LOADED BACKFIELD
Middlesex squad boasts group of 1,000-yard rushers
EAST BRUNSWICK Asked exactly what could be expected from a ragtag offense of some of Middlesex County’s most dynamic playmakers, Middlesex offensive coordinator Mike Kuchar cut to the chase.
“Pound the ball, no question,” Kuchar said. “We’re going to lean toward our strength.”
Fortunately for Kuchar, speed is the name of the game for the premier ball carrier of a deep group: Dunellen High School running back Rontik Sadler. Unfortunately, speed is also the name of the preparation for the game.
The team practiced together for the first time Monday night at East Brunswick High School’s Jay Doyle Field, just nine days before they’ll do battle against Union in Snapple Bowl XVIII.
Six more practices is all they’ll get before strapping it up for the annual charity all-star game, which has raised nearly $300,000 since its inception.
All proceeds for the event, which kicks off 7 p.m. July 21 at Kean University in Union, benefit the Lakeview School for Cerebral Palsy in Edison and Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.
“It’s obviously very difficult to install an offensive game plan in such a short period of time,” said Kuchar. “Rules and assignments have to be basic, and the entire coaching staff does a good job of teaching in terms of concepts and not trying to be doing too much.”
Middlesex offensive coordinator Mike Kuchar (center) is surrounded by Middlesex players on the offensive side of the ball during Monday nights practice. STAFF PHOTO: JOE MARTINO
Sadler, who led the area last fall with 1,494 yards and 30 touchdowns, averaged a whopping 11.2 yards per carry by utilizing blazing track speed.
But he’s just one piece of a loaded Middlesex backfield, that includes a stock pile of 1,000-yard rushers from last season. In fact, if you consider South River’s Xavier Foster and Spotswood’s Garrett Walters, both of whom are slotted in the defensive backfield, Middlesex has six players on its roster who amassed 1,000 yards last fall.
“We have a lot of good running backs on this team,” Sadler said. “Hopefully we can do enough to put up a ‘W’ and send everybody home happy.”
North Brunswick’s Ross Kurtz (1,461 yards), Piscataway’s Brandon Stout (1,002) and J.F. Kennedy’s Mark Weber (1,024) will all split carries with Sadler, who’ll move out of the backfield occasionally.
“He’ll line up in the slot and also in some running back formations,” said Middlesex running backs coach Ben LaSala, the longtime head coach at Colonia. “He’s just the fastest kid I’ve seen in a while.”
LaSala likes the group of backs as a whole, including fullbacks Weber and Edison’s Joe Vaccaro.
“Kurtz is a tough-nose player and Stout is solid too,” he said. “Weber is a big-time player, and Vaccaro can block and carry the ball a little bit so it will be fun.”
Even after just one practice, Kuchar thinks for the most part he knows what he’s working with.
“There is a lot of talent across the board this year,” he said, “more so than I’ve seen the last couple of years. We just have to probe it. And the good thing for me is I know a lot about these kids from playing them so at least I have that advantage when I put together the game and filling in the depth charts.”
“We have a lot of good running backs on this team. Hopefully we can do enough to put up a ‘W’ and send everybody home happy.”
RONTIK SADLER MIDDLESEX RB
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