Sun Valley

By HARRY CHAYKUN

Special to the Times

ASTON — There were days this summer when it was tough to decide who was showing more enthusiasm — new Sun Valley coach Ray Gionta or his players.

“I really want to get Sun Valley football back to being vital in Delaware County,” said Gionta, who came to The Valley after 11 seasons at Marple Newtown.

The Vanguards were a major force in the Del Val League from the 1970s through the 1990s but have struggled for victories since moving to the Ches-Mont League.

Gionta, an All-Delco and All-Catholic lineman in his days at St. James, left Marple Newtown with the school record for wins by a football coach. He comes to Sun Valley following a season in which the Vanguards won their first two games, then lost 10 in a row.

“The attitude, the work ethic and the enthusiasm have been great,” he said. “There’s a difference between working at practice and then scrimmaging with what goes on in game situations. We’ll see how things sort themselves out when we go up to Pottstown for our first game.”

The first home game comes in Week 2, when former Del Val rival Chester pays a visit. The season ends on the road with the renewal of the Turkey Bowl game against Chichester, which is coached by Ryan Smith, who was an All-Delco player in his days in a Sun Valley uniform.

In addition to learning Gionta’s Wing-T offensive system, many of the Sun Valley players have had to understand what it means to be a first-stringer.

“We’ve got some good returning players,” Gionta said. “But we’ve also got seniors who are varsity starters for the first time.”

Heading the list of returning starters are two-way tackle Ed Racine and tight end Nate Cusumano, both of whom earned All-Ches-Mont League honors in 2013.

Kijana Gordon carried the ball a lot last fall, and the running game will be bolstered by the return of Juwan Chandler, who was hurt early in the 2013 campaign.

Mike Fisher, a fullback and linebacker who suffered a bad knee injury in a scrimmage against Radnor last August, spent his junior season sidelined and also will be a key addition on his return.

“I’ve been excited about this season for a long time,” Chandler said. “I did everything I could to be prepared when we started. We want to get back to being a winning team.”

Fisher, who played quarterback as an eighth-grader at Marple Newtown’s Paxon Hollow Middle School, recalled how the scrimmage with Radnor was just about finished when he got hurt last year.

“I tore my ACL, my MCL and my meniscus,” he said. “The doctors told me it would be six to nine months before I was recovered (from surgery). I knew I wouldn’t let anything stop me from being back here playing.

“Since I lived in the Marple district, I played under (Gionta’s) system and was familiar with the offense. At fullback, I’ll get to carry the ball and do some blocking. I think we will be an exciting and a hard-nosed football team.”

Gordon played for a Pop Warner championship team as a member of the Upper Darby Trojans several years ago.

“It’s been interesting working on a lot of new things this year,” he said. “Once we got used to the Wing-T, we picked things up quickly.”

Racine, who has drawn interest from some top Division III schools including Wesley and Lycoming, agrees with Gionta’s goal to make Sun Valley a winner.

“He’s brought a different way for us to do things,” said Racine, who played CYO football at Our Lady of Charity School in Brookhaven. “He’s got a lot of experience and has helped us learn things I never really had considered.

“We lifted a lot and did two mini-camps over the summer, and I think our offensive line can get back to controlling things if we execute our offense. We’re all really ready for this season to get started.”

For Cusumano, the time spent learning the new offense was important when preseason camp began.

“We had new rules to learn,” he said. “We have to know our blocking assignments and execute in this offense.”

Juniors Ramon Olivares, a guard and linebacker, and center Anthony Ruggierio also figure in SV’s plans.

Sophomore Gabe Boccella, whose father Mike was an outstanding quarterback at Sun Valley and played at Wichita State, moves in as the starting quarterback.

“The sophomore class will figure prominently in how our lineup shapes up,” Gionta said.

Among the other 10th graders to watch include receiver Ishy Ahmad, linebackers Jack Connolly, Jon Kester , Bryan Meehan and Chase Kilgore, and lineman Tyler Schuck.

“We have some pretty good players returning,” Gionta said. “The number of players, especially in the ninth and 10th grades, has increased, which we were happy about.

“We’re anxious to see how things go.”