As the school year begins, so do our high school sports. The St. John Neumann boys football season is already in full swing. They had a pre-season game on Friday, Aug 19, winning against Canterbury. As we get ready for our 2022 football season, I asked Head Coach, Damon Jones, for an insight on what his team has in store this year.

About This Year’s Team

This year’s team we have a lot of important players, but a lot of production to replace from last year’s seniors. We lost our top rushers, receivers and passers. These boys this season will have big shoes to fill. We had a productive senior class last year, but we’re looking up to this year’s senior class and underclassmen to fill those roles. I’m excited about the senior class this season, we have had this group for four years. They are going to have to pick up the production level.

Are There Any New Roles Being Filled That We Might Have Not Seen yet?

We are breaking in a new quarterback, Jack Bruni 10th grade. He is a first-year starter and has had a very good camp so far. He will be a very important role throughout the progression of this season. Zach Molina, 11th grade, had a very good spring season. We’re excited to see how he will play and contribute to the team this fall. We have three new juniors Evan Odom, Luvinson Pierre, and Emmanuel Cabet, who we are looking forward to helping us across the board. We have many returners who will have to take over new roles and many who will have to increase their intensity level.

What Are Your Plans for This Year’s games?

Our pre-season game helps us get into game shape, alternative to practice shape. It’s hard to simulate the speed and intensity in practice, whereas real games are a lot faster. We have a lot of players who don’t have game experience yet. It’s an opportunity to help them get better and be more comfortable. This year we have a different offense that we ran in the spring. This pre-season game will allow us to develop our offense. Additionally, I have almost a completely new coaching staff, and this game will help us get on the same page. It’s the first game so we will all make mistakes, but it’s a great opportunity to get used to game environment.

The football boys have put in a lot of work this summer, both on the field and in the weight room. I can’t wait to see how this season plays out. Make sure to stay up to date on their schedule to never miss a game. Go Celtics!