Season Preview: Football Searches for Success in 2015
COMPLETE SEASON PREVIEW
ECFC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
PAXTON, Mass.—According to Anna Maria College football head coach Vincent Sinagra, the 2015 season started the day after the last game of 2014. After a less-than-perfect season that saw the AMCATS fall short in all 10 games, the staff and team are back—and are hungrier for victory than ever before.
Humbled and focused, the Anna Maria program has just one goal in 2015: to win.
"Win. We have no other goal but win," said Sinagra. "No excuses. We're not big, we're not small, we're not fast, but let's just win."
"We've done all the preparations with this senior group for the last four years to get to where we need to be. If you have that singular goal of winning in mind, it means you've set a lot of steps to get there, and we've done that."
Senior captains Aaron Koehler and Mike Sinto discuss the upcoming season.
Included among the steps towards winning is building a strong leadership core amongst the senior class. This year's seniors hold a special significance with Sinagra, as they were all members of his first recruiting as head coach, and the team's five captains are hungry to lead. The captains are Kevin Grey (Middleboro, Mass.), and offensive lineman, Michael Sinto (Long Beach, N.Y.), an inside linebacker, Victor Sambola (Worcester, Mass.), a linebacker, Christopher Bettano (Tewksbury, Mass.), a running back, and Aaron Koehler (West Warwick, R.I.), a fullback.
Grey, Bettano, and Sinto were all Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) All-Conference selections last season. Bettano let the AMCATS offense with 645 rushing yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns, while Sinto led the defense with 101 tackles including four sacks, nine tackles-for-loss, and two fumble recoveries.
Sambola had a team second-best 75 tackles despite missing two games with a broken hand, while Koehler saw action in nine games last season, primarily on special teams.
"All five men have proven to be leaders," said Sinagra, "I told them that this is their team, and they recognize that being the leaders is a job that needs to be taken to heart."
So far preseason camp has been exceeding expectations across all classes and positions. Sinagra highlighted the intensity, the emotion, and the comradery that he's seen from the student-athletes throughout camp thus far, noting that the team members came ready to work.
In addition to the five captains, the AMCATS return some other key members of last year's roster, including juniors Gregory McGoldrick (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Malik Faison (Bowie, Md.), who both saw action at quarterback. McGoldrick completed 113 passes for 1,221 passing yards and eight touchdowns, while Faison completed 38 passes and three touchdowns while also rushing for 141 yards and a score.
Senior wide receiver William Ricard (Billerica, Mass.) was also an All-Conference selection last season after catching 40 passes for 492 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore Trai Weaver (Waterbury, Conn.) also returns to the AMCAT offense after totaling 22 receptions for 352 yards. Weaver earned ECAC New England Rookie of the Week honors last season following a 117-yard performance against Catholic in week three.
In addition to Sambola and Sinto, the AMCAT defense returns seniors Tyler Rocha (Cranston, R.I.) and Nick Cruz (Wakefield, R.I.), and junior Joseph Colao (Westerly, R.I.). Rocha totaled 41 tackles and a team-leading 13 tackles-for-loss in 2014, while Cruz and Colao tallied 26 and 29 tackles, respectively.
Headlining the incoming class is a young quarterback is Steven Furtado (Cranston, R.I.), from Cranston West High School. He has great running skills, and will be pushing for time in the quarterback rotation. The AMCATS also welcome kicker Francis Cole (Maspeth, N.Y.) to the program.
With the combination of returning and new athletes, the coaching staff is optimistic about a change in direction for the program. The team has overhauled its non-conference schedule, dropping Worcester State, Maine Maritime and Catholic in favor of more comparable competition in Coast Guard, Curry, and Nichols.
Despite the lopsided scores on the board last season, the team did not disappoint during conference play in 2014.
"We played close games against most of the leaders of the conference last season, and that keeps us motivated as a coaching staff," said Sinagra.
Included in that mix was a pair of home games against Norwich and Mount Ida, in which Anna Maria held both opponents under their scoring average. The AMCATS had a chance to claim victory against Mount Ida, but fell short in a heartbreaking two-point loss. A week later, the AMCATS wrapped up the season in another heartbreaker—a three-point overtime loss to Becker.
Anna Maria begins their quest for change on Thursday, September 3rd in a 7:00 p.m. road game at Coast Guard. On Saturday, September 12th, the AMCATS will host their first home game, a 1:00 p.m. non-conference contest against Nichols.
Homecoming will occur on Saturday, September 19th at 3:00 p.m. against Curry, and the AMCATS will host their first ECFC game on Saturday, October 10th against Husson at 2:00 p.m.
