Alex Lozano wanted to prove everyone wrong.
“A lot of people were telling me that I would never make it,” said the ferocious linebacker/defensive end for the Lincoln High School football team. “I didn’t listen to anyone. I knew that my coaches and teammates believed in me. That’s all that mattered. They all helped me to stay on track, to go after everything.”
It was a trip to the University of Delaware that got Lozano thinking about another school.
“It was June 12 of last year,” Lozano said. “I only played four games as a junior, so I really didn’t have anything to go off. We were at a camp at the University of Delaware when someone asked if I wanted to visit Delaware State. I went to the camp there and did well and I got the [scholarship] offer the next day.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
“Lucky me,” Lozano said. “I was able to get the offer. It means a lot to me. I worked hard in the classroom to get good grades to qualify [as a freshman playing NCAA Division I]. I always got the encouragement from my coaches that I could succeed. It’s really a dream come true.”
Last week, Lozano was one of several Hudson County products who put their John Hancock on an NCAA National Letter of Intent, which basically means that the football player is willing to accept the scholarship to their respective schools.
It’s basically a day for the schools themselves to strut their stuff and show off a little school pride. Most of the athletes themselves had made their verbal commitments ages ago.
A guy like Lozano had offers from other NCAA Division I-AA caliber schools like the University of Maine, Stony Brook and Monmouth, but settled on Delaware State.
“They made me feel like I was part of the family there,” Lozano said. “It’s a place where I can fit in.”
Several of Lozano’s teammates signed on to play at either the NAIA, the JUCO junior college or Division II level.
Kamani Addison is headed to Washburn University in Kansas; Terrance Barfield, who had been at Monroe Junior College, has signed on with Alabama A&M; and Sharman Nalls, who played both at Lincoln and St. Anthony, is headed to the University of New Haven.
It was another stellar signing day at St. Peter’s Prep, as nine players announced their intentions to play at the next level.
Leading the way was quarterback two-time Hudson Reporter Offensive Player of the Year Johnathan Lewis, who signed his letter to Rutgers; receiver/defensive back Jorge Portorreal, who signed on with Lehigh and standout lineman Ben Petrula, who signed his letter to attend Boston College.
Petrula was amazed to be able to share the day with so many of his teammates.
“It’s really awesome,” Petrula said. “It’s just starting to sink in now that I made it official. I hoped that my parents wouldn’t have to spend any money on college and now I’m going to a great school to play football there.”
The Boston College roster already features Prep grads Jonathan Hilliman, Michael Giacone and Charlie Callinan.
“It’s huge,” Petrula said. “They’re already part of the family there. I’ve always believed that Prep is like a brotherhood. I’ll have a chance to play right away and that’s big for me. It’s amazing to think that we all could have a day like this. Coming to Prep definitely prepared me for a day like this. I think the school prepared everyone else as well.”
Prep will send four players to Ivy League football, namely Mitchell Jones (Cornell), Dakari Falconer and Masaki Aerts (Dartmouth) and Benji Mowatt (Pennsylvania).
Hudson Reporter Defensive Player of the Year Harrison Fernandez of Union City signed on with Pace University, as did teammate Eleyzer Olivery, who originally gave a verbal commitment to Delaware State, but changed his mind. Fellow Soaring Eagle standout Jacob Gonzalez is going to Fork Union Military Academy.
Rashad Brandon, the former St. Anthony defensive tackle who had a great season at ASA College, signed with the University of Missouri.
Hudson Catholic sent standout receiver Satchel Moore to Davidson College, while former Hawk great running back Syhiem Simmons, who left the school and transferred to a school in Alabama last August, signed on to play defensive back at Rutgers.
Damon Small, the fine defensive tackle who played for Bayonne in 2014, signed on with Mississippi Valley State after stops at Merced Junior College and Lackawanna, where he really shined as a defensive tackle after playing tight end at Bayonne.
All in all, it was a great crop of college recruits homegrown right here in Hudson County. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com
