South River football must replace 17 grads from '07 team
Defending division champs open against Highland Park
BY GEORGE ALBANO Staff Writer
The South River High School football program finds itself in a very unfamiliar position heading into the 2008 season.

FILE PHOTO South River High School tailback Steven Moore leaves a defender behind after breaking a tackle in game action from last season. The Rams open their 2008 campaign against Highland Park on Saturday.

Winners of four state championships in 11 years, a state playoff team in each of the last 10 seasons, and coming off back-to-back GMC Blue Division titles, the Rams will sport quite a different look this fall.

It will be the look of a young and - dare we say - rebuilding team following the graduation of 17 players from last year's 9-2 squad that reached the Central Jersey Group I state semifinals where it lost to eventual champion Asbury Park.

"And the year before that we lost 14 players," said veteran head coach Rich Marchesi, who's led the Rams to state crowns in 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2001. "So we're coming in this year with a clean slate. We have a real young ball club."

Of course, in a program as successful and tradition rich as South River, success often breeds success and the Rams usually find themselves reloading instead of rebuilding. They've been able to overcome the loss of key players before.

But Marchesi, beginning his 22nd season, admits this year is definitely different. In fact, he can't remember ever coming into a season after losing as many as 17 players from the previous year, let alone 31 the past two seasons.

"No, we really haven't," Marchesi, who owns a 147-48-2 career mark, said. "We've lost 12 players, 10 players, nine players before, but not this many, especially the last two years."

The last time the Rams didn't finish with a winning record was 1997. They've made the state playoffs every year since.

This year, however, will be a challenge, beginning with Saturday's 1 p.m. season opener against Highland Park at home.

"It's going be an uphill battle," Marchesi said of the 2008 season. "But the focus in the preseason by all the coaches and players has been on our first game. We're not looking past game one. You have to take a one-game-at-a-time approach with a young club.

"We have a lot of young kids, but we have a lot of talent on this team and we should get better every week," he added. "Hopefully, we can make another push for the playoffs, but the future looks really bright. We have a lot of kids back next year, about 99 percent of the club.

"But we're looking forward to this season, too."

Three senior players Marchesi expects to lead his young team are Matt Yost, Mike Wilson and Marcus Small. The 6 foot 2, 220-pound Yost will start at right tackle on offense as well as at defensive end. Wilson, who goes 5-11, 185, is a starting flanker and linebacker, while Small is a 5-10, 200-pound center.

Those are the only three starters returning on offense, while Steve Moore, a 5-11, 185-pound junior, joins Yost and Wilson as the only starters back on defense.

"He played linebacker for us last year, but he'll start in the defensive secondary this season," Marchesi noted. "We're going to move him up a level on defense.

"He's also a tailback and will split time there with a senior."

With only three starters back on both sides of the football, Marchesi is counting on a number of underclassmen to step up and fill some of the holes. Ryan Rizco is a 5-9, 180-pound sophomore who will see action at fullback and linebacker after playing on the sub-varsity level a year ago.

Three more players moving up to the varsity are junior Emilio Rentas (5-11, 220) at offensive guard and defensive tackle, sophomore Lonnie Rawles (6-2, 275), a two-way tackle, and Xavier Foster (5-9, 165), another sophomore who will play defensive back and running back.

It will no doubt be a different looking South River football team this season that the rest of the GMC is accustomed to seeing. But it would also be a big mistake for any opposing school not to take the Rams just as seriously as always.

"I don't think there's anyone in the area who will ever take us lightly," Marchesi said. "We're lucky to have a lot of tradition in our program, so everyone guns for us every season. They all circle us on their calendars.

"But we're all excited about this season and everybody is working hard. The biggest thing is the future looks really bright."

Sounds like South River's winning football tradition won't be going anywhere soon.