A’town looks like contender with strong run game, d-line
For the Allentown football team to make a run at its second sectional championship this season, head coach Jay Graber views two position groups as the catalysts.
Start with Rahsaan Emory, who at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds is one of the top returning players in the area coming off 1,314 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior.
“We like our running back and our defensive line,” Graber said. “He’s a strong, fast runner, and then our defensive line, we have three of our four guys back. We have a lot of confidence that they’re going to be able to stop the run and help our defense a lot.”
Seniors Angel Santiago, Drew Huth and Kyle Anderson all started up front last season when the Redbirds posted a solid 6-4 record but couldn’t defend their Central Jersey Group IV title from 2016.
Because of its enrollment numbers, Allentown dropped down to Group III this season. The Redbirds have also shifted to the WJFL’s Capitol Division alongside Notre Dame, Nottingham, Steinert, Trenton and West Windsor-Plainsboro.
A challenging schedule includes reigning South Jersey Group V champion Lenape and Burlington Township. Allentown begins Friday night at home against Notre Dame.
“We’re excited for the tough schedule,” Graber said. “We’re always excited to play against tough teams, but right now we really can only be concerned with Notre Dame. They’re strong up front, and then they have some talented skill guys, so our full focus is on doing what it takes to be successful against Notre Dame right now.”
Defensively, the Redbirds return their entire linebacker corps: seniors Charlie Bassi, Nick Campbell, Jha’Quel Brown and Joe Dippolito.
They also have experienced senior defensive backs in Cameron Moore and Joe Baldino. Sophomore Ramsey Ben Flah and senior Peter Pinto play a hybrid strong safety/ outside linebacker position.
Brown is one of Allentown’s most versatile players.
“We expect him to make a lot of plays on defense, and then he’s going to be doing a lot of different things on offense,” Graber said. “He’s going to be playing some receiver, some running back, some Wildcat stuff, so we expect to try to get the ball into his hands a lot.”
Graber anticipates significant improvement from quarterback Dan Merkel, who threw for 1,688 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman.
Following a strong varsity baseball season, Merkel had a diligent summer of weight lifting and conditioning.
“He’s a very smart kid and an intelligent kid, so picking up the offense and things like that was really easy for him to begin with,” Graber said. “But I think that over the course of the last year he’s really built his body up … so I think a lot of what he’s doing out on the field right now is him doing it at just a lot higher, faster level than what he did it at last year. We’re really excited to see his progress.”
On the offensive line, Michael Pugliese returns as a three-year starter. Junior Liam Trionfo, along with sophomores Aidan Benjamin and Steven Lally, are projected to step into starting roles after working hard and bulking up together during the offseason, Graber said. Anderson and Huth are primarily defensive players but will also rotate in at guard.
Campbell, in addition to manning middle linebacker, plays fullback and helps ignite Allentown’s running game.
Graber’s seven-man coaching staff includes one newcomer. Tim Byrne is working with the freshmen.
In preseason scrimmages, the Redbirds squared off against South Brunswick, Bridgewater-Raritan and Toms River North.
“We’re working really hard right now,” Graber said. “We have a lot of guys back and we also have a lot of freshman players that had a great summer. We’re expecting them to step into roles this year, so we’re excited for the season.”