November 26, 2008Trinity Senior Poses Double Threatfrom The Stamford Advocate Eddie Gonzalez only comes off the field for special teams for the Trinity Catholic High School football team. On defense, he is one of their biggest lineman. He is also the left tackle on offense, which means he has the pleasure/chore to open a crease for running Nick Cortese. Normally, it's a job Gonzalez relishes. Then there are the times when there is no crease, and Cortese, all 5-10, 220 pounds of him, comes slamming into Gonzalez. "After games my whole body is sore everywhere,'' said Gonzalez, a senior co-captain who weighs 270 pounds. "I can hardly walk. There are times Nick will run into my back. I have to keep pushing forward, and Nick is hitting me from behind. He has no idea who he's hitting. I love blocking for Nick, but it gets tiring, especially playing both ways." Gonzalez is one of the linemen Cortese has to thank for going into the final game of the regular season as the state's leading rusher. Entering Thursday's game at Wilton (10:30 a.m.), Cortese has rushed for 1,741 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has rushed for over 100 yards nine times in 10 games, and has eclipsed 200 yards four times. He rumbled for 296 yards against Brien McMahon on Nov. 1, and went for 239 and four touchdowns against Westhill on Sept. 20. He could not have compiled the prodigious numbers, however, without a steady offensive line that is undersized but efficient in creating running room for the powerful back. "They're small compared to some of the other lines in the FCIAC, but they're not scared of anybody,'' Cortese said. "They just keep banging." Gonzalez, a tackle, and senior co-captain John Schule anchor the left side of the line for Trinity, while senior Max Correa is the center. Ralph Martello, a 185-pound junior, and P.J. Tusch, a 220-pound sophomore, work on the right side. Cortese is the Crusaders' feature back, but he is far from their only weapon. Promising freshman Mike Rivas has averaged 6.5 yards per carry and Vince Carter averages 5.16 yards per carry. Trinity is averaging 5.78 yards per rush, led by Cortese's 6.02 average. "No one thinks of the other backs, but even when I'm not getting the ball the other backs are averaging five and six yards a carry,'' Cortese said. "The line has to be good to do that. We have over 2,400 yards rushing, and I think that says something about the offensive line. Not many teams can run for that many yards." Trinity's running attack is more impressive when its lack of depth is taken into account. Many of the players perform on offense and defense, which is particularly taxing in Trinity's smash-mouth approach. Gonzalez said the team did a lot of lifting and conditioning during the preseason and summer, and that included running. "I hated that,'' Gonzalez said. "If there was one thing I would cut out about football, it's running. I just wanted to be done with it. I guess it's helping me now, though." Gonzalez said the members of the offensive line knew Cortese was ready for a big season, but they didn't know the big back would be as good as he has been. "We definitely thought Nick was going to break 1,000 yards, but we didn't know how soon,'' Gonzalez said. "If any thing, I thought he'd get like 1,400 or 1,500 yards. I'm proud of him. We want him to do well just as much as he does. We want to see how many yards we can get for him. Even though we don't get that much credit, we want to see Nick get his yards." Gonzalez said Cortese has improved as a running back, even during the course of the season. "From what I remembered he liked running into the line and running over people,'' Gonzalez said. "That's what he loved to do. As we've grown and played together, he's learned to read holes better. He trusts us that we're doing our job. "I noticed it this year in the Westhill game (the second game of the season),'' Gonzalez continued. "That's when I started to see that Nick could read holes and not just run over people." According to the Maxpreps.com Web site, Cortese leads the state in rushing by 99 yards over Ansonia senior Tristan Roberts. Cortese would like to have a big finish against Wilton in what shapes up as interesting contest. The Warriors (5-5) lost four straight midway through the season, but three of those losses were to league powers Darien, Ridgefield and Greenwich. The Warriors also lost to undefeated New Canaan and Westhill, but beat Stamford. Trinity (6-4) beat Westhill but lost to Stamford, 22-21. Its other losses were to Darien, St. Joseph and New Canaan. The goal for the offensive line is to give Cortese room to run and close the season on a winning note. The Crusaders would like Cortese to get another big game, but they know the most important goal is to get the Thanksgiving Day victory. "He's had a great season, and if he gets 200 yards it would be great for him and the line,'' Gonzalez said. "I would give back a lot of those yards for one or two more wins. If Nick gets 50 or 100 yards (against Wilton) and we win the game, that's all good. That's more important than individual stats." Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
 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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