FOOTBALL PREVIEW: North East hopeful to turn things around with depth along line

NORTH EAST — North East’s 2023 football team was filled with juniors starting on both sides of the ball. As the Indians are set to return 20 seniors this upcoming season, there is hope this senior class can contribute in an even greater way.

The large senior class, along with 20-plus juniors, excites head coach Taylor Slaughenhoupt as the Indians enter the season looking to improve off a two-win season. With a retooled offensive line, returning signal caller and depth on defense, Slaughenhoupt is hopeful those factors can serve as the catalyst to get the Indians back in the win column consistently. North East’s last five-win season came in 2019. The Indians have not finished with a record over .500 since 2017.

“What we’re all about this year is taking what we have and putting the guys in the best position,” Slaughenhoupt said. “We spent a lot of time in the offseason doing that and those summer practices that we had were huge. It really got the guys meshing and got them learning, understanding what we needed them to do so we’ve been able to hit the ground running pretty much in camp.”

The North East offensive line returns two starters from last year’s team in senior Aiden Kozminski and junior Tarri Evans. Junior varsity call-ups Aziz Taylor, Jayden Consentino and Elkton transfer Bryan Davis should make up the new additions of the line. Slaughenhoupt said the new-look line adds much-needed size to the offensive front. Kozminski noted the size of the line is an upgrade compared to prior seasons.

“Usually we don’t have the kind of size and numbers that we have this year,” Kozminski said. “Usually we are more of a smaller team, so it gets tough being small, but I think we will be alright this year.”

Slaughenhoupt said he was pleased with his team’s buy-in along the trenches in offseason workouts.

“It’s tough whenever our biggest kid is [240 pounds] right, there is a reason why wrestling has weight classes,” Slaughenhoupt said. “This year one of the smallest guys on our line is 240. So they really bought into the bigger, faster, stronger deal.”

“This is the best I have felt about the O-line since I’ve been the head coach. It reminds me of my first year of being an assistant where we had size up front,” he added.

Senior running back Mason Boyd hopes the bolstered line can aid in his own rushing. Boyd finished his junior season as the team’s leading rusher with 480 yards and two touchdowns.

“As a smaller running back you got big boys like [Aiden Kozminski] and you can follow right behind them,” Boyd said. “They push you forward when you need it, they get you the extra yards.”

Senior quarterback Garrette Kirby will take over the full reigns of the Indians’ offense after becoming the team’s starter at the midway point of last season. The North East offense showed signs of improvement when Kirby took over as the team’s quarterback, scoring 26 points or more in wins over Southern-Anne Arundel and Aberdeen. Kirby finished his junior year with 1,218 all-purposes yards, including 700 passing yards, 231 rushing yards and 237 receiving yards.

Alongside Kirby, wide receivers Sebastian Pagliaro, Travis Creese and tight end Tiylor Hunt return as pass catchers. The wide receivers will look to replace the production of All-County selection Collin Fulks, who graduated in the spring. Pagliaro finished his junior year with 131 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

“I think once I moved to quarterback, the chemistry was with the other guys like my wide receivers,” Kirby said. “We all felt confidence in the offense and started putting up points.”

Slaughenhoupt estimates his defense returns eight to nine starters from last year’s unit. He noted the Indians return three of its four starting linebackers in Boyd, Creese and Avery Sudina. Boyd led the team in total tackles with 100, while Sudina and Creese finished with 72 tackles and 56 tackles respectively. The Indians’ defensive front returns the likes of Kozminski, Gabe Keyser, while Pagliaro and Zach McGough return with playing experience in the secondary.

With a sizable amount of upperclassmen, Slaughenhoupt said the roster depth allows his team to rotate players in and out, especially those that play on both sides of the ball. North East’s defense allowed 34 points per game a season ago.

“We have a lot of options,” Slaughenhoupt said. “This year, it’s not so much of picking straws. If someone goes down we actually have some depth to be able to say if one goes down, the next is up and they know what they’re expected to do.”