Old Forge (2)
Conference: Lackawanna Football Conference, Division 3
Class: A
Nickname: Blue Devils
Coach: Mike Schuback
2012 Record: 11-1
Returning Players – Offense: Sr. OT Ryan Paulish; Sr. OT Joseph Bruno; Sr. OG Paul Papi; Sr. QB Jake Manetti; Sr. HB/TE Shane Schuback; Sr FB Jordan Sekol; Sr. TB Brandon Yescavage
Returning Players – Defense: Sr. DL Joe Bruno; Sr. DL Ryan Paulish; Sr. LB Shane Schuback; Sr. LB Jordan Sekol; So. DB Joey Gutowski
Special Teams: “We lost our kicker from last season. We are working out these guys for the return game. They are Matt Mancuso, Brandon Vahey, Joey Gutowski and Jarrett Horn. Shane Schuback is back at punter. Shane can also do the kickoffs if needed.”
Top Newcomers: Jr. LB Bobby Rinaldi
Coaches comments:
How’s your defensive line?
“The defensive line is our strength. We return all three guys up front. We return at tackle Joe Bruno and Ryan Paulish. At defensive end is Paul Piemontese. He is a smaller kid, but extremely fast. The other kid is Mason Wheeler at end. We have five or six players that rotate in.”
How do your linebackers look?
“We have Shane Schuback back at linebacker. Last year he called the plays on defense and led our defense. He works very hard. Another guy back is Jordan Sekol. Matt Trotta is back at outside. Another kid that will get some playing time is Bobby Rinaldi. He will play outside.”
How’s your secondary?
“We lost both corners from last year. They were Michael Vieira and Brian Tomasetti. Vieira played more games for me than any other player and we lost Tomasetti who had nine interceptions for us last year. Right now we have Joey Gutowski at corner and Brandon Vahey. We are a little young in the secondary, but both of them are super athletic and fast.”
How’s your offensive line?
“When we talk about our offensive line the first kid that comes to mind is Ryan Paulish. He is our biggest three-year starter. He is 6-foot-4, 290-pounds and he will play right tackle. He is a solid player with great feet. He does a lot for us on the line, very athletic. Last season if we didn’t loose Ryan Paulish to injury, I thought our chances to move on were really high.”
“The other left tackle is a three-year starter. He is Joseph Bruno. He does a great job with the blind side. Our left guard is back. He’s a three-year player. His name is Paul Papi. Paul is versatile and can play any position on the line. The other two spots we have to replace. They are the center spot and the other guard spot. We have a Junior Corry Souryavong, he will get some reps at the guard position. We have two guys that will take reps at the center position. They are Troy Benson and Christian Mitchell. We also have another lineman in Mason Wheeler. He’s a two-year player and adds depth. Those four guys will battle for the other two spots.”
How’s your quarterback?
“Brenden Wahl was our quarterback last year. He’s gone and this year we are going with his cousin, Jake Manetti. He was our backup quarterback last season. He plays a lot like Wahl. He is bigger and more physical. He started three-years for us in the secondary. We are excited about what he can do.”
How’s your running game?
“We return a H-back back. He returns for his third-year. He is Shane Schuback. We are going to use him a lot and he has been getting a lot of touches in the spring and summer. The other kid we have back is Jordan Sekol. He is a three-year returning player at fullback. He’s a very physical player. My tailback this year is going to be Brandon Yescavage. He’s a senior and suffered a injury his sophomore year and didn’t play. He did have some playing time last year.”
Who do you have coming back at receiver?
“Shane Schuback will play some tight end in our 21 personnel, but we do move him around a lot. We have a sophomore Joey Gutowski and a senior who came out Steve Mascaro. Steve is extremely fast. We have another junior in Brandon Vahey. We have a pair of brothers that will add depth. They are Zach and Jarrett Horn. The loss of Anthony Piccolini will hurt us because he knew the offense. We are working hard with the young kids this summer.”
What is different from your offense last year?
“I think the big thing for us is understanding who we are as an offense. We aren’t going to be a five wide team this year. We are a 21 personnel. We are young and hope the kids develop as the season moves on. But we aren’t going to scale anything back. We are going to do what we do.”
What is your key this year?
“We need to keep our players healthy first. We need to stay focused and humble this year if we want to play past week 11. Our kids respect everybody we play. The development of our players is important. We have about 12 tenth graders coming into our program this year. It’s important everyone understands their role.”
