Barrons ready to forget last season's struggles
Woodbridge returns plenty of talent on both sides of the ball
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
When senior running back Garrett Mozolic was put on the shelf last year with a torn ACL, the Woodbridge High School football team suffered a tremendous blow.

FILE PHOTO Senior Anthony Viola returns to lead the Woodbridge offense.

Through the first six games of the 2006 season, Mozolic amassed 1,145 yards rushing - a staggering tally that would prove impossible to replace.

"Losing a player of that caliber is as big as it gets," Woodbridge head coach Brian Russo said. "It really took its toll."

As a result of the untimely loss of Mozolic, Woodbridge stumbled to a 4-6 mark to finish the season. This year, the Barrons will once again have to make do without Mozolic and a number of other top players from last year's team.

"We lost a number of guys including three of our starting five offensive linemen," Russo said. "Guard Eric Shea is now playing for Montclair State, and center Chuck Pierson and guard Sal Deluca also graduated. Tight end Jose Gonzalez is another loss from last year."

Quarterback Anthony Viola is back for his third year starting behind center and will look to lead this year's offensive attack.

"Anthony had a very good year his sophomore season, but struggled a little bit last year," Russo said. "He's been very accurate in preseason drills and he possesses a lot of speed. We're hoping he makes a lot of plays with his arm and legs and that he takes some chances downfield with our experienced receivers."

Fullback Christian Mangine and running back Deshawn Knight will join Viola in the Barron backfield.

At 6 feet and 220 pounds, Mangine brings strength and tenacity to the fullback position in addition to inside linebacker. He's been a starter in the backfield since his freshman season.

"Christian is very explosive and really physical," Russo said. "Deshawn did a nice job filling in for Mozolic last year and will get even more carries this season."

The return of Chris Bouchard and Vinny Rodriguez should bring some stability to the offensive line to help jumpstart the attack. Bouchard and Rodriguez will be joined in the trenches by newcomers Kimo Elsayed and John Farrell. Wide receivers John Korkowski and Anthony Graham are also likely to be key components to the Barron offense, with Korkowski a leader of the defensive back corps as the team's safety.

"We have a number of newcomers that could provide a spark this year," Russo said.

"Tight end Patrick Santiago is doing a real nice job, and Johnny Mayi is another player looking good as a punt-returner."

Woodbridge will open the new season 1 p.m. Saturday at Colonia High School to take on visiting Passaic County Tech.

In last year's meeting, Woodbridge used a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Passaic County Tech 13-9.

"I know they are a very quick and athletic team," Russo said. "Last year's game was such a good one and I know Passaic County Tech will have revenge on their mind.

After this week's game at Colonia, Woodbridge will play the remainder of its home games on its own turf.