Riverhead football swaps mindset, renews commitment

After a 1-7 season last year and a total re-haul of the football program at Riverhead, new head coach Don Nelson has the team believing in themselves more than ever. A long offseason featuring weight training, agility work, team bonding and newfound discipline has them ready to put last year behind them and display a product that the town will be proud of.

“I haven’t seen it like this since my freshman year,” senior co-captain captain, wide receiver and defensive back Billy Healy said. “Everyone is committed. Everyone has bought into what the coaches are preaching. There’s no more goofing around at practice. The discipline is definitely back.”

The major problem in the past few years was simply the lack of numbers in the football program. Between varsity and junior varsity, the total participation in the last two years has been hovering around forty players — barely enough to field two teams. For a Division I school, not exactly a recipe for success. Players had to play both sides of the ball and take on wear and tear that a normal, healthy and flourishing program just doesn’t have to deal with. There were even talks coming into this year that maybe the junior varsity team would completely dissolve. For a rebuilding program, the loss of junior varsity would have set the team back even further.

In the glory days, eighty players would be participating between varsity and JV at Riverhead. 

“I think people just lost interest in playing football here,” senior co-captain, tight end and linebacker William Stackevicius said. “The fact that we were losing too didn’t help. Nobody wants to play for a losing team — especially in football. It’s a tough sport to play when you’re losing every game.”

But with the new coaching staff, new philosophy and overall appeal of playing again, the numbers have gone back up. During two-a-days, the team fielded around 60 players, the most its had in years.

“We’ve been recruiting ever since I took the job last year,” Nelson said. “It helps that I’m in the hallways every day. It helps that my JV coach Raheim Smith is in the hallways too. With the new coaching staff, the kids are excited. They want to be part of the change.”

Nelson has sparked a belief in his players — something they felt was lacking before.

“Nobody believed in each other,” Stackevicius said. “When we started losing a game, we knew it was over. I felt like the coaches didn’t believe in us, and then we didn’t believe in ourselves. I’m not saying that’s going to turn us into the best team in the league but having coaches that believe and trust in you means everything for us out there on the field.”

Expectations are to be competitive in every game. Success won’t be measured by wins and losses this year. But Riverhead will undoubtedly surprise a few teams this season.

“The culture has changed,” Nelson said. “The mindset has changed. The intensity has changed. You have to have the mental focus to play this sport, and after the long and grueling two-a-days, I believe in these kids. The work ethic is there. The coach-ability is there. They have bought into the system.”

One of the major impact players will be quarterback Josiah Rodney, who spent a year at Southampton High School before transferring back to Riverhead this year.

“Josiah is really starting to pick up the offense,” Nelson said. “He’s learning the system. We just needed to get him reps out there. He understands the option stuff, reading defenses and doing everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s going to be a major piece of what we’re trying to do here.”

Also expected to be major contributors are wide receiver and defensive back Tatum Funn, center Braylen Blom, running back and defensive back Nathan Nentwich, offensive line and defensive tackle Franco Revelo, and of course the two captains, Healy and Stackevicius.

“We’ve always had the talent here in Riverhead,” Healy said. “We just lacked the discipline. We want to be part of the solution here as the seniors. We lead by example and we’re looking forward to putting a strong team out here that people can be proud of.”

Riverhead will open their season Sept. 12 at Sachem East. Kick off time is set for 6 pm.

“We’re going to play hard for the entire 48 minutes,” Nelson said. “You’re going to see an aggressive team. A smart team. A team that gives 110% effort. We’re going to be competitive. I can promise you that. We’re going to put the kids in a position to succeed and what happens from there is up to them.”