Football preview: Colonia ready to build off last season with newcomers
There’s a positive to having just five returning starters – everything is wide open. Everyone is hungry, eager to impress and excel as they make a name for themselves.
That’s the case this season for Colonia, which returns five starters with two seniors and a heavy junior class.
“We got a lot of good young players coming up,” Colonia coach Tom Roarty said, “and it always makes camp a little bit more fun and exciting when you got pretty much a brand new group of players that will be taking the field Friday night.
“They’re trying to beat each other out for jobs and it just makes them better because they’re trying all the time. Like every rep, every play they’re going their hardest because they know that somebody may be right behind them. When you got returning starters, they kind of have the edge on these other guys, but now everyone is kind of in the same boat. They’re all fighting for spots.”
In 2021, the then-sophomores had to bide their time as a senior-heavy class finished 8-3 for the program’s most wins since 2015.
Now, it’s their turn.
Colonia has to replace quarterback Josh Oluremi (1,595 rushing yards, 20 TDs, 957 passing yards, 6 TDs). Enter the versatile Jaeden Jones, who started at receiver, running back and in the secondary his first two seasons.
The junior moves to quarterback. Simply, he’s a playmaker and the Colonia coaches want the ball in his hands.
“I think he’s going to do great things at quarterback,” Roarty said. “He sees defense real well. He’s getting the concepts down. His football IQ is very high. He’s a smart football player. He picks things up fast and the transition from receiver to quarterback is way ahead of where I thought it would be.”
Roarty called it a natural move and said Jones fits the mold of a running Colonia quarterback and “he’s getting better every day in the passing game.”
The Patriots’ other returning offensive starter is senior receiver Pat Miller (20 catches for 346 yards, 2 TD), who also handles the kicking duties.
The other starting receivers include junior Casey Chiola and freshman Aiden Derkack. Junior Joe Perosi is at tight end.
At running back, junior Jeff White takes over with some shifty moves.
The offensive line includes senior guard Manuel Faxas and juniors Antonio Pulecio (C), Logan Ramos (G) and Elliot Rubin (T). At the other tackle, senior Liam Lake and junior Luke Colon are vying for snaps.
On defense, senior linebacker Matt Salcedo (88 total tackles) shores up the middle. Roarty said he’s a great academic student and has provided a leadership role.
He’s joined at linebacker by juniors Brian Freitas, Joe Baca and Jordan Gomez.
The three linemen are juniors Alex Roy, Rubin and Faxas
Colonia has experience at safety with Jones and Miller both returning. At cornerback are Chiola, juniors Noah Bone and Tobi Popoola.
One good sign – Roarty hasn’t been constantly glancing at his watch during practices. That could be a bad thing.
“When you’re looking at your watch, you know it’s a rough year because you just want to get out of there,” he said. “Go home, but this year it’s been fun to see them grow into spots and go through the scrimmages now as the main guys. They’ve done a real good job. I’m really proud of this group so far. We had a real good group last year. We’ve always had good kids at Colonia and this group has learned from the group last year how to work hard and what’s expected of them and they stepped right into the role.”
COLONIA PATRIOTS
Coach: Tom Roarty, 9th season (50-31)
Assistants: Andrew Cianfano (offensive line, defensive line); Ryan DonDiego (associate head coach, offensive coordinator); Tyler Layton (quarterbacks); Joe Vigilante (receivers, defensive backs, special teams); Bryant Androvich (defensive line); Kareem Smith (running backs, defensive backs); Steve Miller (offensive line, defensive line); Jack Roarty (freshmen)
State classification: North 2 Group 4
League: Big Central Football Conference Liberty Gold
Colors: Blue and gold
Offensive formation: Spread
Defensive formation: 3-4
2022 SCHEDULEAug. 26 New Brunswick, 6 p.m.
Sept. 2 Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 6 p.m.
Sept. 9 at J.F. Kennedy, 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 Linden, 6 p.m.
Sept. 23 Woodbridge, 6 p.m.
Sept. 30 at North Hunterdon, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 Perth Amboy, 6 p.m.
Oct. 15 at Summit, 1 p.m.
Oct. 21 at Rahway, 6:30 p.m.
2021 RESULTS
Sept. 3 at Woodbridge 21-14 (L)
Sept. 10 Edison 38-7 (W)
Sept. 17 at South Plainfield 33-6 (W)
Sept. 24 Montgomery 27-13 (W)
Oct. 1 at Linden 23-14 (W)
Oct. 8 at Cranford 27-14 (L)
Oct. 15 J.F. Kennedy 37-7 (W)
Oct. 22 at North Hunterdon 17-12 (W)
Oct. 29 Scotch Plains-Fanwood 41-21 (W)
Nov. 5 at Randolph 32-21 (W)
Nov. 12 at Irvington 14-7 (L)
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Football: Colonia ready to build off last season with newcomers
