2007 TC Football Preview (09/06/07)

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By Clair Wyant/Daily News correspondent GateHouse News Service Thu Sep 06, 2007, 10:49 PM EDT The Trinity Catholic Falcons had a great 2006 season, finishing with a 9-2 (6-1 Catholic Central Small). Now fifth-year head coach Steve McGonigle is looking forward to the challenge of repeating what he did last year despite losing several key members of that squad to graduation. McGonigle is expecting his young defense to be the driving force to the team's success this season. ``I am excited about the young players and I am very excited about the defense, that will be the prime thing. It is the defense that wins games, so that's important,'' McGonigle said. ``We have some outstanding athletes that I am very excited about.'' Three of the four senior captains this season are defensive linemen, inside linebacker Stephen Burckardt, defensive tackle Jeremy Davis and Bryan Fleurjuste. Offensive tackle Jim Bullwinkle is the fourth captain. Other defensive players McGonigle is expecting to have an impact this season include: outside linebacker Nick Kontos and defensive tackle Anthony Joyce. McGonigle is planning for inside linebacker/full back Dominic Della-Pace to be a big contributor on both sides of the ball as well McGonigle is starting four underclassmen this year: sophomore offensive center/defensive end Tom Donahue and sophomore tight end/outside linebacker Andre Medania. McGonigle is planning on having Donahue and Medania be key on defense and offense. The other underclassmen on this year roster include sophomore wide receiver John Lospes and freshman wide receiver/cornerback Jeff Lai ``Often the case at our school, if a freshman is outstanding, we have no reservations on giving him a chance.'' McGonigle said about starting underclassmen. ``It's gravy because in 2-3 years, he is going to be really outstanding. Even if you have to take your lumps for one year, you know that as long as he stays, he is going to be good down the road.'' Another player who should be a major contributor this year is junior tight end Bobby Greenwood. ``(Greenwood is a) big strong kid. He is a solid young man who will be responsible for our possession catches and he will also be a big run stopper on defense,'' McGonigle said.??Chaz Walker is going to be the starting quarterback, and wide receiver Nnamdi Nosike will be among his prime targets. ``My outlook is if we can play good, ball-control offense and we can play very solid defense we can do extremely well this year,'' McGonigle said. ``Those two things are very important. (If he do that) we can do very well this year.'' The Falcons' opener tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. at Holbrook McGonigle is expecting Burckardt to miss only the first game because of a broken nose he got during a scrimmage, but said that the rest of the team is relatively healthy.