DRAGON FORCE

Experienced line play has Middletown excited for season

Count Middletown’s Sal Morello as one of the few optimistic head coaches heading into this unprecedented 2021 football season.

During a preseason in which coaches could count on one hand the number of returning varsity letterwinners from two years ago, Morello can use two: One for his returning skill players, and the other to count his offensive line.

They all started as sophomores.

They’re all back as seniors. And they’ll also star on the defensive line.

“That’s where the strength of our team is,” Morello said of his linemen. “On both sides of the ball.”

Add in some vets at tailback and receiver and a budding sophomore star at quarterback and it’s abundantly obvious why Morello’s excited about his team. “I’ve got a good feeling about what we have,” he said. “I’m not crying the blues, that’s for sure. But we’ll see how it goes.”

Morello’s front line, which includes senior tackles Manny Neale and Michael St. Paul and guards Jonah Smikle and T.J. Jackson, should help returning senior back Shaun Gaskins pound the ball through opposing defenses. Gaskins ran for 500 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore. “With that line, we think he can be better,” Morello said.

The quarterback will be 6-foot-3 sophomore Colin Skene and though he hasn’t played a snap since Pop Warner, Morello is pretty excited about him.

“We think he’ll be a real good one,” Morello said. “He can throw it. He has a very good arm. I think he’ll be a tremendous player.

“He’ll work at it. He’ll get better. It’s all going to depend on him getting acclimated to the speed of varsity and not trying to do too much. He’s a competitive kid, so that’s good.”

Catherine Avalone / Hearst Connecticut Media Middletown head coach Sal Morello says the offensive and defensive lines will be a strength for his team this season.