May 31, 2006The Nation's 2006 Spring PreviewTuesday, May 30th, marked the return of the Green and Gold to the gridiron. As we embark on the 2006 Spring Season, we’d like to take a look at what we see as holes that need to be filled due to graduation, at areas of promise, and at an overall expectation fans should have for the upcoming season. At first glance, this team on paper has a great deal of talent. But, with this talent comes potential, and with potential comes a great deal of pressure. It’s this pressure that Coach Fox hopes his seniors (16 possible returning seniors on the roster) are able to keep under control to turn this potential on paper into performance on the field. The roster itself is full of varsity experienced players, some who are returning for their third year in a row as a varsity starter. These individuals have helped the team climb the win ladder, 2-8 in 2004, 5-5 in 2005, and hope to make the next step and return Trinity to its days of being a FCIAC and State contender. According to Coach Fox, things have not changed much in his approach. "Running the ball and playing smash-mouth, aggressive defense are going to be our primary objectives. To do this, it takes a lot of discipline and toughness, and these ideals have been trademarks of Catholic High Football for as long as I can remember." DefenseOn the defensive side of the ball, Trinity will be anchored in their front middle with defensive tackles Mario Pirolozzi (led the FCIAC with 9 sacs) and Santagio Steele. At the end, Eric Stephens will return to start one side. Where the first hole lies, is on the opposite side of the line from Stephens, we should get the first glance this spring, at who is potentially suited to fill the shoes of graduated senior, Andrew Shannon. The linebacking core will return all-FCIAC middle line backer Vin Cortese, who is rehabbing a minor injury and may be kept out of the spring game. There will be a battle for the other linebacker slot, among those with aspirations of replacing graduating senior captain Alan Joseph will include Rob Dombrowski, Ryan Reed, and Cortese's little brother Nick. The defensive backfield will be led by returning starter, captain Ryan Durkin. Also entering the d-backfield will be Anes Koummal after playing only QB last season, he will be counted on to play both sides of the ball in 2006 replacing Dave Macari. Another returning starter is free-safety Chris Hawthorn. Early discussion at the camp is the potential for Chris to move inside in this defense to speed it up and move John O'Leary to a defensive back position. The strong safety position will be a battle between three or four players. Whoever wins the strong safety position will have a gigantic responsibility of replacing Matt "the animal" Taccone. It has been said that your defense is only as tough as your strong safety and Catholic has a long line of tough strong safeties. OffenseThe offense will be led by returning signal caller Anes Koummal. In front of Anes will be the pride of this Crusader team, the offensive line. Returning Center Corey Johnson will be the foundation, flanked on one side by Pat Cullen and Vin Cortese who will return for their third consecutive season playing next to each other on the line. The other side of the line will see six very good lineman compete for two starting positions. Included in this mix will be Mario Pirolozzi, Neil Gallagher, and Ryan Reed. The backfield will be spear headed by bruising fullback Eric Stephens. Around Stephens, there will be a battle for time. Speedster A.J. Nelson is slated to be one of the ball carriers, while Ryan Durkin, Kyle Foti, Carlos Ramero and Kyle Galtro will all battle for time. Backfield Coach, Matt Salvatore says,"Coach Fox wants me to start toughness first. There is a lot of talent in our backfield, when I present him with a starting lineup, his first question is 'Can I count on this person to block?' That is what we need most from our backs - blocking and holding onto the ball are our two top priorities. So, right now, we have a great deal of talent to choose from. We will just have to wait and see who comes ready to spring ball as it may be more important than ever." The wide receiver position vacancy left by Gene DeVito will be some big shoes to fill. The most likely person to fill the role is by junior John O'Leary. There will be competition from a few other juniors, as well as first time footballer, senior Tyler Collins. Though running the ball will be a key in Coach Fox's offense, the balance shown by Offensive Coordinators Joe Claps and George Triantafyllos last season was a large part of the offense's success. As Claps puts it, “We like to run the ball and try to bully teams, but in order to do that, we must have a deep threat. Last year Gene was that threat. This year, both our wide receivers, along with Chris Hawthorn at tight end, will give us a number of potentials as the new go-to passing weapon. They are all playmakers with good speed and good hands, again, it comes down to who wants it more." From a media standpoint, this team has great potential and should be fun to cover. We here at CrusaderNation.net are looking forward to it. Stay tuned and we'll see you at the spring game on June 10th ….
Go Crusaders
 Big senior defensive tackle Vladimir Joseph swims by an offensive lineman in a 28-20 home victory over Fairfield Ludlowe on October 29, 2005. (CrusaderNation.net / Dana Maul)
 Junior defensive tackle Santiago "Teggy" Steele wraps up a Darien
rusher as his
 Junior center Cory Johnson prepares to snap the ball to fellow classmate
 The Crusader offensive line pushes Bassick around in the mud. The
Crusaders
 Senior wideout Rob Hawthorn races downfield to block as junior fullback
Eric Stephens
 2005 All-FCIAC East Offense Row 1, Left to Right: Eric Wells, Bassick; Willie Epps, McMahon;
Pete Raymond,
 2005 All-FCIAC East Defense Row 1, Left to Right: Joe Luchesi, Danbury; Greg Sabo, Danbury; James
Taylor, Danbury;
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