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09/03/2015 12:00 AMThe Morgan football team had a lot of voids to fill this offseason. First, the Huskies graduated several key players, including the school’s all-time leading rusher, Jake Ward, from a squad that combined to go 18-5 the past two seasons. Next, the man at the helm of the Huskies’ resurgence, Head Coach Mike Eagle, departed to take the top job at Guilford. So how does a program rebound from these critical losses? Enter new Head Coach Peter Nye.
Nye, a Clinton resident, brings a big-time high football pedigree after working as an assistant at Hand the past 10 years. During his tenure with the perennial powerhouse, Nye helped the Tigers to three state titles, while honing his craft under long-time Head Coach Steve Filippone. Nye is undoubtedly excited about leading a program for the first time and isn’t as concerned about wins and losses as most rookie head coaches. Nye made it clear—his most important task is to mold and develop these young men to be pillars in the community.
“I didn’t come here solely to win games. I wouldn’t have accepted the job if all they wanted were wins. I came here to push these kids to grow academically in the classroom through athletics and to build character,” Coach Nye said. “My goal is to have fun and help these kids become better people, go to college, and become productive members of society.”
Nye has an innovative approach as to how leadership is built and the early results indicate it’s working. The Huskies elected four senior captains in quarterback Chucky Kostek, running back/strong safety Gabe Eriksen, offensive guard/line backer John Lee, and wide receiver/cornerback Mateo Zumpano, but they don’t stop there. To go along with his quad-captains, Coach Nye also named two leaders for each grade with seniors Will Fritz and Dan Green, juniors Matt Capece and Ivan Villanueva, sophomores Issac Eriksen and Sam Hauser, plus freshmen Zak Johnson and Mike Savage.
“Of course, I want a winning season, but I won’t be setting the goals for this team. I’m having the kids take that role for themselves,” said Nye. “It’s easy for me to say to them, ‘I want this or that,’ but having the captains and two leaders from each class stand up in front of the team and set their own goals, I believe it will build a terrific culture where everyone holds each other accountable.”
Coach Nye isn’t just being inventive when it comes to his ideology on building character; he also has an imaginative mind when it comes to football. On offense at Hand, Nye spearheaded the switch from a power running system to a spread formation that helped the squad win multiple championships and he plans to use a variation of those techniques with the Huskies this season.
“We will run a variable version of the spread offense. It won’t be your typical spread, one back three, four receiver set. We’ll use two backs, two tight ends. We’re going to rotate, run some play action. We will take what the ‘D’ gives us and we’ll run some no-huddle, but that doesn’t necessarily mean fast. You want to evaluate the defense,” said Nye, whose team opens its 2015 slate at Pequot Conference South Division rival North Branford at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11. “But it will take some time. It’s early and I’m still trying to implement things. The kids are working hard, trying to learn a new system. There are new elements they still need to embrace.”
In terms of defense, Coach Nye wants a unit that uses various fronts—a philosophy which largely stems from his experiences on the offensive side of the ball.
“I want a defense that is not vanilla,” he said. “I looked at the defenses in the past that have frustrated me and given me fits as an offensive coordinator and have adapted some of those techniques.”
To help install these new schemes, Nye dipped into his Hand days and hired assistant coaches Nick Merullo (varsity assistant/quarterbacks coach) and A.J. Hill (running backs/linebackers). The defensive calls will be made by assistant coach Jay Pasqualoni with help from fellow assistants Matt Roberts (offensive/defensive lines) and Brendan Hylan (wide receivers/defensive back/special teams).
Implementing new offensive and defensive systems may not be the most difficult task the Huskies face this season as the team has changed quite a bit after graduating so many gifted athletes. Still, Coach Nye believes he has some solid returning players who can shoulder the load.
“We have talent on this team and other players who are developing their abilities.” Nye said. “These kids are hungry, smart, and committed. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Some of the other key players who’ve stood out to Coach Nye thus far are juniors Dashawn James (offensive/defensive tackle), Ivan Villanueva (offensive guard/defensive tackle), and Matt Capece (center/defensive tackle).
The rest of the Morgan roster consists of seniors Matt Herrington, Robbie Consiglio, Brendan Kyhn, Liam Neri, Will Fritz, and Dan Green; juniors Billy Zadrozny, John Veneri, Vincent Carafeno, George Limosani, Parker Haslam, Brendan Canary, Eli Luchuk, Eli Wexell, Harry White, Madden Ward, Steven Hansen, and Zach McCray; and sophomores AJ Mastriano, Ryan Farrell, Russell Green, Sam Hauser, Ray Rigat, Austin Daily, Brendan Smith, Christian Williams, Isaac Eriksen, Isaac Grant, Justin Hansen, Freshman, JP Nye, Anthony Fanelli, AJ Fritz, Chris King, Christian Williams, Deven Talarczyk, Hunter Kyhn, Matt Luchuk, Mike Savage, Noah Scarpace, Paddy Murray, Peter Sullivan, Ryan Caldwell, Seby Rodriguez, Will Riccio, and Zak Johnson.
2015 Morgan Huskies Football Schedule
Friday, Sept. 11: at North Branford at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 18: at Valley Regional-Old Lyme at Valley Regional at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 25: vs. Hyde-Career-Whitney Tech at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 2: vs. Enfield at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 10: vs. Canton at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct 17: at Coginchaug at 1:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 30: vs. Granby Memorial at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 6: at Haddam-Killingworth at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13: vs. Ellington at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 26: at Old Saybrook-Westbrook Old Saybrook at 10:30 a.m.