With a new head coach and nearly all of its core players from last season having graduated, Manchester’s football team is set to begin a new era under Bill Furlong.

Furlong comes to Manchester after 11 years as the head coach at Phoenixville High School in Pennsylvania, and succeeds Gerard O’Donnell, who resigned in May after eight seasons with the Hawks. Furlong also coached at Burlington Township for six seasons before taking the job at Phoenixville, where he went 70-63 and captured a division title. Furlong is a 1983 graduate of Jackson Memorial High School and went on to play at Ursinus College.

New head coach Bill Furlong comes to Manchester after coaching 11 seasons at Phoenixville High School in Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bob Badders).
New head coach Bill Furlong comes to Manchester after coaching 11 seasons at Phoenixville High School in Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bob Badders).
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“It’s a little different the way he teaches, but he’s been great getting us up to speed because the transition happened so late,” said senior wide receiver Robert Planter. “We have a lot of talent coming back along with some young talent.”

The Hawks finished 3-7 overall and 3-4 in Class B South last season, and will have to replace six all-division players from that squad. In addition to Furlong, the rest of the coaching staff is also new, so the Hawks are almost starting from scratch.

“There is a little bit of freshness to it from that standpoint,” Furlong said. “We have some good young players that we’re excited about and some quality seniors coming back.”

The Hawks graduated their top passer, rusher and receiver from a team that averaged a solid 23 points per game last season, so there are certainly some unknowns heading into the season.

Manchester will run a multiple offense with sophomore Steven Rodriguez stepping in as the starting quarterback. His backup is freshman Jerry Blackburn, so the Hawks are very young at quarterback, but at the same time have a chance to develop a potential three-year starter.

Sophomore quarterback Steven Rodriguez. (Photo by Bob Badders)
Sophomore quarterback Steven Rodriguez. (Photo by Bob Badders)
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The fullback is senior Dylan Ientile with sophomore Jahsir Cooper and senior Javier Holguin also slated to see time. At running back is the combination of senior Kwaku Owusu and junior Mike Rosario, with freshman Jalen Glenn and also Tamire Sutton at the position.

“We have a lot of depth in the running game,” Owusu said. “We have me and Rosario and some freshmen that can play. We have a lot of speed as a group.”

What should help Rodriguez in his first year as starting quarterback is a tall receiving unit. Planter is 6-foot-3 and junior tight end Israel Almestica is 6-foot-4. Juniors Shavar Reynolds and Roy Dudley are 6-foot and 6-foot-1, respectively, and sophomore tight end Chris Blaine is 6-foot-1, so Rodriguez will have several targets that can go up and get a ball in traffic or along the sideline.

“Once we figured he was going to be the starter over the summer we started working with him so he could get used to us,” Planter said. “He knows we’ll be there for him to make plays, and that should give him some more confidence.”

Senior wide receiver Rob Planter. (Photo by Bob Badders)
Senior wide receiver Rob Planter. (Photo by Bob Badders)
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Along the offensive line is 6-foot-5, 265-pound senior David McCloud at left tackle, junior Phillip Pender at left guard, senior Ben Jager at center, senior Rafael Natal at right guard and 290-pound senior Xavier Barber at right tackle. Seniors Dustin Wagner and Doug Leik can step in at any position as utility linemen.

“We’ll try to be balanced, but when I say balance I’m not necessarily thinking run vs. pass,” Furlong said. “We want to run inside, outside, misdirection and be able to throw. We’ll take what teams give us and we’ll see who steps up early in the season.”

Manchester’s defense will also be of the multiple variety. Barber, Natal, McCloud and Jager are the defensive tackles while Pender, Almestica and junior Nick Briggs will play defensive end. Wagner can slide in at either tackle or end.

The linebackers are Ientile, Planter, Owusu, Cooper and Holguin, while the cornerbacks are Rosario, sophomore Tariq Ali and junior Dan Hourigan. Senior Vinny Laforte, sophomore Alex Lunn and Dudley will play safety.

“We’re not going to be this aggressive defense that tries to force other teams into mistakes, but to say we’d be a ‘bend but don’t break’ defense would be a little too loose,” Furlong said. “We’ll try to play within ourselves.”

Sophomore Josh Mercado will be the kicker and Owusu will handle the punting.

The Hawks have some familiar Shore Conference names on their staff in former Toms River North star Aamir Dew, former Jackson Memorial great Joe Serratelli and Middletown South’s Nick Bricker.

With a new coaching staff and a different cast of starters, Manchester is a wildcard in B South. Even though the Hawks graduated a significant portion of their offensive production, they could be a sleeper team in the division if their young players come through.

“We lost all those guys from last year, but no one is irreplaceable,” Owusu said. “We have a lot of talent, and the competition is bringing out the best in all of us.”

 

Head coach: Bill Furlong, 1st season (18th overall)

Career record: 70-63

Assistant coaches: Paul Raucci (asst. head coach); Joe Serratelli (def. coord./DB/WR); Karl Schaeffer (OL); Aamir Dew (RB); L.B. Robinson (DL); Nick Bricker (LB); Zach Brebner (QB); Cathi Yayac (athletic trainer).

2013 record: 3-7 (3-4)

Big Shoes to Fill: Rob Planter, Sr., WR/LB

Planter looks to assume the No. 1 receiver role from the graduated KaShaun Barnes, who had 31 catches for 401 yards and 4 touchdowns.

X-Factor: The running game

If the Hawks' versatile set of running backs can perform on a consistent basis it will take a lot of pressure off their young quarterback while also allowing them to keep their defense fresh.

Glue Guy: Kwaku Owusu, Sr., RB/LB

A quiet but steady leader, Owusu will be a key player at running back and linebacker for Furlong.

Impact Newcomer: Steven Rodriguez, So., QB

Rodriguez takes over for the graduated Devin Tomei as the team’s starting quarterback.

Pivotal Game: Sept. 19 vs. Jackson Liberty.

The Hawks open up with division favorite Barnegat and play Lakewood in Week 3, so a Week Two game versus a Jackson Liberty team that figures to be in the same competitive realm seems to be Manchester’s best shot early to give Furlong his first win.

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