Pee Wee Dodgers Start Season off in Style With Win

The Madison Dodgers Pee Wee football team started the 2010 season with a victory over the Dover Tigers last Saturday, 13-6.

The Pee Wee team includes 11-year-old players, most of whom are sixth graders. On this year's roster are Matthew Boyd, William Capuder, Tommy D'Ambola, Dante Di Ionno, Dean DiFonzo, Max Downing, Emilio Egea, Stephen Esposito, Cole Fennimore, Trevor Jasen, Michael Kearney, Brian Kraska, Kyle Monaco, Tommy Neville, Andrew Novotny, Matthew O'Donnell, George Patke, Christian Pedersen, Max Perrello, Sam Rosselli, Bobby Samara, Will Scavone, Ryan Schmitz and Ryan Weck.

Thanks to a change in junior football staffing, the Pee Wee team is lucky to have a second season led by the same coaching staff, which includes head coach Bob Strelec, Defensive Coordinator Whitey Vitale, and assistant coaches Jordan Ellis, Theodore O'Donnell and Robert Weck. Matt Talmadge is a welcome
addition to the Pee Wee coaching staff this year as well.

At the Pee Wee level, coaches are no longer allowed on the field. The coaches use signals from the sidelines and substitution of players to assist in calling plays but ultimately the responsibility remains on the quarterback, Egea, on the field.

Dover led off the game with a kick that Rosselli caught and carried to the Madison 34-yard line. With Kraska at center, Egea handed the ball alternately to his running backs, Rosselli, Esposito and O'Donnell, earning four consecutive first downs as the Dodgers steadily marched down the field.

On fourth-and-three, Egea made a dramatic pause on the snap call while his line held frozen, enticing Dover into an offside penalty, earning half the distance to the goal and the first down. On the next snap, Rosselli carried the ball up the middle for the six-point touchdown.

At the Pee Wee level, a successful kick following a touchdown is worth two points given the complexity and difficulty of the play. Kraska snapped to Egea, who held the ball for Perrello but the kick was blocked by the Tigers.

The Dodgers' Perrello attempted the onside kick, which was successfully recovered by Rosselli, giving the offense the ball at the Dover 40-yard line. On the first snap, Egea threw to Boyd, who advanced to the Dover 18-yard line for a total gain of 22 yards. O'Donnell carried for eight and then Egea pitched right to O'Donnell, who faked the reverse to Esposito and then carried the ball 10 yards for the touchdown. The point after touchdown (PAT) pass to O'Donnell was successful.

The Tigers came out roaring, returning Perrello's kick to the Madison 42-yard line before the safety, Scavone, stopped them in their tracks. The defense looked solid, with Scavone, Di Ionno, Patke, Boyd, Weck, Novotny, and Esposito making important tackles. As the Tigers threatened to score with fourth-and-goal on the Madison 2-yard line, Boyd made a key tackle at the line of scrimmage. The
Dodger offense carefully carried the ball out of the red zone with the remaining two minutes in the first half.

The crowd at Dodge Field in Madison was treated to half-time performances by both the Dover and Madison cheer squads. While the Dover squad had an impressive number of cheerleaders, the Dodger girls, including Lauren Ebert, Rachel Hall, Riane Monaghan, Krysta Parisi, Nicole Parisi, Fiona Purce, and Julia Prout, thrilled the crowd with multiple lifts and a basket toss. Coaches Lisa Hall and Meghan Harris obviously taught the Pee Wee cheer squad well.

The Dodgers started the second half with another onside kick attempt but Dover covered the ball at the 50-yard line. On the next snap, the Tigers broke through several Dodger defenders, running 50 yards to the right corner of the end zone for six points. The PAT attempt was denied by a newly focused Dodger defense, leaving the score at 13-6.

The rest of the game included running plays back and forth and a few successful pass plays by the Tigers but no further scoring. A hard hit by Boyd in the second half caused a Tiger fumble that was recovered by Di Ionno. At the end of the game, the Dodgers had earned a total of nine first downs, and advanced a total of 157 yards. The defense held the Tigers to seven first downs and a total of 145 yards

The Pee Wee Dodgers will next face the Parsippany Hills Vikings on Saturday 5 p.m. in Parsippany.