A perfect season is always the goal at Poly Prep, but there is some extra incentive behind it this time.
The football team’s seniors have been oh-so-close the last two years — both times losing just a single game. Two years ago it was in the season finale, and last year Poly lost a game when quarterback Chris Parker missed time in because of injury.
The Blue Devils, who play an independent schedule, don’t plan on letting the achievement elude them again with one of its most talented teams in recent years.
“We don’t have playoffs,” said Boston College-bound tight end Ray Marten. “We don’t have a championship, so every year that is our ultimate goal, to go undefeated. Both games the last two years we came so close.”
Marten is one of three major Division-I commits on the Poly roster. Linebacker Elias Reynolds and 6-foot-7, 340-pound tackle Justin Morgan are both headed to Rutgers. Throw into that mix junior Isaiah Wilson, one of the top tackles in the country in his class, and you have a roster that is loaded with talent.
“This team has the makings to be big,” Wilson said. “We have the makings of being one of the best teams in the past 10 years because I think we have all the talent in the world.”
One place Poly has a major hole to fill is at quarterback, with three-year starter Chris Parker now a preferred walk-on at Rutgers. He formed a dynamic duo the last two seasons with running back Brenden Femiano, now at Bryant. Blue Devils coach Dino Mangiero said the coaches would make many of the decisions from the sidelines at Parker use to make at the line of scrimmage.
“Those are two guys that are hard to replace, but I think we can do it,” Reynolds said. “We got the talent.”
Who will step in is yet to be decided — and may not be until right before the team’s opener on Sept. 12 against Chaminade, Mangiero said. Junior Rob Kollmar, an excellent passer, and sophomore Salim Turner Mohamed, the better runner, are in a battle for the job.
Junior Tegha Egbiri is the starting running back right now, but Abdoulaye Konate and Rashaun Bailey are both in the mix to claim some carries. Poly’s most explosive offensive player is expected to be sophomore Fara’ad McCombs, who will also play safety.
“He is a guy we need to get more in the mix,” Mangiero said.
Poly is fresh faced in the secondary outside of McCombs and Egbiri at corner. Its offensive linemen, including Malik Bethea will do double duty on the defensive side. The Blue Devils’ biggest strength could be at linebacker with Reynolds and Konate and seniors Joe Elci and Rich Quan. Sophomore Russell Ferrisi is expected to also join that group in an expanded role. Everyone on defense, no matter what position, take his cues from Reynolds and for good reason.
“Elias is a furious guy,” Wilson said. “He may not look like it when you first see him because he has the long, flowing hair. He may come off as a pretty boy, but he really hits hard — real hard.”
Poly will attack the goal of a perfect season with similar fervor and determination.
“We have a bunch of returning talent here, a bunch of Division-I talent,” Wilson said. “We know we can run the table this year.”
