WW-P ready to improve in second year as co-op team
PLAINSBORO >> Last summer, there was excitement in the West Windsor school district simply to have a chance to play varsity football again.
This summer, the West Windsor-Plainsboro co-op team has its eyes set on growing the program and winning some games.
During the offseason, head coach Jeff Reilly stressed the importance of developing more quarterbacks and better ball skills for the spread offense.
“You’re throwing bubble screens a lot, you’re throwing slants a lot, you’re throwing short hitches a lot. Those passes have to be completed,” Reilly said. “You can’t have those drops, so we’ve been working on that a lot. That doesn’t happen by just showing up in August. Repetition is the mother of all learning, and you just have to do things over and over and over again, so we spent a lot of time in the offseason doing that.”
WW-P has more than 50 players and 10 coaches total this year. Jeff Torralba is back to call plays on offense, while Reilly oversees the defense.
New assistants include NFL cornerback Joe Porter, who now works at South, and former Rutgers offensive lineman Zack Heeman, who is interning at North.
“We have some great new additions, so it’s been really good,” Reilly said. “These guys landed on us.”
Shane Johnson will be the starting quarterback. The sophomore was a standout lacrosse player in the spring, and last fall he quarterbacked the undefeated freshman team.
“He’s come on and he’s been great,” Reilly said. “Being able to complete short passes and understand the offense and be able to read well, he’s done a great job with that … a quarterback that can make good decisions, that can get on the ball, that can see certain things and be able to react accordingly, and he’s perfect. He’s very good at it.”
The strength of the team is on the offensive line, which Reilly says is one of the best he’s had in his six years coaching at West Windsor.
Four of the starters will be sophomore AJ Elhossiani, senior Aarsh Dadan, senior Tyler Pandolpho and senior Andrew Osborn.
“We have a fifth position that kids are still battling out for, but those four guys have really solidified it,” Reilly said. “They’ve been leaders, they’ve been executing really well and being physical, and we’re all excited to see what they can do.”
Senior Marco Despeignes possesses breakaway speed and will play running back, slot receiver and cornerback. Junior David Tunis will also receive carries in the backfield. Senior James Rush is another key returnee at running back and linebacker.
At receiver, Reilly feels the team has depth and fresh talent. Junior Elijah Powell is the top returning play-maker. WW-P also has junior George Battle, a track athlete, and sophomore Makhi Thompson, the younger brother of former program standout Malik Thompson.
Junior Brandon Drayton transferred from Eastern High and recently turned heads with his performance at wide receiver and free safety during a scrimmage against Lawrence.
“There were a few other coaches saying to me, ‘Yo, who’s this kid who moved in from Eastern?’” Reilly said. “Defensively, we have a guy like this where there was a bubble screen twice in that Lawrence scrimmage, and he came screaming downhill and made a tackle for like a 1-yard gain — by himself.”
Senior linebacker Major Wilbur was one of the team’s top tacklers last season. Junior Moses Harris and senior Jack Hendry will play outside linebacker. Senior Matt Moore, also a wrestler who now weighs about 280 pounds, will anchor the defensive line.
WW-P also scrimmaged this past week against Hopewell and will next play Fair Lawn before opening the regular season Sept. 14 at Trenton.
The schedule features the same opponents as last year with reversed home/away games: at Hamilton, vs. Notre Dame, at Hightstown, vs. Nottingham, vs. Princeton, at Allentown and vs. Steinert. Which home games are at North and which are at South has not been finalized.
“We’re excited for it,” Reilly said. “We’ve got some really good kids. We’re going to have a good time with it, and we’re just growing this program.”