Football: Yorktown Squad Ready to Go

The football team had an incredible season last year, finishing 8-2, winning its league for the first time since 2003 and winning its first-ever Class AA playoff game with a 28-21 triumph against White Plains. 

Yorktown coach Mike Rescigno said he hopes to be just as successful. 

“I’m not in the prediction business,” he said. “But I am in the expectation business and I want our players to have the same expectations as last year’s group did.”

While practice started on Friday, the Huskers have been preparing for their upcoming campaign since they got back from last Christmas break. They had their first meeting in January to start their off-season practice, Rescigno said, but he doesn't require the athletes who participate in other sports to attend. 

The workout program in the winter, for those football players who don’t have a winter sport and those who do but can fit it in, is what Rescigno terms as three “flexible” days a week where they lift weights. During the spring, with so many Husker football players playing lacrosse, there isn’t much time devoted to football and that is fine with Rescigno.

“The spring is very little football because, most of our guys, and I say thankfully, play lacrosse,” Rescigno said. “The football program feeds the lacrosse program and the lacrosse program feeds us and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. It’s great having kids come off a lacrosse field ready, they are ready to run. The kids then come off a football field showing up ready to hit for lacrosse so I think we are scratching each other’s back.”

Yorktown senior lineman Eric Cooley, who also plays lacrosse, agreed.

"Lacrosse helps with the quickness and football gives you the power," Cooley said. "When it comes time to hit in football you got that and when it comes time to run around and be real quick in lacrosse, I got that."

Rescigno said the Huskers make up for not doing football drills in the spring with two football camps and two seven-on-seven camps in the summer, one at the end of June and another at beginning of August, along with other schools in the area. Besides the camps, the Huskers also re-start their weight-lifting program in the summer.

“The thing with football, which anybody that coaches and plays knows, there is a fine line between fun and hard work,” Rescigno said. “Our motto is you will know when to have fun. You know when you’re in the middle of the field on a Friday night, after we have won, you can smile and laugh right then and there and have fun.”

The Yorktown football team will host Mount Vernon in its opener game on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. 

Being that Yorktown lost 27 players to graduation, Rescigno said the one Husker sure to start in that game is Cooley, who plays nose guard on defense and guard on offense. He comes of an all-state campaign and has plenty of colleges interested in him, including Bucknell, Stony Brook, Delaware, Lafayette and Albany.

Senior Joe Calicchia should start as an offensive and defensive tackle. Senior Arben Lajqi also should see time on the offensive line as a guard.

Candidates for the offensive backfield include senior quarterback Brian Miller, junior quarterback Nick Mariano, senior fullback David Prindilus, senior halfbacks Gzim Lajqi, Micheal Morales, Frankie Fusco and junior Tom Murray. Senior Jesse Jewell should play a key role as a wide receiver.

Senior John Wolff will lead the line-backing corp, with seniors Nick Camp, Matt Santaro, junior Christian Dedvukaj and sophomore Connor Vercruysse also looking for time at that position.

The defensive backfield will be led by Gzim Lajqi with Jewell, Fusco, Morales, Miller, seniors Brian Quigley, Christian Hill and Ben Johnson, who will also kick, looking to be part of this group as well.

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