By Frank LaManna
Staff Writer
Part I - History and the 2002 Season
Over the years, William Paterson has fielded many successful athletic
teams. These teams are complimented, praised, and receive positive media
attention.
As these teams prosper, there are those that struggle and receive negative
or no attention at all. Football is one of these teams, a program that
has not yet held up its end in a long time.
Established in 1972 under Head Coach Arthur Eason, the Pioneer football
team celebrated only seven winning seasons in 31 years.
The team finished 19 seasons with fewer than five victories and made
it to the postseason once. In its lone playoff appearance in 1992, Rowan
University eliminated the team in the second round.
There hasn’t been a head coach to post a career winning record
percentage of .500 or better, although Head Coach Gerry Gallagher led
them to their finest campaign of 8-2 in 1992.
Last season, coaches, players, and fans had many reasons to believe the
time for a turnaround had come, but the end result was nothing more than
another failure.
Some people say it was a total breakdown, while others describe it as
an embarrassment. The WPU Pioneer football team finished 1-9 overall,
including a conference record of 0-5. They were shut out three times,
and a 70-7 loss to Rowan University marked the worst loss in school history.
In 2002, the Pioneer football team returned 10 of 11 starters on an offensive
unit that ranked nationally in total yards in the previous season.
So how does a team with so many veterans win one game for the entire
season?
Anthony LaManna, a current player who has been on the team for three years,
gave his opinion of what went wrong.
“We couldn’t establish anything,” said LaManna. “On
offense, we couldn’t drive the ball down field and score. When momentum
would swing our way, someone would turn the ball over. Defensively, we
couldn’t stop anyone from scoring. The main problem for our offense
was that we never established a starting quarterback. It seemed like every
game someone new was back there.”
As a key offensive player, the quarterback needs to be intelligent and
possess unique leadership qualities. When the Pioneer football team failed
to establish such a player, they knew they had a long season ahead of
them.
For the upcoming season, the squad is working hard to prevent similar
mistakes.
Part II - A Look Ahead
With the 2003 football season approaching, the WPU football team will
have its work cut out for it.
Head Coach Larry Arico enters his fourth year and had yet to produce
a season with more than three wins. With the departure of Offensive Coordinator
Phil Longo two years ago, the offense has failed to return to nationally
ranked form.
Coaching the Pioneers had never been an easy task, especially when members
of the staff aren’t helping much. Defensive Coordinator Larry Szabo
got the boot, and Coach Dave Silverbush will be brought in to help improve
a unit that finished last in every category in 2002.
Due to schedule conflicts, defensive line coach Steve Brown, a retired
NFL player, will not be able to continue. As one of the smartest, toughest
coaches on the staff, his shoes will be hard to fill.
His replacement will be Coach Mark DiStephano, a former head coach of
Bergen Catholic High School. DiStephano has many years of coaching under
his belt and will be a solid addition to the program.
Offensively, the football team returns only four starters, and two are
seniors. The man to watch out for is senior Bryant Richardson, a speedster
who has invested every year of eligibility with the Pioneers.
Defense could prove to be the strongest unit, returning nine starters.
There’s not one senior returning, but sophomore Qaadir Majeed may
be enough to pace the squad.
For the past two-and-a-half months, recruits toured the WPU campus every
Tuesday through Tursday. With 45 committed players, this ranks as the
best off-season recruiting effort since the Arico-era began.
Tim Washington, a West Virginia transfer who played high school football
in West Milford, is the class standout. Coaches and players will look
to him for an immediate impact at one of the safety positions.
As recruits and transfers pour into the program, active players want
to leave it. Among those exiting are Brian Lowenstein, Cristobal Rodriguez,
Raphael Santiago, and Keith Hardy.
Some of them lost interest in the game, while others are disgusted with
the losing effort.
“I want to transfer,” said Hardy. “If I don’t,
I’m not playing another year here.”
As the saying goes, the show must go on, and the rest of the Pioneer football
players will not be distracted.
They’ve been working harder this off-season than ever before. With
team conditioning and weight lifting in full swing since December, the
team expects to enter this season bigger, faster, and stronger.
The team has a rejuvenated attitude, and the players put it this way:
“Our bus leaves for unfinished in September; either you’re
with us or against us.”
Part III - What It Takes
Recruits are signed, the game plan is installed, and with the spring
semester coming to an end, only the summer separates the Pioneer football
program from its next challenge.
It will be interesting to see how much the Pioneers progressed after
last season’s fiasco.
Offensively, the Pioneers will be very inexperienced after loosing the
complete interior line, a unit that stayed intact for four seasons.
Defensively, everyone returns, but there will not be a single senior
in the lineup. This may provide a bright spot in two years, but a program
looking for immediate success has no room for immaturity.
Working harder than ever this off-season, the Pioneers will count on
work ethic and commitment to make up for inexperience.
Returning junior, Matt Busacca, hasn’t missed a practice as he
plans to make a strong impact from his linebacker position.
“I’ve been here for three years and this is the best attendance
we’ve had,” said Busacca. “We’ve been working
hard as a whole unit.”
On the flip side of confidence is uncertainty.
Phil Delgado, a returning sophomore, is not sure what will happen during
the upcoming season.
“It’s very hard to make assumptions about this season,”
said Delgado. “We lost a lot of players on offensive, and we have
a new defensive coordinator. We’re practicing like a championship
team, but you can’t hide the fact that we’re young.”
Football is not a sport played on paper or won through words, and predictions
are meaningless. In order for the Pioneers to have a successful campaign
this season they need to continue to improve throughout the summer and
let their pads talk in September.
The season awaits, and with the Pioneers sitting in last place there’s
only one way to go.
May 8
, 2003 Issue
|
TimesOnline
