R’ville eyes improvement with more players, revamped offense
Three factors give Andrew Patterson optimism that this could be the most exciting season in his fiveyear tenure as Robbinsville’s head football coach.
The Ravens have a revamped offense with a mobile quarterback, they have their fastest secondary in recent memory, and perhaps most of all, they have numbers.
After finishing last year’s 0-9 season with 17 healthy varsity players, the program now has close to 50 players total.
“We legitimately have, for the first time since I’ve been here, a complete first team on offense, a complete second team on offense, as well as defense and special teams, which should hopefully help us turn the tide in close games where we keep fresh legs in the game on offense and defense,” Patterson said.
Robbinsville scored 28 points in all of 2017, but logistically the struggle wasn’t that surprising considering the Ravens frequently deployed linemen who by the third quarter had already played upwards of 70 snaps.
Patterson accredits his four captains — Hunter Smilow, Dan Surtz, Matt Giordano, Paul Milo — leading the charge in a culture change. Robbinsville has arguably its deepest roster in at least five years.
“They literally went out in the offseason and said essentially, ‘Screw this. Everyone thinks we’re losers,’” Patterson said. “They hand-picked their friends and said, ‘You’re playing football. We’re going to win some games.’”
Schematically on offense, Robbinsville has installed wrinkles geared toward a dual-threat quarterback and diverse set of running backs.
Surtz, a junior, will be under center. The left-handed signal caller impressed during a recent scrimmage against South Hunterdon with about 165 total yards.
“We haven’t had a mobile quarterback that could take off and act as a running back downfield in a while, so that’s been awesome,” Patterson said. “We’re deep at running back right now, and they all kind of do their own thing very well.”
The backfield features senior Jalen Lester and sophomore varsity newcomers Julien Lester and Shane Martin. Smilow, a senior, is Robbinsville’s “old reliable” fullback who missed much of last season with injuries.
The offensive line returns two starters: Milo, a senior right tackle, and junior center Matt Heverin.
Juniors Colin Tonry and Giordano are the top targets in the receiving game, each weighing close to 175 pounds. Tonry hauled in a 75-yard TD in stride during a scrimmage.
“Massive, possession, quick receiver. We call him Gronk (similar to Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski),” Patterson said. “He’s probably one of the biggest receivers we’ve had in a while.”
Defensively, Robbinsville is small but fast and scrappy, Patterson said.
That’s because the Ravens have players like sophomore Nick Suscovich, who’s shown a nonstop motor while playing defensive end, linebacker and left guard during the preseason.
The strong point of the unit is the secondary. Surtz currently also plays free safety. Giordano and the Lester brothers play cornerback.
A deep defensive line rotation includes up-and-coming sophomore Eric Hill and junior Mateo Cruise, who at 6-foot-2, 265 pounds is physically the largest student at the school.
As it stands, four of the five starting offensive linemen don’t play on defense.
“Our thing with our defensive line right now — our interior four — is keeping the fresh legs in the game,” Patterson said. “So right now we have seven to eight serviceable linemen that could rotate through, as opposed to playing the same four for the entire game — offense and defense. Which is going to be a big help to us.”
Robbinsville shifted from the WJFL’s Liberty Division to the Classic Division this year. The slate again includes teams all from outside Mercer County, beginning Friday on the road at Gloucester Catholic.
“We have nobody circled as a guaranteed win this year,” Patterson said. “We know we’ve got to work for it, but I think we’re in a position now where we can actually put the work in and you’re not completely exhausting kids on both sides of the ball during a game.”