Photo courtesy Amber Browning

Last year start through three games:
Varsity: 3-0
Junior Varsity: 2-1

Last year finish:
Varsity: Lost in Adam conference final to Essex
Junior Varsity: Lost in conference final to Niagara

Players to watch:

RB Ryan Silvestri
RB Matt Barkovich
LB Joe Richardson
LB Santino Gallo

Varsity

Hamilton Ironmen varsity head coach Rob Underhill will have no shortage of running backs this season and says the hardest part of game planning may be figuring out how to give them all touches.

“Any (of our backs) can probably start and it’s going to be our toughest part there is going to be figuring out how we’re going to distribute the ball to all of them.”

One of those backs, and the only one returning from the JV team last season, is Ryan Silvestri. Underhill says not only is Silvestri a gifted player, he’s a leader and can potentially make his teammates better.

The back had 109 carries last season for 529 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also caught the ball 3 times for 55 more yards.

Joining Silvestri in the backfield is Matt Barkovich, a 6 foot, 225-pounder that his coach says runs a 4.6 second 40-yard dash.

“As much as we’re going to use him to pound the ball, he can give us an outside look as well and I think that’s going to help us out against teams that want to load the box,” Underhill added.

Trying to squeeze in under centre will be starting quarterback Alex Hill. The coach says Hill, a newcomer to the team, brings something to the Ironmen table they haven’t had in years at quarterback: speed and athleticism.

But the coach says backup QB Denzel Rocca, a strong-armed pocket passer, won’t be overlooked.

“I imagine although Alex is our starter we’re going to be able to find ways to package Denzel into the system,” he said.

On defense, linebacker Joe Richardson is one of the only returning players and Underhill expects him to give the young defense some confidence. Richardson had 14 solo tackles and 1 fumble recovery last season.

Though the team is young and inexperienced at the JV OVFL level, Underhill was impressed by their athleticism. He does, however, think they’ll have to slow down their game to match last season’s 3-0 start.

“We’re going to have to start out more basic, more simple until we feel comfortable that the kids fully understand the system and then we can slowly progress.”

Junior Varsity

In similar fashion to their varsity counterparts, JV head coach Ken McGuire plans to rotate his various running backs and, as he says, “run the ball by committee”. He emphasizes, however, that the team can’t rest on their backfield laurels.

“We’re really going to have to mix it up to be successful,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to like sit on our running game or anything like that…(but) we expect that almost every game should be close.”

McGuire says they have a good team and was impressed by quarterback Kyle Van Wynsberghe, a newcomer to the team.

“He’s got a great arm, he’s really mobile, he’s really smart, and he’s a really good athlete. He’s got a learning curve at this level but he’s a good kid.”

Vanwynsberghe connected with Emmett Putt, another player McGuire expects to have a good season, for three touchdowns in the team’s last exhibition game. Putt is returning to the JV Ironmen after garnering only 2 receptions last season for 27 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Santino Gallo, another returning player, is expected to keep opposing offenses at bay. Santino, an incredibly well-rounded athlete, can fill in at kicker, punter, quarterback and receiver.

For their first game against the Niagara Spears, McGuire says the team will have to learn from last season’s meeting between the two.

“They beat us last year and we made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “We were inside the 20 (yardline) 4 times and I think we only got 2 points. The game plan with them is just to execute.”