New-look Mustangs don't expect drop-off
Brick Memorial opens Friday against Long Branch
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

Above, Brick Memorial head coach Fred Sprengel talks to his defensive players, while below, linebackers Kevin Docherty and Nick Anderson battle it out during a recent practice at Brick Memorial High School.

The marquee names are gone, but coach Fred Sprengel feels he has the talent to reload, rather than rebuild, as Brick Memorial's football team launches another season as conference and state championship contender at home on Friday night against Long Branch.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"Practices are going great; the kids are working hard," said Sprengel as his team, with 28 victories over the past three seasons, looked sharp at times in a well-contested scrimmage loss at Middletown South, which is riding a state-leading 36-game winning streak, last week.

The Mustangs, coming off a 10-2 season that ended in a 30-28 last-second loss to Jackson in the state playoff finals, have some big shoes to fill while replacing eight starters on defense and six on offense. The schedule is a unique one, with Middletown North among four teams unveiling new head coaches, including Toms River East, Toms River North and Marlboro. With Jackson, Freehold Township, Southern and Brick Township on the schedule, Sprengel said there are "no breaks."

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"We know regardless of what happened last year, every week we'll be the hunted," said Sprengel, who starts his sixth season as head coach of the Mustangs.

Greg Penta, a junior, is the front-runner at quarterback, where senior James McConnell and sophomore Brian Staub also have put in solid bids as the replacement for Chris James, a three-year starter who threw 18 touchdowns and used his speed to run for eight more. James is playing at The College of New Jersey, ranked No. 14 in one national NCAA Division III poll.

"They're different kids," said Sprengel of Penta and McConnell. "Penta has a strong arm but is not as shifty a runner as we had last year, and McConnell is quiet with good speed and a pretty smart kid. Staub is a play-maker who has moxie and the presence of mind James had as a sophomore. Nothing rattles him and he plays with intensity. Chris James was an intense, high-octane kid.

"The biggest thing is offensive cohesion and throwing the ball," said Sprengel, whose team is playing in the Shore Conference American Division after sharing the Constitution Division title last season with Lacey. "We don't have the quarterback with tremendous experience and big-play capability."

But there is big-play capability in the backfield with Vin Falkiewicz and Prince Young back. Falkiewicz scored 14 touchdowns last season and rushed for nearly 1,400 yards, and Young, a transfer from Neptune, added 10 touchdowns after missing three games early in the season with an ankle injury.

Mike Kiley, a sophomore who punted the ball last season, will handle that and some ball-carrying this year as well as playing outside linebacker. Juniors Jared Quintaglie and Rob Mendez also are expected to run the ball a bit.

"The main thing is I want to stay healthy this year," said Young, who sat out the Middletown South scrimmage and is nearly fully recovered from a hamstring injury.

"Some days we look good and some days not so good," said Falkiewicz.

"Prince and I both feel the thing is, we all have to stay intense, no matter what."

Sprengel said there will be a need to establish a passing game to counterbalance his vaunted halfbacks.

"Not too many backfields are better than Young and Falkiewicz," said Sprengel. "I know teams will be ganging up on them so our quarterback and receivers have to take the pressure off them."

Sprengel also feels the players need "to get in better condition. That's one of the biggest concerns, because more kids this year will be playing on both sides of the ball. Probably at least seven will go both ways."

A number of players look to replace outstanding wide receiver Mike LePore, who is at the University of New Hampshire after scoring 10 touchdowns for last year's team that outscored its opponents 418-130. Also graduated is receiver John Rutowski, as well as tight end Steve Avon. Receiver candidates include seniors Eric Shafer, who also plays in the secondary, Devnell Dudley, Anthony Isidro, Nick Cittadino, Joe Aderente and sophomore Anthony Piezzo.

"We stress to the kids that they go to a Group IV school and if they get to the top level, they may not play until their senior year. Now they know the time has come," said Sprengel.

Center Joe D'Amato and tackle John Canaley, both three-year starters, were the bulwark of the offensive line last year and have graduated, but seniors Jamie Pratt (6 feet 1 inch, 240 pounds) and Rob Phillips (5-6, 225) as the guards and senior Kevin Brady (6-2, 235) as left tackle are expected to use their experience in the offensive trenches to step up to bigger roles this season. Senior left tackle Joe Piezzo (6-0, 230) and sophomore center Bill Brunner (6-1, 210) complete the probable starting lineup on the offensive line, while senior Matt Nolan (5-10, 200) and sophomore Anthony D'Elia (6-2, 260) are expected to fit into a plan by Sprengel to rotate his offensive linemen.

"We had some younger guys last year who did not get on the field with the talent we had, but we're very confident with the group we have that we're talented enough to have a great season," said Pratt. "The line communicates perfectly and the defense is talking, and we know what we're doing."

On defense, where the line suffered a huge loss with the graduation of Ben Deacon, senior Dan Cheico (6-0, 240) and Brady are bidding for playing time up front along with senior Nick Anderson (5-10, 195), who is a candidate for tight end on offense. Nolan looks sharp at nose tackle. Sprengel said he is "pleased with the progress" of the linemen.

"We have some big shoes to fill, but it seems we're doing it pretty good," said Sprengel. "The offense looks good. We're still looking for our receivers to step up. Even without Ben Deacon, I think we'll be fine on defense. It's one of the team's strong areas."

Along with Kiley and Falkiewicz, Matt Kempf, Sean Canaley and Aderente have looked good at times at linebacker. Canaley at 6-2, 200 also is making a strong bid for playing time at tight end.

Shafer will be joined in the secondary in a rotation with Dudley, Quintaglie, Staub, Cittadino, Piezzo and Rob Brown.

Dan Burke is back as kicker, after making 47 of 52 extra points.

But Sprengel reiterated one coach's cliché that few people could argue:

With the number of newcomers to the lineup, there are no guarantees and they'll play the schedule one game at a time."