When Rich Glover Jr. signed on to become the new head football coach at Marist High School last winter, he embraced the opportunity as a new lease on his coaching life.
You see, Glover Jr., the son of the legendary college football Hall of Famer from Nebraska by way of Snyder High School, was a head coach for just one season at Harrison High School in western Hudson County.
And for some reason, Glover Jr. was not retained after leading that moribund and downtrodden program to three victories.
So when the opportunity came earlier this year to get back into the coaching swing of things, Glover Jr. jumped at the chance.
However, the football fates weren’t kind to Glover Jr. School officials announced in May that Marist would close its doors forever at the end of the school year. He was basically a coach without a team, a school and a job once again.
But then, in June, almost by miracle, Marist officials announced that the school would remain open.
By then, a lot of the returning football players had made the proper moves to transfer to other schools. They basically had no choice but to pursue other options.
It left Glover Jr. with a football program that was torn and tattered. The Royal Knights were already reeling to the tune of a 1-8 season last year and a combined mark of 7-31 over the previous four years.
Now, the new coach had to endure a proposed school closing, then re-opening in the span of two months. Quite an auspicious beginning.
“You don’t know what kind of kids you have left,” Glover Jr. said. “I knew it was going to be tough, getting a team that won only one game over the last two years. They’ve had three coaches over the last five years. It was going to be very tough.”
But Glover Jr. didn’t let it get to him.
“You put the helmet on and you go after it,” Glover Jr. said. “By the turnout of the kids, I feel optimistic. I like competition. I enjoy the challenge of it.”
At early practices, the Royal Knights didn’t have enough practices to field an 11-man team.
“But things have changed,” Glover Jr. said. “We’re up to 23 kids now. Once the pads started popping, we saw some guys who were shying away coming out. You get to see who really wants to play and who doesn’t.”
The Royal Knights haven’t been too successful in the early stages of the season, losing the season opener to Newark Collegiate by a 48-6 score and falling last week to neighboring rival Snyder, 62-6.
Those results would make most coaches run and hide, but Glover Jr. isn’t backing down. He has the support of his famous father, the old Cornhusker All-American nose guard, with him as an assistant coach.
It has to help having Rich Glover as an assistant as well as a Dad.
Senior Kiel McKenzie (6-1, 170) is the team’s starting quarterback. McKenzie was the starting signal caller last year as well.
“We’re trying to get him to share the load in terms of carrying the team,” Glover Jr. said. “We expect him to be a leader.”
Senior Alex Guillaume (5-8, 190) is the starter at running back.
“He’s a downhill runner,” Glover Jr. said of Guillaume. “He runs hard.”
The Royal Knights are running a spread offense, so that means juniors Ricky Lancaster (5-8, 150) and Dewayne Sims (5-10, 160) are the wide receivers.
Senior Jalen Ali-Goodson (6-2, 225) is the tight end.
“He’s a very good athlete,” Glover Jr. said of Ali-Goodson. “He’s the natural leader of the team.”
The offensive line features some size and experience.
Senior Levon Adams (6-3, 330) is at one tackle, with sophomore Anthony Passariello (5-11, 230) at the other.
Senior Mickey Krommie (6-0, 215) and junior Sameer Haak (5-7, 180) are the guards, with senior David Ondande (5-9, 225) at center.
The Royal Knights utilize a 4-3 defensive front, with Krommie and Haak at defensive end and Passariello and Ondande at defensive tackle.
The outside linebackers are Guillaume and sophomore Angel Ortiz (5-9, 165), with Ali-Goodson at middle linebacker, where he shines.
“He’s just a very good football player,” Glover Jr. says of Ali-Goodson.
The cornerbacks are Sims and Lancaster, with McKenzie and sophomore Jahmir Henry (5-10, 160) at the safeties.
The Royal Knights play Morris Catholic this weekend, before facing tough foes Tenafly and Hudson Catholic in the coming weeks.
Needless to say, the schedule is not paying the Royal Knights any favors.
“I believe we can get better,” Glover Jr. said. “We had an introduction to a reality check so far. The biggest thing we face right now is staying healthy. But I know things are going to change. We faced a tough challenge at first with the school closing. Numbers are down. A lot of people might have thrown in the towel by now.”
But Glover Jr. isn’t one of those.
“I have a vision,” Glover Jr. said. “I think we can accomplish it. It’s going to take some time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Well, neither will Marist football. I have an opportunity here to do something great. The biggest obstacle I face is that the kids don’t realize how good they can become. They know how much talent they have. They just haven’t been pushed the right way. That’s it in a nutshell.”
That is, until the spring rolls around and the powers-that-be determine whether Marist will keep its doors open for the next year and the years to come. Glover Jr. is optimistic. Frankly, right now, he doesn’t have another choice.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.
