With a playoff berth at stake, the Briganti hosted the Rams from Milan on Sunday. The day was beautiful, the team was excited, and the grassless field was dusty… just Any Given Sunday in Napoli! It was our last regular season home game so, combined with the great weather and the fact that the day before was Italian Labor Day (don’t ask me why it’s on a Saturday), we had our best crowd of the season. Fortunately, we’re playing our best football at just the right time. Our visitors didn’t have a chance from the get-go… the game was completely one-sided as we took a 28-0 lead into halftime and finished the job in the second. Napoli 41, Milano 0. (For those of you who aren’t the least bit interested in football, you might want to go ahead and skip the next three paragraphs.)
Plain and simple, we absolutely dominated the game up front. The Rams’ defensive front looked like they were wearing rollerblades as our offensive line pushed them all over the field. My right tackle, Albo (a converted tight end in just his second year of football), had his best game of the season. Salvatore, the left tackle, is a good athlete with great hips and foot speed. Freak, the tight end, is probably the best run blocker on the team. Ciro, the center (and as everyone knows, the center is always the best dancer of all the linemen), successfully handles a giant nose guard just about every game and is one of the best downfield blockers I’ve coached. Fortunately, I have great depth at the guard position. Vincenzo (“The Butcher,” literally) and Lorenzo (a young guy who has made drastic improvements this season) are the two starters to go along with four reliable back-ups. I’m extremely proud of the O-line at this point in the season.
On the other side of the ball, our defensive line gave the Rams big problems all day. We had tremendous penetration from our linemen which was not good for a Ram offense that relied on a lot of misdirection. We play a 3-4 scheme and have a very athletic and deep front seven. We rotate six d-linemen and have six very good linebackers. The linebacker corps may be the most talented unit on the team. They’re led by Vito, a guy who looks exactly like an Italian football player should look. Tall, dark haired, dark skinned, about 215-pounds, and could probably play any position on the field. The unit also features an 18-year-old named Lorenzo Buonfiglio who is dead set on coming back to the States with me to spend his senior year playing football in America. So, if there’s any high school coaches out there reading… this kid is a stud!
Highlights of the game included six rushing touchdowns… two each from my fullback, Tommy, and tailback, Paolo. These two have given us a lot of versatility in the running game. Tommy is a good blocker, runs like a truck between the tackles, and has solid hands in the passing game. Paolo is a string bean but is as tough as nails. He’s a great outside runner but also has good vision and cutback ability on inside runs. Pasquale “Chinese” Fusco (pictured above), the back-up QB, also ran in a touchdown, as did our rookie running back, Andrea. Truly, Milan was lucky we didn’t hang 50 points on them as we threw two red zone interceptions.
Other random highlights included one of our ball carriers being tripped with a full-on slide tackle (no penalty called, obviously). Safety Stefano Chitos had two interceptions and made five of six extra points (that’s a big deal for us!). At one point in the game, the ref made an incorrect call (NOT a rarity) then, instead of correcting it, waddled over to our sidelines, removed his hat, bowed and apologized. I felt like Ron Burgandy… “I’m not even mad… that’s amazing!” After the game, the players did their song-and-dance routine to “Hey Baby” then proceeded to rip the underwear off of Andrea, celebrating his first career playing time… welcome to the Big Show, kid. Also, I must give a shout-out to a handful of our American friends who made the trip out to the stadium… thanks!
In non-football happenings… I went on a very cool hike on Saturday. Brennan and I went with two friends, Squeak and Jany, on a hike called The Path of the Gods. The trail looked over the town of Positano, a small town on the Amalfi coast. We hiked through some low-lying clouds, but the views were tremendous throughout the day. We’ll probably do the hike again when we have some visitors in town. Of course, after Sunday’s win the celebration at the Covo was a blast. On this occasion, several of our players adorned neckties, blazers and no shirts for the evening. I can’t wait to see what’s next… hula skirts and coconut bras? I KNOW there has to be a toga party somewhere in the future.
