Football 2004 Much-praised Program Has Come A Long Way
Thursday, September 02, 2004 Page: 7
WILKES-BARRE – If in the past few weeks you asked an area football coach
who he thought were going to be some of the best teams this fall, Bishop Hoban
would have likely been mentioned.
Yes, this is the same Bishop Hoban that snapped a 29-game losing streak in
and 5-5 in 2003.
“It’s surprising,” Hoban coach Dwayne Downing said of the preseason praise.
“It’s kind of funny. ... We lost some good football players, so it’s nice that
our program has come to the point that after losing that they still say
`they’re still going to be pretty good.'”
Despite losing a handful of starters, including leading receiver Chris
Dickerson and kicking sensation Gerry McGroarty, the Argents appear to have
quite a lineup, though low on numbers.
“Obviously I think we have a chance to be very good, but we need some
luck,” Downing said. “We need some things to go our way.”
QUARTERBACK: Dan Price is set to be the starter. He did start a handful of
games last season and completed 27 of 58 passes for 386 yards with four
touchdowns and three interceptions.
“He’s an excellent athlete ... a very smart kid,” Downing said.
Joseph Bitzer, one of the biggest skilled players on the team at 6-foot-2,
RUNNING BACKS: Hoban will line up one of the best running back combinations
in the area with tailback Brian Ostrowsky and fullback Jeff Mylet. Ostrowsky
rushed 198 times for 1,331 yards and 15 touchdowns last season and Mylet added
“It’s hard to argue that there’s a better tandem out there,” Downing said.
“We certainly have high hopes for them. It’s going to be interesting to see
what the two of them can do together.”
Nick Malacari will see lots of time in the backfield along with Kyle
Monaghan.
OFFENSIVE LINE: The starting tackles will be Dan Evans and Corey Konycki,
Chris Cibello and Brad Santarelli will be the guards and Kean Reilly the
center. Chris Cebrick and James Taylor will be the tight ends.
“We’re big,” Downing said of his line. “We have some guys who can be a
force and I expect them to make things happen up front for us.”
RECEIVERS: Downing is also hoping for big things from receivers Kyle
Flemings, Robert Circo and Brad Chukinas to keep defenses from focusing solely
on the running game. Circo caught eight passes for 181 yards and two
touchdowns last year and Flemings added four catches for 49 yards and one
touchdown.
“We have some very athletic guys at receiver,” Downing said. “They’re
inexperienced, but I expect those guys to make plays.”
DEFENSIVE LINE: Michael Slusark, Cibello, Konycki and Evans will be the
interior linemen, and Chukinas and Santarelli will be the ends.
LINEBACKERS: Ostrowsky, Taylor and Cebrick will be the top players. Downing
said Ostrowsky has a chance to become the school’s career leading tackler this
season.
SECONDARY: Flemings and Circo will be the starting defensive backs, Price
will start at strong safety and Ryan Callahan at free safety.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicking and punting are big question marks with the
graduation loss of McGroarty. Slusark and Mylet will share the kicking duties,
and Nick Konestki and Price will battle for the punting chores.
OUTLOOK: We’ll find out how good Hoban is in the first three weeks of the
season. The Argents open with Meyers, Old Forge and Hanover Area.
“The desire is to get better,” Downing said. “We have a chance to be pretty
good. We have a big strong line, guys who played a lot of football games.
Price is an excellent athlete. We have an excellent running game and two of
the best athletes at receiver, too. So I have high hopes, but it’s only
potential right now.
“I know we still need to get much better.”
cutline:
From left, Jeff Mylet, Brian Ostrowsky, Nick Malacari, Brad Santarelli and
Chris Cibello are just a few of the top players returning to lead Bishop
Hoban.
