Palisades Park/Leonia football building new roots this fall | State of the Program

The Palisades Park/Leonia football team played some of its best football late in the 2023 season.

Now, the goal is getting off to a faster start.

The Tigers finished 1-5 in coach Jon Koonce's debut season last year, but a dive into their schedule shows a tale of two halves. After three blowout losses to open the year, the Tigers beat up on Harrison and then played well in back-to-back one-score games against the top two teams in their division.

The arc of the season was understandable. Koonce completely overhauled the scheme after getting hired and switched up the staff by appointing two new coordinators. Now he heads into his second training camp with more established roots and the same group of assistants except for one.

"We have a very young team this year, so it's all kids who have already bought in to the new mentality of what they're supposed to do and the new traditions they're expected to carry on," Koonce said. "You could see it in Year 2 taking shape a little bit better."

Participation has been a concern at times for the co-op, but not anymore. Palisades Park/Leonia ended last season with around 40 players and Koonce expect to be around that number, or higher, in September.

That depth will come in handy with the program moving up to the NJIC Colonial division. The Tigers spent the last four years alongside other rebuilding programs in the Union Division, which dissolved in the offseason after no teams opted in.

"We're very excited to be back in a little bit more of a competitive league with the implication being that at the end, if you have a great season, you could sneak into the state playoffs," Koonce said. "That's what we're really looking to work towards, possibly not this year but we're looking to build to that eventually."

The tradition

This is the 25th season of cooperative football for Palisades Park and Leonia – the oldest of four Bergen County mergers.

The Tigers have produced four winning seasons during their time together with the last one coming in 2013.

As a single entity, Palisades Park claimed a playoff-era sectional title in 1991.

The challenge

Only a few starters are back with the loss of 13 seniors and the incumbent quarterback deciding to step away from football to focus on baseball.

Two sophomores are auditioning at QB for the Tigers, who will likely simplify the offense a bit after attempting more passes than runs last season. Expect plenty of touches to go to Elijah Mclean, who's moving from fullback to a tailback role.

Koonce describes himself as a coach who adapts his gameplan to what suits his players best.

"Last year, we definitely went with more of a four-man front on defense," Koonce said. "This year, we're possibly thinking about being a three-man front and using some more outside rushers. We're really looking to make the most of the speed we think we have."

Expectations

While wins will be hard to come by in a tougher league, Koonce wants to build a competitive team and avoid the blowouts of yesteryear. How well the ground-and-pound game works will hinge on the Tigers' ability to replace four offensive linemen around guard Gabe Jang.

"We preach finish every day at practice," Koonce said. "We've had a much better showing in July right now. We're hoping that we can get rid of those first two game clear-out feelings and just get right to playing good football right off the bat."

Schedule

Aug. 29: at Elmwood Park

Sept. 6: vs. Cresskill/Emerson

Sept. 13: at Becton

Sept. 20: at Garfield

Sept. 27: vs. Lodi

Oct. 5: vs. Lyndhurst

Oct. 18: TBD

Oct. 25: TBD

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Palisades Park/Leonia football building new roots this fall | State of the Program