2019 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN FOOTBALL PREVIEW: RELOAD, NO PROBLEM By Mike Ready

RUMSON – Coming off a season in which they won their fifth sectional title in six years and then defeated Woodrow Wilson in the first-ever NJSIAA South, Group III Bowl game, the Bulldogs have no plans of letting up despite graduating a number of key players.

Having to reload is nothing new for the Bulldogs, who year after year have made a habit of drawing from a seemingly endless pipeline of raw home-grown talent that almost magically transform into high-end starters to fill areas of need.

The Bulldogs have over 100 players participating in preseason camp not including freshmen, and you can be assured that out of those 100 student-athletes RFH head coach Jerry Schulte will find the players capable of stepping in and stepping up as they have in years past.

Not that the cupboard is bare for the Bulldogs entering the 2019 season; its’ not, and it’s really not that much different from any other year. But when you lose two premier linebackers and a stud defensive lineman, arguably the best running back and tight end in the Shore and a dominant offensive lineman that were all first-team All-Shore selections – just to name a few – it might seem that way.

“It’s kind of a trend that every single year we got to reload players and it’s no different this year,” said two-year starting quarterback Collin Coles, who passed for 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago. “We lose a star running back just about every two years or so and we always seem to regenerate one and I don’t think that’s an accident. I think they inspire each other and as they’re learning from their older predecessor they simply get better and better.”

Coles (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) knows he needs to take on a bigger leadership role this season now that he’s one of the veterans on the team.

“I just have to take over and take on a bigger leadership role then I had last year,” said Coles. “It’s not as much as following and learning as it is more about leading by example this season.”

Senior Pete Crowley (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) and junior John Volker (6-foot, 190) – younger brother of former Rumson and Princeton star running back Charlie Volker – will be the starting running backs and Coles is excited about what they bring to the table.

“Crowley had a great year last year creating holes for running back Alex Maldjian doing his job,” Coles said. “Pete has probably been the most consistent back for us the last two years and John’s ready for a break-out year. We have no doubt he’ll be fantastic for us and we expect to get a lot of yards on the ground.”

Both Crowley and Volker know their way around the field with Crowley rushing for 183 yards on 44 carries and two touchdowns a year ago as the primary blocking back for Maldjian, while Volker gained 249 yards on the ground on 45 carries and six touchdowns, including a 20-yard touchdown run in the Bowl game.

For the first time in years, the Bulldogs must replace their entire offensive line but a number of candidates have stepped up in summer camp and look to take on starting roles while position battles are still waging for other spots on the line.

“We did have an all senior class on the offensive line last year which is unfortunate for us this year,” Coles said. “But at the same time we had a lot of guys underneath them learning and striving for their spots so I think we’re going to fill in nicely and I don’t think we should be to worried about it.”

Junior James Smith (6-foot-3, 255 pounds), senior Kirt Yarbough (6-foot-3, 250) and sophomore Christian Smith (6-foot, 225 pounds) appear to be the front runners for starting spots.

Senior Owen McLaughlin (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) steps in at tight end after sitting out last season with an injury and has looked good in camp.

Senior Patrick Jamin (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) returns at wide receiver and is expected to be Coles’ main target this season after recording nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown a year ago. Jamin had a huge third-down catch for a critical first down in the Bulldogs’ win over Woodrow Wilson. Converted quarterback Patrick Harmon (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) steps into the big wide receiver role on the weak side.

Defensively, the Bulldogs quite possibly possess the top safety tandem in the Shore Conference with seniors Drew Frankel (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) and Ryan Ruane (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) – who recently picked up an offer from UMass.

Ruane recorded 64 tackles with three interceptions last season while Frankel – a three-year starter –

posted 50 tackles and recovered a fumble.

The Bulldogs will have two new starters at cornerback, but Frankel has nothing but high praise for them.

“Joey Calabrese is a rising senior who’s an animal in the weight room and is strong and fast so he’ll be ready to rock,” said Frankel. “Then there’s Agnello Pane, who is a junior and could’ve started last year. He’s a fantastic, long, 6-foot-3 cornerback who plays very physically and comes down hill to light kids up. So I think on the edges we’re looking pretty good.”

There is a chance Frankel will see time at cornerback at some point season with senior Tyler Prendergast and sophomore John Lista getting some work at safety depending on how things shake out.

Senior Gordon Forsyth (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) is back to head up the linebacker corps in the middle after a solid season a year ago when he recorded 50 tackles and four sacks. He’ll be joined by a couple of newcomers in junior Tom Swaim (6-foot, 190 pounds) and senior Liam Horan (5-foot-10, 190 pounds).

Junior Von Factor (5-foot-10, 225 pounds) returns to anchor the defensive line after a break-out sophomore campaign which saw him record 69 tackles with four sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

The Bulldogs have adopted the motto, “Perfect the Process” this season and they take it seriously.

“We try to get everything right before we move forward,” explained Crowley. “’Perfect the Process’ is kind of like getting everything right so you can move on to the next thing and be positionally sound so there’s no mistakes.”

There may be a lot of new faces on the field for Rumson this season, but you can be rest assured those new players will be up to the task.

“Our coach preaches to us that this is a program not a team,” said Coles. “We have created some great teams over the years but we reload every single time and honestly I think the backbone of that has to be weight room and strength and conditioning coach Rob Orrok. He’s really unique for this area. He just lives and breathes to teach us how to get bigger and better and faster and stronger. He works tirelessly to make sure we’re in the weight room learning discipline and accountability and beyond that just making us better football players.”

With the Shore Conference division realignment, the Bulldogs were placed in arguably the toughest division in the conference – the American Division – with five of six members a lock to be included in preseason Top 10 polls.

The Bulldogs travel to Red Bank Catholic for the season opener on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.