Sports - Blue Streaks kick off season

Q: We’re a few days out from the start of the season. How do you feel about this team?

A: We’ve got some talented kids out here. Obviously, we graduated a lot of starters, so our job right now is to get these guys ready and comfortable being out there and being the No. 1 guys. Athletically, we’ve got some very capable players here starting with (senior quarterback) Jimmy Minogue and (junior tailback) Leejay Pollacchi. We’ve got a pretty good core of kids up from the J.V. (junior-varsity) level.

Q: Are there any injuries to be concerned about?

A: No, just the usual nicks and bumps here and there. We’ve got some kids with fingers and things like that, but nothing major so far.

Q: What can a fan expect to see from this team on the offensive side of the ball? I know you’ve said you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.

A: It’s a multiple attacking offense. We’ll try to attack with our option as we have always. We’re going to look to get out on the perimeter and throw the football. I think teams have to worry about all of our weapons from our quarterback to our fullback to our running back. We have some very capable receivers in (senior) Brad Elliott, (senior) Matt Crimmins, (senior) Michael McCarthy - we’ve got some kids we can put out there who can catch the ball and do something with it after they have it. Again, we feel very confident. We lost all our skill kids from last year in terms of starters, but we feel very confident in the group we have. It’s just a matter of making sure they’re mentally ready come game time because it’s that game experience, especially as a starter where the spotlight is now on you, that they don’t have. How quickly they adjust to being the No. 1 guy, I think will determine how well we do.

Q: It sounds like you’re pretty confident with the skill players. How do you feel about the offensive line? Do you have some big kids?

A: The offensive line is where we have the most experience coming back. We have three kids starting up front. We’re trying to find a couple more kids to plug the other two holes and depth is a concern offensively up front which it usually is. It’s tough to find two or three backups that are ready to go, but that’s where our experience is and I’m constantly telling the O-line that they might not get the glory and they might not get the ink in the paper, but they’re the ones that win or lose the football game.

Q: How does the defense look - line, linebackers, secondary?

A: The defense is coming around. We made some changes to our defense, so kids are having to adjust to a few different things that we haven’t done in the last couple of years. Playing Ballston Spa, they do so many things - they’re an option team too and they’ll run motion at times, two backs in the backfield. They want to look to hit you quick and they get the ball in the perimeter as well. They create some challenges for you and for us right now, it’s a matter of recognizing those things, maintaining our responsibilities and running with the football.

Q: How does it feel, obviously you’ve been around this program for a long time, to follow a legend (retired coach Blase Iuliano)? How does it feel to be the guy?

A: I have said it before that having the staff I have that’s been around, having coached under coach Iuliano and seeing the way he did things and he’s helped me tremendously from the time he announced and it was announced that I was taking it over in terms of a two-page list of things to do and when he used to do them, talking to him on the phone. Having worked with coach, taking over for him and having the staff around that’s been here - some of them for 30-plus years - has certainly made it easier. I don’t think you see many things differently. Coach certainly had a pretty good formula for winning, so I’ve said all along, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Q: You talked about bringing kids up. What’s the team look like in terms of seniors and experience?

A: I know off the top of my head we have 19 returning players with varsity experience.

Q: That’s pretty important for the younger guys to see the experienced veterans.

A: It’s very important to the younger guys, but our J.V. team last year won the J.V. Super Bowl and two of our coaches (Craig Durant and Rich Lofink) on that team have moved up. They’re more familiar with those kids and I think it’s helped us finding where kids belong and where they need to go.

Q: I know you’re only concerned with Ballston Spa right now, but what do you think about the rest of the schedule?

A: The schedule is absolutely brutal. We took a look at it when it first came out and we were just shaking our heads. I think it’s a situation where anybody can beat anybody, but there are certainly some really strong teams out there. We’re not concerned with those teams at all. We’re just worried about Ballston Spa and we’ll worry about C.B.A. come Saturday.