Vikings ready to being the Rick Mantz era
BY GEORGE ALBANO Staff Writer
There will be a new look to the South Brunswick High School football team this season, and in more ways than one.

FILE PHOTO Quarterback Mohamed Sanu, shown here pitching the ball to Kenny Felton during a practice in South Brunswick, is back to spearhead what should be a strong offensive unit for new head coach Rick Mantz's South Brunswick Vikings.

The most obvious change will be at the top where Rick Mantz takes over as the new head coach of the Vikings and didn't waste any time instilling a new attitude, a different mindset and a completely fresh approach to a football program that's had three losing seasons in the last four years, including a 4-6 mark in 2006.

Mantz is certainly no stranger to high school football in these parts, having carved out an outstanding coaching résumé the last couple of decades, including a 12-year stint as the head coach at Hillsborough High from 1994- 2005.

During that time, Mantz compiled a record of 81-39 for a .675 winning percentage, including a 9-2 season in 2000 when he guided the Raiders to the Group IV state championship as well as the Skyland Conference title.

Mantz also led Hillsborough to the league crown in 1996 when it went 10-1, the lone loss coming in the state finals, while his 1999 and 2004 teams reached the Group IV semifinals.

A three-time Somerset County Coach of the Year, Mantz was named the New Jersey Football Coaches Association State Coach of the Year in 2000, and the Skyland Conference Coach of the Year in 2005, his final season at Hillsborough.

Prior to becoming head coach, he served as an assistant at HHS for two seasons, as well as assistant gigs at Manville High School, Bridgewater/Raritan H.S. West, and at Rutgers University, his alma mater, where he was an assistant offensive line coach.

Even in 2006 when Mantz took a one-year hiatus from coaching, he was still involved with high school football as a color analyst on the Madison Square Garden Network, Sporting News Radio and Sirius Satellite. He was also part of the weekly broadcast crew of Columbia University Ivy League football games.

But he soon found out he missed being on the coaching sidelines.

"I stepped down at Hillsborough because I wanted to relax, spend a year with my family and kind of travel," he said this week. "I did some broadcasting with MSG and it was fun, but it wasn't coaching. It was very different from the passion I have for coaching and I realized how much I missed it during the year I took off. I realized I had to get back into coaching."

Enter South Brunswick High School.

"Some jobs had opened up and a couple of people at South Brunswick contacted me about the head coaching position there," Mantz added. "I was really excited. I thought South Brunswick had a lot of offer. They have an incredible facility that seats 3,000. The more I looked into the community and the school and met with the people there, the more excited I was.

"Then I met the kids and they were very excited. I also met with people in the Pop Warner and PAL football programs in town. I just felt all the pieces were in place to do something special."

Mantz, who taught history at Hillsborough, officially joined South Brunswick High School on July 1 as assistant athletic director, and he's been preparing for the 2007 football season ever since.

"They struggled a little bit last year and I looked at some tape," Mantz, who makes his debut Saturday at Monroe Township, said. "But I'm not emphasizing last year. I'm excited about the work ethic the kids have shown getting ready for this season. We were getting almost 80 kids every morning to the weight lifting room.

"We also brought in Parisi Speed Training out of North Jersey to help with our running and strength conditioning. That did our kids a lot of good. It's something we also did at Hillsborough."

South Brunswick returns seven twoway starters from last year, led by senior captain Moamed Sanu at quarterback and defensive back.

"Mohamed is one of most talented kids I've ever coached, and I had three of my former players play in the NFL," Mantz said of the 6-2, 210-pound Sanu. "He's a very, very special player. He can run like you can't imagine, he has a tremendous arm, and he's extremely fast. He has great speed.

"And he can also hit on defense," Mantz added. "He's also a leader and the kids respect him. He's very coachable, he's intelligent, and he's a tremendous kid, which is important."

Two of Sanu's favorite targets in the Vikings' multiple option offense will be a pair of 5-foot-10 wide receivers in junior Eric Lorber and senior Michael Clark, who both also play defensive back.

"Eric has tremendous hands. He's a real gifted receiver," Mantz said. "And Michael is another talented kid."

Senior captain Tyler Olsson is another returning wide receiver/defensive back starter who will also handle the place kicking duties.

Meanwhile, Malcolm McQueen, another senior captain, and junior Justin McLendon will be in the backfield along with fullback Peter Fiorentino, a 5-9, 205-pound senior who will also play nose tackle. Junior Tom Dunleavy, a starter last year, returns at running back and defensive back, while Mc- Queen and McLendon will also see action in the secondary.

"The key for us is to rotate people in and out," Mantz said. "We can't rely on just two or three players. Right now we're trying to develop some depth. We open Saturday and we know it's going to be a hot day and fatigue will set in. We have to have people ready to come in."

One player who will see a lot of minutes on both sides of the ball, however, is David Amrhein, the fourth and final senior captain, and who at 6 feet and 220 pounds is a returning starter on both the offensive and defensive lines.

Fellow senior Evan Nathanson (5-11, 225) is another two-way lineman who Mantz said "will provide leadership for us."

Senior Nicholas Pawloski (5-11, 205), junior James Kugel (5-11, 180), and William Li (5-10, 245) will also see action on both sides of the football. Kugel and Li will play on the defensive line while Pawloski is a linebacker in the Vikings' 3-3 defense along with juniors Devin Young (5-10, 190) and Patrick Goldsmith (6-0, 180).

And with a total of 76 players on his roster, Mantz likes what he sees so far.

"What jumps out at me right away are the tremendous kids we have," he said. "They do whatever we ask them to do and whatever it takes to win. They've been phenomenal. They're excited and they really improved their work ethic. They all had tremendous off-seasons.

"Overall, we have more team speed than I ever had at Hillsborough so we're going to try to take advantage of the run," Mantz added. "My teams at Hillsborough were a lot bigger, though. This team is not as big, but it's more athletic. We're trying to teach them how to be prepared and how to succeed, and the kids have responded."

Even most of the coaching staff is new, including John Coppola, the Vikings' former head coach who's returned to assume the role of associate head coach.

Yes, it certainly looks like a new beginning at South Brunswick.

"I'm excited," Mantz said. "I think we have a lot of talent. It's just a question of how fast it all comes together. But I think we match up well with the teams we play."

Could that translate into a winning season in Mantz's very first year?

"I'm not going to tell a senior we have a five-year plan," he said. "I tell the kids, 'Why not us?' We just can't beat ourselves. We can't afford to make mistakes. We have to focus on doing the little things right.

"But if we show up ready to play every week, we got a shot to win. It's high school football. I've seen enough of it to know. If we work hard and we're prepared, we can win."