NORTH EAST — Following a year surrounded with lots of change for Rising Sun football, the return of 15-plus seniors and more than 20 juniors is an exciting development for second-year head coach Dom Massimiano in both the short-term and long-term outlooks of the program.
Rising Sun will look to improve from its first season under Massimiano after winning just one game. With 16 seniors on the roster, Massimiano said their presence serves as a welcome addition to his group of juniors and other underclassmen. Massimiano said his team consists of 24 juniors entering the fall.
“Them coming back and just seeing how last year went and getting to spark that energy on to the younger group, that’s going to help us a lot,” Massimiano said of his seniors. “I think the senior presence is helping the juniors and they’re going to do that in turn the following years.”
“The culture is being amplified,” Massimiano added.
Junior quarterback Owen McBride is one of the large number of juniors on the roster this fall and will become the full-time signal-caller for the Tigers. McBride took over the starting job in the middle of the last season. Over the summer, McBride received instruction from Joe Callahan, a football alum of the former Wesley College in Dover, Delaware and a quarterback with NFL experience.
“It’s been very helpful,” McBride said of his work with Callahan in the offseason. “It’s elevated my game by a lot and it made me feel more confident in myself.”
Massimiano said he has already seen strides in McBride’s mechanics and overall composure.
“Everything is routine from his dropback to his set-up to his cadence,” Massimiano said. “I’m looking forward to him getting in the swing and rocking and rolling this year.”
McBride will be surrounded by skill position players looking to make a mark at running back and receiver. Massimiano said R.J. Dixon, Dillon Lukiewski, plus a slew of junior receivers, will take on responsibilities on the outside. Lukiewski made the switch from starting quarterback to a receiving option last season. The Tigers return a handful of backs to replace the production of 900-yard rusher Mason Testerman. Massimiano said senior Jullian Hubbard has embraced the role of becoming a senior leader, while Sun’s head coach has also liked what he has seen from fellow back Sawyer Bell.
“I think it’s awesome now that we are starting at this point as to where we were last year,” Massimiano said of Lukiewski’s transition from quarterback to receiver. “That’s a tough transition for anybody, as a team, as a player, somebody who played a different position, but the rapport they are building on the field right now is really good.”
Sun returns two-fifths of its offensive line from last year in seniors Kaleb Johnson and Elijah Farr. Johnson, who played center a season ago, is set to move over to left tackle with Pedro Salinas set to take over the center spot. Despite this year being only his third season in the sport, Massimiano said Salinas has been able to absorb all the knowledge of the position. Junior Manny Stanley is set to man the right guard spot with another junior filling in at right tackle.
“Our chemistry on the O-line is pretty good, we’re actually talking more this year,” Johnson said. “The guys that came up were pretty good and Pedro, he’s a senior who didn’t play as much last year, but he’s learned a lot so that’s good too.”
With close to 40 athletes on the Rising Sun roster, Massimiano said the Tigers are able to keep guys fresh by not having to rely as heavily on guys playing both ways. Seniors Zack Fuhrmanek, Thomas Whitehurst and junior Jacob McCall will get time on the defensive front with Casey McGrady and Landon Harbert at two of the linebacker spots.
The Rising Sun secondary will add the likes of Bell, David Salinas and Aiden Emmell, who rejoins the program after not playing last season.
“This year we have such a massive junior class that we are able to throw a lot of different guys on defense that aren’t on our starting offense,” Massimiano said. “We are going to have some guys going both ways, but we have some guys that can come off the field on offense, get a drink, talk about what we saw on offense and then maybe spell a guy on defense.”
“We’re keeping guys fresher for later in the game,” he added.
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