Football: North Rockland and Suffern hold opening practice
Football: North Rockland and Suffern hold opening practice
They are old rivals from Rockland in every sport.
And at the Section 1 high school football team’s opening practice on Saturday, they were clearly on each other’s minds for a long time.
Because of the way Class AA leagues were structured last year, Suffern and North Rockland were not in the same division. And even though North Rockland beat Suffern at the end of the regular season and had the better record, Suffern made the playoffs.
But this season, both North Rockland and Suffern are part of a new eight-team Power League. And instead of four teams from each AA league making the playoffs, the Power League is sending six teams to the AA playoffs.
That doesn’t mean the teams are taking anything for granted, however. In fact, Suffern coach Daniel Muller indicated that he believes multiple teams could finish with identical scores, which would mean playoff games would be held between the teams to determine which teams make the playoffs.
“There is so much uncertainty,” said Müller.
What is certain is that his team, which also lost to North Rockland in 2022, will look to reverse that when the two meet in Suffern on Oct. 25 in their final regular season game. Suffern, which beat North Rockland when this year’s seniors were eighth and ninth graders, will be celebrating Senior Day, adding to the Mounties’ will to win.
North Rockland would be more than happy with the third win in a row, but is (at this point) already satisfied with reaching the playoffs.
Below is a snapshot of both teams’ preseason matches.
Mounties of Suffern
Head coach: Daniel Muller
Last year: 5-4
Returning Starters: Six on offense, four on defense.
Mission statement: “All in.”
Names you should know: Bryce Bachia, Jr., C; Jeph Joseph, Sr., RB; Finnegan Mitchell, Sr., DB/WR; Mason Polombo, Sr., QB; Adrian Rynkevic, Sr., OL/DL; Shane Staulcup, Sr., OL/DL.
Scouting report: Suffern’s season ended last year with a 35-6 loss in the semifinals of the Section 1 Class AA playoffs to eventual state runner-up Carmel.
The Mounties will play every team in their new league. In addition to Carmel and North Rockland, that means games against Arlington, John Jay-East Fishkill, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle and Scarsdale.
While it may seem positive at first glance that six of eight teams have made the playoffs, Muller is not overly confident, believing that in a power league, any team can beat any other. With playoffs possible, his message to his team each week will be “win or go home.”
“Every game is so important,” he said.
Suffern must replace three big, aging cogs: defensive back/receiver Brady Schnell, slot receiver/conerback Cam Lew and offensive lineman Alex Walker.
But the very good news for the Mounties is that Joseph, the 2023 Journal News/lohud Rockland Football Player of the Year, is back. In 2023, he averaged 138 yards per game, amassed 1,248 yards and scored 12 touchdowns.
Suffern also has an experienced signal caller in Rynkevic, who will be in his third season under center. Rynkevic and his fellow offensive linemen will be under pressure to score more points. Last year, Suffern took two of its losses (30-0 to Arlington and 16-0 to North Rockland) and scored just one touchdown in another loss (21-7 to Scarsdale) and, of course, the six-pointer against Carmel.
But as Joseph’s stats showed, it wasn’t as if Suffern was without offense. And Suffern had 35 points in a two-point win in the Class AA quarterfinals against Mamaroneck. It also beat New Rochelle 23-6 in the regular season.
Muller believes his team will be more successful this season with fewer penalties and improved decision-making on both sides of the ball. The unofficial prep work has focused in part on that.
Better decision-making could also reduce the number of turnovers, a key goal for Muller, whose team faces Section 9 side Minisink Valley at home on Sept. 7.
quotation marks:
“We worked so well during the offseason to slow down the game. Last year there were moments when we looked like a deer in the headlights,” said Müller, who also expects his players not to try too much and instead focus on their assigned roles.
“I think the seniors definitely have leadership qualities. We’re a great group,” said Joseph, who, like Staulcup, will be making his fourth varsity appearance. “The seniors are dedicated and willing to make sacrifices and lead the young kids. We’re all determined.”
Polombo, who believes Carmel will be Suffern’s toughest game but predicts a Suffern win, said: “We all have a responsibility. The young players hold the older players to a high standard and that’s what we do with them. No one lets up or takes a break at practice.”
He said the offensive and defensive lines and the running game helped the Mounties reach the semifinals last year, and most of the players from those positions are back. “Jeph is probably our main runner again.”
To succeed, the team needs to “go back to basics and practice things that others don’t harp on,” Joseph said. “We’re fast and strong. It’s about knowing what to do.”
“Fundamentals help win championships,” Polombo said.
And that’s exactly what he and his teammates want, along with a win over North Rockland, of course.
