“We have to come out with the same focus and intensity and see what we have come seasons end.”
For the defending WJFL Liberty Division champion Cinnaminson Pirates High School football team, 2017 will be about keeping the same system as in years past.
The Pirates went 5–0 in division play, and 7–3 overall in 2016, eventually falling in the first round of the South Jersey Group II playoffs.
Losing five all-conference performers from a year ago is tough, and not easy to replace. However, Pirates head coach Mario Patrizi believes to be successful in 2017, the team will need to keep the same system it always has.
“The younger guys who were behind those key players last season will now have their chance to shine,” Patrizi said. “Whether they do it or not will remain to be seen, but overall we had a good summer and are generally happy with how things have gone.”
Senior offensive guard and defensive end Kail Leibfried (5-feet 10 inches, 225 pounds) and senior running back Kevin Schoch (5-feet 10 inches, 180 pounds) are two leaders the Pirates will turn to this season. Leibfried was a first-team all conference player on defense, while Schoch ran for 256 yards and three touchdowns in 2016. The team has seven seniors, but overall the numbers of the team are good, Patrizi said.
“It’s a young team, every team has that at one point or another,” Patrizi said. “The numbers are good overall, and we’re just going to take each day differently than the one before it.”
Offensively, the team will keep the same look as a year ago, running the spread, while defensively the attack defense will be the main scheme used. The goal will be to “limit the turnovers and get better each game,” Patrizi said. Sophomore quarterback Shawn Ruffin is the new signal caller for the Pirates, after being a backup his freshman year.
Ruffin attempted only three pass attempts in 2016, but is expected to do big things in his first year as starter.
“We have a good quarterback who we expect to get better as the season progresses,” Patrizi said. “We’ll move the football, and I think we will be pretty solid.”
Defensively, the Pirates are replacing nine starters from last year’s playoff team, which is never easy to do. Despite the losses, Patrizi has liked what he has seen.
“We’ve been in the right spots during scrimmages and practices, and we know it will take some time to gel,” Patrizi said. “The guys have been flying around to the football, and now it’s about continuing the process.”
The Liberty Division saw four of its six schools go to the playoffs a year ago, with Cinnaminson, Holy Cross, Willingboro and Delran all making it.
With several teams reloading for another run, the goal will be to take every game with the same intensity.
“It’s a division of parity so you never know who will come out on top come December,” Patrizi said. “There’s a lot of big games in there, so we have to come out with the same focus and intensity and see what we have come season’s end.”
For more information regarding the Cinnaminson High School Football team, check
http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/cinnaminson-pirates-(cinnaminson,nj)/football/home.htm.
