There was a feeling around the Pirates football camp this August that the team wasn’t in the middle of a rebuild, but instead, a retooling period. Based on what the team exhibited at camp and in the pre-season, they are right on track.
Coming off a season in which the Pirates went 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the West Jersey Football League’s Liberty Division, the Pirates look to be the favorites to win the division in 2015. The 2014 season ended with a 49-13 loss to Rumson-Fair Haven, the eventual champions, in the Central Jersey, Group 2 Tournament semi-finals.
“Rumson-Fair Haven was outstanding,” head coach Mario Patrizi said. “They won the whole thing. You learn from a loss like that. The one thing with our program; the last two years we were 17-4, won three of the last four leagues and semi-finals two of the last three years. So, we are there. We have over 80 kids in the program, which is phenomenal. Now, it’s a matter of believing we can take the step to the next level.”
Former starting wide receiver Shaun Davilla moves under center to quarterback for the Pirates, who lost three-year starter Nick Thevanayagam to graduation. Thevanayagam was part of a large senior class that made major contributions to the program over the last three years.
Davilla will be protected by a monster offensive line that returns three-year starter Keith Swartley. Swartley will be joined by Sean Christian and Rich Rickus to name a few. Swartley will also anchor the Pirates defensive line.
“I thought we did a real nice job against Florence in our scrimmage,” Patrizi said. “We saw two physical teams in Ocean City and Buena and performed well. We will definitely get better up front on both sides of the ball.”
All around, the Pirates have worked on improving every aspect of the team each day of the pre-season.
“We’re getting better. I think you’re going to see each and every week we are going to get better. I think we are at the point in the program where we just keep retooling and it’s a matter of how fast we gel. If we start gelling, we will win a lot of games. It all depends on how the team comes together.”
The Pirates played a tough pre-season schedule that also included Ocean City, Buena and Seneca.
“We do that on purpose. We faced big, fast, physical guys. That’s how you get better. You face teams that are bigger and better than you to improve. That’s why we have them on our schedule. We did some good things (in the pre-season) and we had some lapses, but we continue to get better.”
The Pirates open their 2015 season at home against division opponent Robbinsville on Friday, September 11 at 7pm.
[…] Football Re-Tools for 2015 Season […]