A Quick 60
The Challenge
MSGVarsity.com Sports Talk
High School SportsDesk
Camping out: Croton-Harmon
Get the latest Section 1 football news on Twitter: @MSGVarsityHVC
CROTON-HARMON
Coach: John Catano
Last year’s record: 10-1, Section 1 Class B champs
Conference: Section 1 Class B
Four names you know:
Kyle Ricciardi, Sr., OL/LB
John Brennan, Sr., OL/DL
Nick Mainiero, Sr., QB/DB
Dennis O’Connell, Sr., OL/DL
Three names to learn:
Nick Grous, Jr., RB/DB
Matt Gennarelli, Jr., OL/DL
Dennis Traditi, Sr., WR/DB
First impressions: Croton-Harmon has three players who it seems have been playing high school football for forever. Ricciardi, Mainiero and O’Connell were all moved up to varsity in eighth grade when the Tigers went 2-6. The following year they were contributors to a team that went to the state championship. It was amazing to talk to them about how far the program has come during their careers — and what they intend to accomplish in their final seasons.
Talk of the camp: Just worry about Kennedy. That's the Tigers' first game of the season. All the talk about repeating as Section 1 champs and making another trip to the Dome will have to wait. While the players admitted they have discussed those lofty goals, they insist they're a mature and humble group that won't allow itself to trip over the expectations. The senior leadership at Croton is something to behold. Moments before a drill at Friday's practice, I spotted four players doing push-ups. "I wonder what happened," Catano said to me. "They must have had a helmet off or a chin-strap unbuckled or were walking. I don't know." I gave Catano a confused look. He replied "oh that's not from the coaches. The captains do that stuff." Very impressive.
Position battle: The Tigers don’t really have any true question marks heading into the season with the exception of outside linebacker. Few people really understand how good a football player Matt Tralli was last season, as a running back and a receiver. Nobody is going to replace him. But there will be a good fight for a group of guys to pick up the slack. Traditi really improved this offseason as a WR and has good chemistry with Mainiero. Grous is a very capable runner. There's still a question mark at fullback. No matter who fills these roles, Croton must realize it needs a group of players to compensate for Trallis graduation and not one guy.
Season outlook: Outside of New Rochelle or Harrison or Tuckahoe, the opportunity to win a state championship doesn't come around very often. It's here right now for Croton. That doesn't mean the Tigers are going to win, or even get there. But the potential is there. This team has no glaring weakness. They're stacked on the lines, have a veteran QB, a coaching staff that's been through it all, and playmakers at linebacker and in the secondary. It's an incredibly bright team and there's solid depth. But above all - and the No 1 reason to believe this team can go to the Dome and win - is the leadership. You simply don't see it like this very often. If you're a Croton fan, or just a fan of good football, sit back and enjoy watching this team play.
Schedule:
9/10 - Kennedy
9/16 - at Hen Hud
9/24 - Lourdes
10/1 - Nanuet
10/6 - at Edgemont
10/15 - at Pleasantville
10/22 - at Westlake
Email Kevin Devaney Jr. at kdevaney@cablevision.com
