the Nittany Lions.
“It was always my first choice,” Kelly said. “I fell in love with the place.”
“Daiquan had a change of heart,” Valdez said. “It happens. I’m fine with that. We did it the right way. We contacted Syracuse and told them. Daiquan was very fond of Syracuse and the coaching staff there. But everyone knew all along that it was his desire to go to Penn State. Once the sanctions were lifted, he had his chance.”
“I’m very happy,” said Kelly, who is being recruited to be a defensive back at Penn State. Hopefully, Steven and I will be roommates.”
It definitely gives Penn State a major local flavor for the years to come…
We have to report another tragic death of a local athlete. The St. Peter’s Prep community mourned the sudden passing of former football player and wrestler Devin Ruiz last week. Ruiz, who was a 2011 graduate of the Prep, died tragically while home on leave from the United States Army National Guard. He was only 22.
“He was a good football player,” said Prep head coach and athletic director Rich Hansen. “He was a tough kid who looked menacing. But he was a sweetheart. He was always respectful and always mindful of what he said or did. No one saw this coming. We’re all in total shock. Nobody knows what happened. He was such a nice kid with so much potential.”…
Veteran North Bergen boys’ soccer coach John Belluardo took a nasty fall last spring, one that caused serious injury and required several surgeries over the summer. Several school officials thought that Belluardo might retire because of the injuries.
But the granddaddy of all Hudson County soccer coaches has returned for his 34th year with the program.
Although Belluardo has only seven returning seniors from last year’s team that finished 9-10-1, he believes he has the makings of having a solid contender, which is evidenced by the Bruins’ fine 2-1 start.
“We lost our whole back line and our goalie is new,” Belluardo said. “Our forte has always been good defense, so we’re stressing that. It gives us a chance to be competitive.”
The Bruins welcome back senior Aristotle Sifolius, who had 10 goals and six assists last year, and senior forward Walter Salmeron, who tallied 13 goals and collected six assists.
Senior Maynor Ulloa anchors the Bruins’ defensive line. It appears as if the Bruins will be strong contenders all year in the Hudson County Interscholastic League…
Update on former Marist head football coach and former Bayonne grid star Dwayne Williams. He is now the head football coach at Schlagle High School in Kansas City, Kansas. He reports that he’s doing well and his team is 1-1 in the early stages of the season…
Also a medical update on former Hudson Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep basketball coach and downtown Jersey City restaurateur Bob Ryan, who continues to make incredible progress in his recovery after a horrendous auto accident two months ago. The prayers and good wishes coming from his native Jersey City are being heard now, as Ryan is recuperating in his Charlotte, N.C. home…
North Bergen native Danny McDermott traveled to the Philippines last weekend and won the World Boxing Union junior welterweight championship. We will have more on McDermott’s incredible journey when he returns home from the Philippines…
Hudson Reporter H.S. Football Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (2-0). 2. Union City (1-0). 3. Hoboken (1-0). 4. Lincoln (1-0). 5. North Bergen (1-0)…
Hudson Reporter H.S. Soccer Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (3-1). 2. North Bergen (2-1). 3. Memorial (1-2). 4. Union City (2-2). 5. Dickinson (4-0). – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.