SAUGERTIES SETS SIGHTS ON SUCCESS
Sawyers look to continue turnaround after having solid campaign in 2015
SAUGERTIES >> After a strong 2015 football season, Saugerties High is aiming for bigger things this year.
“The attitude’s been great. The offseason was excellent. The strength and conditioning aspect is way ahead of last year,” noted Dom Zarrella, whose Sawyers went 5-4 in his first season, a turnaround that earned him the Free
man’s Coach of the Year honor. “I say everything is on an upward trend, for sure,” he said.
“We’re a lot stronger than we were last year. The nice thing is we didn’t lose much. A lot of guys got playing time last year. They’re seasoned. They understand the speed of the game.”
Saugerties, which lost only four players to graduation, has done well numbers wise — meeting Zarrella’s offseason expectations.
“The junior varsity numbers are over 40. That’s fantastic. The varsity numbers are in the mid-30s (more than half are seniors), so I’d say we’re in pretty good shape,” he said. “The modifed numbers are excellent, close to 50.
“We have 120 overall in the program.”
Section 9 Class A has contracted from the two-division to one-division format with Wallkill,
Cornwall, Goshen, Poughkeepsie, Port Jervis and Monticello. The Sawyers will play everyone in the league.
“Our schedule is a lot tougher this year,” Zarrella noted. “It’s going to be tough. We start off with three league games.”
The Sawyers open at Monticello on Saturday afternoon and then head to Goshen before playing their home opener Sept. 17 against Port Jervis.
The top four in the league advance to sectional play.
“We’ve been stressing that week one is a ‘must’ win,” said Zarrella, who knows a strong start could decide their postseason bid.
“That’s where we set our goal. We’re a playoff-caliber team this year,” Zarrella said.
Saugerties’ loss to Port in the regular-season finale last year denied it a playoff berth. Sophomore Matt Bucci, younger brother of Matt (the 2015 starting quarterback), looks like he might be taking over under center this season in a QB duel with senior Nick Dennis. “I’m leaning toward the sophomore,” Zarrella said last week, prior to a Saturday multi-scrimmage at James I. O’Neill. “He has a really nice release when he throws the ball. He’s a dynamic runner, so if a play breaks down ...
“(Dennis) was the kid who finished for me last year. He’s also a good runner. He throws the ball well. He knows the game.”
A strengthened passing game can only improve a Saugerties team which can definitely run the ball behind senior tailbacks Robert Trincellito and Jimmy Ball plus junior slot back Jack Hindes. “We’ll have a big backfield again, but the offensive line is the key,” Zarrella said. “The right side of the line is very seasoned and strong. The left side of the line has a couple of newer guys in there. If that jells, we will have a very good team. It’s just a matter of that happening sooner rather than later.”
Returning are center Brett Igoe (220 pounds) and 285-pounders Brandon Salmi and Pete Leser at right guard and right tackle, respectively.
“The left side is a little smaller, but are taller and quicker players. aggressive players,” noted Zarrella,
“We’ll be a running team again with a lot of play-action off that. We’re going to mix it up a little bit, too,” he added. “We’re going to change up formations. I think if we had an area of weakness last year it was that we were a little bit too predictable. We’ll introduce the spread formations, the screen game. We’re not going to be as predictable, but we’re still predominantly a run-oriented team.”
Sophomore Anthony Owen looks to be a big contributor at fullback and middle linebacker.
“Defensively, we think we’re going to be pretty stout,” Zarrella said. “Our linebacking corps is good. and the entire secondary is back.” The Sawyers had Red Hook as an endof-season crossover contest last year, leading to the creation of the “River Bowl” game. The Raiders are back again on Oct. 8, this time as the opponent for the annual Mum Bowl. The town has been rallying around the program. The community scheduled a pig roast for the team after the Saturday scrimmage.
“The community is starting to buy in. They see it turning around and they’re excited,” Zarrella remarked. “The last year was a rebuild — change the attitude, change the mindset, buy into the weight room,” Zarrella added. “This year we have enough in our arsenal that I think that we can make a run at it. This year, I’m way more positive going in, in that everyone’s bought in.
“I’m happy. We fly around. We hit people. It’s a team that has a lot of ability. We’ll see how it goes.” SCHEDULE Sept. — 3, at Monticello, 1:30 p.m.; 10, at Goshen, 1:30 p.m.; 17, PORT JERVIS, 1:30 p.m.; 23, VALLEY CENTRAL, 4 p.m.; 30, at Wallkill, 7 p.m. Oct. — 8, RED HOOK, 1:30 p.m.; 15, POUGHKEEPSIE, 1:30 p.m.; 21, at Cornwall, 7 p.m.