“I’m most excited about North Rockland,” said Staulcup, who believes speed is Suffern’s greatest strength.
“The North Rockland-Suffern game is a case of who wants it more?” Joseph said.
And Polombo believes this will be Suffern – on the way to a league title.
“This will probably shock the section,” Polombo predicted.
High School Football: 2024 schedules for all Section 1 teams
North Rockland Red Raiders
Head coach: James Hickey
Last year: 7-3
Returning Starters: Five in defense, four in attack.
Mission statement: Trust the rise.
Names you should know: King St. Fleur, Sr., S; Michael Garofal-Heavner, Sr., ILB/WR; Jaquan Johnson, Sr., RB/CB; Javon Lawrence, Sr., CB/WR; Chase Perini, Jr., QB; Billy Tomas, Sr., OL/DL.
Scouting report: Nine of North Rockland’s 2023 players will compete for college teams this year.
The offense has been hit particularly hard by the departure of the graduates. No longer with the team is workhorse Gamie Sauveur, who now plays for SUNY-Cortland and ran for 1,047 yards and 16 touchdowns on 158 carries.
His backfield partner Freddy Vazquez, who had 258 rushing yards with four touchdowns and 208 receiving yards, also graduated, as did quarterback Anthony Hamilton, who threw for 1,119 yards and seven touchdowns, and Ethan Farrar, who had 38 catches for 704 yards and five touchdowns and added another 143 rushing yards. On defense, Farrar, who now plays for Monmouth University, also had four interceptions and 57 tackles.
But North Rockland, which brings about 50 players, is sending back about half of its team.
And there is a lot of quality there.
Returning is speedy Javon Lawrence, Sr., who will play on a full scholarship for Division I Syracuse, where he will also be a track athlete.
Although he was recruited for his defense, Lawrence should be a prime target for Perini, who started one game at quarterback last year.
Perini is quick and can take the ball and run. In fact, speed should be a plus for the Red Raiders overall.
While Hickey avoided characterizing his team as a passing or running-focused team, suggesting that plays will largely depend on what their team’s defense offers, he said the overall goal is to find a balance between the two.
With many players returning, last year’s 14-6 loss to Carmel in the regular season that kept them out of the playoffs is a motivational point.
Hickey, who said his players “put their heart and soul into the game” and showed “tireless effort” in the rain-affected game, does not believe his players will need to be challenged much.
North Rockland’s success may depend on how quickly its junior players develop, but he is pleased with the kids who are moving up from the junior team. He says the program has progressed to the point where coaches at all levels are on the same page and players arrive at the junior team “better prepared than in the past.”
North Rockland, which last year defeated Section 9 Monroe-Woodbury, Mamaroneck, Yonkers Force, White Plains, Mount Vernon and Ketcham in addition to Suffern and lost to John Jay-EF and Ossining, will face Carmel in its Sept. 6 opener against Monroe-Woodbury.
This game will be North Rockland’s only home game this season at the Haverstraw Sports Complex. It will also be a benefit game for the Cancer Society, dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. After that, home games will be played on the high school’s recently renovated campus.
Quotation marks:
“This is the most dedicated group in the three years I’ve been here,” said Hickey, who noted that more than 50 players showed up regularly for the optional, five-week, four-day-a-week workouts this summer, as did the coaches who did so unpaid.
“The mission is to get back to where North Rockland once was,” he said. “The players only know it one way. They’ve all been through it. I think we’ll do pretty well in the end.”
“Our guys play hard. We don’t have to teach them to work hard,” Hickey said.
Hickey noted that he and his staff, as well as coaches from 13 of 15 AA teams, have been calling for a change in the playoff format. And while not everyone is in complete agreement, Hickey is enthusiastic about the change, saying, “I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to play the best teams,” although, he said, it requires teams to “stick together.”
“We have to stay disciplined – no turnovers,” said St. Fleur, who liked what he has seen so far as everyone has “come out tough.”
“Everyone just bought into it. Nobody thinks they’re bigger than the program,” said Perini, who wore a T-shirt that read “Be a champion in life.”
Tomas pointed to the team’s changed attitude compared to last year, saying: “If you don’t take certain things seriously, you can suffer. We didn’t take training and (being a team) seriously (last year) and we definitely suffered because of that.”
“We have a championship mentality. … We’re all in this together this year,” Garofal-Heavner said. “Leadership is very important. You have to have a good attitude, energy and a sense of responsibility.”
“We definitely have the talent to do it,” Johnson said of winning the league title. “This year we have a fire in us and want to make a statement.”
“North Rockland is coming,” Lawrence promised.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross country, track and field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
