New Coach, New Hopes for Braves Football

Indian Hills' High School's football program has endured six consecutive losing seasons, which includes a winless 2009 and 13 straight defeats. In fact, fans may be hard-pressed to even remember the school's last victory: a 24-0 shutout at Bergenfield High School on Nov. 1, 2008.

But while the program has struggled recently, past performances are being brushed aside and the slate wiped clean with new Coach Joe Sabella, who offers hope that losing will be part of the Braves' past.

After leading the Bogota Buccaneers to the state semifinals against perennial powerhouse Mountain Lakes a year ago, Sabella is now seeking to tackle a new task, which involves transforming a Braves squad that did not fully believe in its ability to win last season, to a team that is entirely confident in its capacity to beat anybody.

"I'm trying to make the guys forget about past years," Sabella said. "This is a new Braves team that is looking at a fresh start. Every team begins each season in the same position so there's no reason to dwell on anything except for what's in front of us."

Sabella is confident in his offense's potential to put points on the board. With an experienced, hard-working senior and a promising sophomore vying for starting quarterback, Sabella is excited to see healthy competition drive his players toward improvement this early in the season.

"They really push each other in a friendly and motivational way," Sabella said. "They each work extremely hard, but also want to see the other succeed just as much."

Hoping to lead the team in the huddle for a second consecutive season, senior quarterback T.J. Dubuque is beginning to feel the pressure from up-and-coming sophomore quarterback Danny Thompson.

"Danny is a very athletic kid who can create big plays with his feet as well as with his arm," Sabella said. "He's a naturally gifted quarterback who picks up reads very well and has the accuracy to hit his receivers in stride. He plays with an awareness that is beyond his years and certainly looks like he is going to be the future of our team's quarterback position for years to come."

Hoping to maintain a healthy balance between the team's rushing and passing attacks, Sabella plans to utilize an array of ball carriers to keep everyone fresh for each down throughout the duration of a long season.

"We have a nice mix of backs," Sabella said. "We'll see what happens as the season wears on, but as of now, it looks like we'll have a good combination of seniors and underclassmen getting opportunities to carry the football."

Junior halfback-middle linebacker Danny Dellaconi, who was one of the team's premier rushers last season, is expected to receive the most touches as the Braves' hard-nosed power back this year. In addition to Dellaconi, junior Cameron Shenkler, who possesses the speed and shiftiness to elude would-be-tacklers, provides the offense with a multi-dimensional running game that is both powerful and explosive.

Looking to allow these backs ample running room will be a dynamic tandem of upperclassmen, junior guard Mike Watson and senior tackle Lenny Pfantsch. The smaller Watson, who played fullback last season, has eagerly embraced Sabella's decision to switch him to guard and leads the offense with his intelligence and quickness off the line. Pfantsch, on the other hand, being the largest player on the field for the Braves, will be depended upon to anchor the offensive front with sheer mass, athleticism and strength.

"Lenny will have to play even bigger than his size in order for us to control the line and consistently move the ball," Sabella said. "He and Mike will need to be real leaders up front to ensure that our guys have the time to make big plays down the field."

Expected to haul in the most catches for Indian Hills this season will be junior wide receiver Brady Altana and senior Steve Longa. Altana, an adept precision route runner who contains the awareness needed to find openings in the secondary, should be a consistent and reliable target down the field for either Dubuque or Thompson. Longa will also be playing more of a receiving role at tight end, possessing soft hands and the ability to gain separation in the middle of the field. Senior Pat Mekogliano will be the squad's slot receiver, whom Sabella intends to get the ball to frequently in short yardage passing situations.

"Pat is an undersized kid, but what he lacks in size, he makes up with heart," Sabella said. "He reminds me of a Wes Welker, who will do just about anything to get open and fight to that first-down marker in order to move the sticks."

While the Indian Hills offense appears promising and capable of winning its fair share of high scoring affairs, Sabella admits that the team's success will depend largely upon how it performs on the defensive side of the ball.

"It all starts with tackling," Sabella said. "We've been working a lot on swarm tackling by just getting as many jerseys around the ball as we can."

With explosive speed and power off the line, junior defensive end Tyler Bray will likely be the leader of the Braves' defensive unit this season.

"Tyler really dislikes anyone who is not wearing an Indian Hills uniform," Sabella said. "He's got a good assortment of moves off the line and can bull-rush and then get around just about any offensive tackle. He's got tremendous fight in him and is the kind of player who can create absolute havoc for any opposing offense."

Having a small number of players and moving to a larger Group III this season, the Braves will have several players competing on both sides of the ball. Dellaconi, Altana, and Dubuque, for instance, will be relied heavily upon to shut teams down as much as they will be counted on to put points on the board offensively. At the linebacker position, Dellaconi and sophomore Will Greer will be vital to patrolling the middle of the field.

"Will is a good-sized sophomore with a bright future ahead of him at middle linebacker," Sabella said. "He's very good at getting inside and stuffing the run, but can also cover receivers well, too."

The Braves will need to work most on improving their pass coverage from previous seasons in order to decrease their number of points allowed.

"Pass coverage is certainly our biggest weakness at this point," Sabella said. "We're working hard on it, though. Altana will definitely be our best shut-down corner, and Dubuque, our surest tackler on the team, will be back at safety to limit the number of big plays that we allow against. We'll have to play a soft zone and rush the passer to relieve some of that pressure from our secondary."

On special teams, Thompson, who is competing for the starting quarterback position with Dubuque, will play a key role in the return game, as well. Thompson's quick feet and knack for making people miss make him someone who may regularly give the Braves' offense a shorter field to work with. On the opposite side of the special teams, sophomore Sean Reischel will take on the squad's kickoff responsibilities, and contains the capability of pinning opponents deep. Junior Chris Gressi, an ex-soccer player, will be kicking the team's field goals. While he does not possess one of the stronger legs in the league, Sabella is confident that his accuracy will enable him to consistently net short-range attempts.

"We've worked tremendously hard within all areas of the game this summer," Sabella said. "I can't guarantee that we'll be the best team out there yet, but our motto is to outwork each of our opponents, and we'll just have to see where that takes us."