Bengals Looking to Bust Out With New Foley Field

Saturday, Sept. 9 will be one of the biggest days in the township of Bloomfield. 

That Friday night is not only the opening of the Bloomfield High School football season but also the christening of the new turf at Foley Field.

After more than two years of road games while the field was renovated, the Bengals will finally get to host a home game and they hope to make it a big win against rival Belleville.

"It was something that had to be done," said Bloomfield head coach Mike Carter about the field and the stadium that had become run down in the last couple of years before it was closed in July 2009.

After a few tries at negotiations over a period of time, the district and the public came together and decided on the plan to renovate the 75-year-old stadium at an estimated cost of $2.9 million.

"It was a community effort and everybody came through. They're (team) excited to be back. It's a nice feeling," Carter said.

As of this week, the final touches were being completed on the field, which will include temporary stands for this season.

The team is excited to finally play a home game after enduring the two years of road games where the Bengals went 6-14.

Carter credits the 2009-10 teams with persevering while on the road and said the Bengals are definitely looking to improve on last season’s 2-8 mark. "With that happened and playing on the road, the kids didn't make it an issue," said Carter.

This week, as Bloomfield headed into its second scrimmage of the season in High Point, Carter needs to replace the two seniors that saw most of the snaps at quarterback in Cavan Penberthy and Keith Marek.

 The coach's son, Mike, a junior, had the most snaps. "They have very good aspects of the game," said Coach Carter.
    Whoever is the quarterback will be handing off to a few backs led by junior John Varner, who missed a few games last season because of an injury. The coach believes Varner will have a big year and he has played on the varsity since he was a freshman. "He's a very good athlete," said Carter.

The other running backs battling for touches are senior Kurt Collins, junior Jaquan Boyd, junior Rayvon Martin and sophomore Justin Goodlet.

At fullback, the leading candidate to start is senior Tyquan Ludford, while senior Terrance Antione and junior Manuel Tabres also could receive carries.

Whoever wins the quarterback job, one of the top targets could be senior Mike Braun who is the most experienced of the candidates, which includes Kyle Christiansen and sophomore Markeljan Sokoli.

One of the top wideouts on the team is junior Isaiah Dockett who had a very good sophomore year, as well as senior Nicky Perry, senior Jared Guglielmino, junior Jaleel Jimenez, junior Luke Jackson and senior Miguel Tirado.

While the skilled positions are mainly inexperienced, the Bengals strength is in the offensive line, led by the Williams twins, Dorion and Dorsey, who are both listed at 6-feet tall and 250 lbs. The pair will challenge for a guard or a tackle spot. The other two returnees on the line are junior Marcell Lazard and junior Joe Rivera. Also seeing time on the offensive line are another set of twins -- juniors David and Bryan Hicks.

In reserve, the line has senior Joe Yannuzzi as well as juniors Nick Saccaro, Tom Vigna and Adam Wooten. Carter has three returning defensive linemen in Dorsey Williams, Lazard and Rivera. The other Bengals seeing time on the defensive line are Bryan Hicks, Wooten, senior Jared McClain, David Hicks, Yannuzzi and junior Antony Mastriani.

The two returning linebackers in the multiple defenses that the Bengals employ are junior Jeovan Santos and senior Ludford. The other players in the running for time at linebacker are senior Christiansen, senior Terrence Antione, junior Dockett, sophomore Sokoli and senior Matt Garramone.


Both Varner and senior Stanley Binmitende are returning to the defensive backfield. The other players in the running for work at cornerback or safety is junior Jaquan Boyd, sophomore Justin Goodlet, junior Melvic Mugala, junior Luke Jackson, sophomore Connor Terrell, senior Rey Senatus and junior Jaleel Jimenez.

The Bengals kickers are led by senior James Hull, a four-year starter, along with senior punter Duncan Arlett.

After the game with Belleville, Bloomfield has an even tougher task in the second game against Seton Hall Prep.

Bloomfield football schedule
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

Sept. 9        Belleville
Sept. 16    Seton Hall Prep
Sept. 24    at Irvington, 1 p.m.
Oct. 1        Millburn, 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 15        at East Orange, 1 p.m.
Oct. 21        Columbia
Oct. 28        West Orange
Nov. 4        West Side
Nov. 23    Montclair, 6 p.m.