Redbirds hope success comes with numbers
BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer

At left, Allentown's Ed Hauff (l) and Jeff Van Hise position to catch the ball during a recent practice in Allentown. Above, Dan Barkalow (c), John Henry (62) and Sam Einbinder mix it up during a blocking drill. Below, head coach Bob Mussari addresses his team.

Allentown High School head football coach Bob Mussari feels the 2006 Redbirds are ready to take the next step.

And he has 56 good reasons why he feels that way.

That's how many players Mussari has on this year's AHS varsity squad, nearly three times as many players as he had last year when the Redbirds suffered through a dismal 1-9 campaign.

"We had only 20-some kids last year. It was a very young team," the third-year head coach said. "Plus we're a Group II team and we play all group threes and fours."

And small as they were in numbers, the Redbirds return some experience for a change this year.

"We lost about three kids," Mussari said. "Everybody else is back."

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Not only that, but close to three dozen more players came out for this year's team.

"We have 56 kids out this year, so our numbers are up and that's gonna help," Mussari said. "Now we can play a JV schedule so kids can get game experience. We didn't play a JV schedule last year because we didn't have a JV team. We didn't have enough kids. So we had to throw the kids we had into varsity games out of necessity when they should have been playing JV.

"Hopefully with increased numbers, we can play all three levels, varsity, JV and freshman, and let them mature as players."

Building numbers in the program was a top priority for Mussari when he took over as head coach in 2004.

"The first thing I said when I took over was if I do anything, I'm going to get kids in the program," Mussari, who also spent two years as an assistant coach, recalled. "We were able to do that, but now we've got to coach them.

"We have 19 seniors, 18 juniors and 19 sophomores, which ideally is a nice turnover," he added. "But a lot of them are playing for the first time in their junior and senior year. A lot of them took a couple of years off from football and now they're coming back."

Mussari accomplished his first goal by getting kids to come out. Now he wants to do that every year starting at the freshman level and keeping most of those kids all four years.

Only then, he says, will Allentown be able to compete with some of the bigger schools on its schedule.

"We have 41 freshmen this year," Mussari pointed out. "If we get 30 of them to come back next year as sophomores, that's where you build your program. But you can't do it in one year. It takes time.

"We're a year or two away. You should be able to tell next year and the year after when some of these kids get a year of JV under their belts. I guess you could say we're cautiously optimistic."

The formula for success has worked elsewhere. The Redbirds only have to look as far as their opening-game opponent to see the benefits that come with increased numbers.

"We play Hamilton West on Friday night (at 7 p.m.) and they have 85 kids and they're a playoff team every year," Mussari noted. "But we've got our kids believing they could play with them."

Even with almost everyone back from last year, Mussari warns that this year's team "is still young." That will make a veteran like senior quarterback Justin Darlea all the more valuable.

"He's got experience, he's got a good arm, and he runs the option real well," Mussari said of the 6-3, 205-pound Darlea, who also starts at safety. "He's a real good leader, too."

Joining Darlea in the backfield will be Anthony Moraldo, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore fullback, who Mussari says "looks good" and will also start at defensive end.

Mussari also plans to rotate three junior tailbacks in with Rob Guiliano, Drew McGovern and Mike DeLuca.

"Right now it looks like Guiliano has the edge, but that could change," the Allentown coach said.

When the Redbirds aren't running the ball, Darlea will have plenty of options to throw to.

"We have about 10 receivers out there fighting for the starting jobs," Mussari said.

The front-runner appears to be Greg Amatrudo, a 6-3, 210-pound senior wide out who Mussari says has "good hands." Kyle Nieliwocki will be another favorite target.

Allentown should also have a pretty strong offensive line with the return of four senior starters in James McCormick (5-10, 190) at center, guards Jose Barcena (5-11, 235) and Ryan Singler (5-9, 185), and tackle Jeff Van Heisz (5-11, 210).

"They're all good size," Mussari said.

McCormick will also start at linebacker on defense, while Jared Murawski, a 5-10, 220-pound junior, will be at middle linebacker.

Also returning on defense are juniors Alec Azzarello (5-8, 180) at tackle and Ryan Walker (6-1, 215) at end.

Allentown should win more than one game this season, but the Redbirds' improvement will show on the field more than in the won-lost record.

"If we show improvement every game, eventually the wins are gonna come," Mussari said. "But the kids can't think that just because we have 56 kids this year that means we're gonna automatically win. That comes through hard work, sacrifices, and all the things you need to do to win.

"We're all working real hard at it."