I have about six weeks left in Italy and I’m very excited about my remaining days here. We have one more regular season game (an away game against a divisional rival… the Parma Bobcats of “Playing for Pizza” fame). After that, the playoffs begin and the intensity level on the field with be ratcheted up! Also, the summer season is upon us, which means more day trips to places like Capri, Ischia, and Pompei. Plus, I’m ready to have some more visitors here, which will begin this weekend when Brennan’s father arrives. I’m also hoping to spend a lot of time with the team during these remaining weeks as they’ve become like family to me. And, as much as I’m looking forward to May and the first half of June, I’m excited to return to my home this summer and reunite with my friends and family!
Plain and simple, we absolutely dominated the game up front. The Rams’ defensive front looked like they were wearing rollerblades as our offensive line pushed them all over the field. My right tackle, Albo (a converted tight end in just his second year of football), had his best game of the season. Salvatore, the left tackle, is a good athlete with great hips and foot speed. Freak, the tight end, is probably the best run blocker on the team. Ciro, the center (and as everyone knows, the center is always the best dancer of all the linemen), successfully handles a giant nose guard just about every game and is one of the best downfield blockers I’ve coached. Fortunately, I have great depth at the guard position. Vincenzo (“The Butcher,” literally) and Lorenzo (a young guy who has made drastic improvements this season) are the two starters to go along with four reliable back-ups. I’m extremely proud of the O-line at this point in the season.
On the other side of the ball, our defensive line gave the Rams big problems all day. We had tremendous penetration from our linemen which was not good for a Ram offense that relied on a lot of misdirection. We play a 3-4 scheme and have a very athletic and deep front seven. We rotate six d-linemen and have six very good linebackers. The linebacker corps may be the most talented unit on the team. They’re led by Vito, a guy who looks exactly like an Italian football player should look. Tall, dark haired, dark skinned, about 215-pounds, and could probably play any position on the field. The unit also features an 18-year-old named Lorenzo Buonfiglio who is dead set on coming back to the States with me to spend his senior year playing football in America. So, if there’s any high school coaches out there reading… this kid is a stud!
Highlights of the game included six rushing touchdowns… two each from my fullback, Tommy, and tailback, Paolo. These two have given us a lot of versatility in the running game. Tommy is a good blocker, runs like a truck between the tackles, and has solid hands in the passing game. Paolo is a string bean but is as tough as nails. He’s a great outside runner but also has good vision and cutback ability on inside runs. Pasquale “Chinese” Fusco (pictured above), the back-up QB, also ran in a touchdown, as did our rookie running back, Andrea. Truly, Milan was lucky we didn’t hang 50 points on them as we threw two red zone interceptions.
Other random highlights included one of our ball carriers being tripped with a full-on slide tackle (no penalty called, obviously). Safety Stefano Chitos had two interceptions and made five of six extra points (that’s a big deal for us!). At one point in the game, the ref made an incorrect call (NOT a rarity) then, instead of correcting it, waddled over to our sidelines, removed his hat, bowed and apologized. I felt like Ron Burgandy… “I’m not even mad… that’s amazing!” After the game, the players did their song-and-dance routine to “Hey Baby” then proceeded to rip the underwear off of Andrea, celebrating his first career playing time… welcome to the Big Show, kid. Also, I must give a shout-out to a handful of our American friends who made the trip out to the stadium… thanks!
In non-football happenings… I went on a very cool hike on Saturday. Brennan and I went with two friends, Squeak and Jany, on a hike called The Path of the Gods. The trail looked over the town of Positano, a small town on the Amalfi coast. We hiked through some low-lying clouds, but the views were tremendous throughout the day. We’ll probably do the hike again when we have some visitors in town. Of course, after Sunday’s win the celebration at the Covo was a blast. On this occasion, several of our players adorned neckties, blazers and no shirts for the evening. I can’t wait to see what’s next… hula skirts and coconut bras? I KNOW there has to be a toga party somewhere in the future.
I have about six weeks left in Italy and I’m very excited about my remaining days here. We have one more regular season game (an away game against a divisional rival… the Parma Bobcats of “Playing for Pizza” fame). After that, the playoffs begin and the intensity level on the field with be ratcheted up! Also, the summer season is upon us, which means more day trips to places like Capri, Ischia, and Pompei. Plus, I’m ready to have some more visitors here, which will begin this weekend when Brennan’s father arrives. I’m also hoping to spend a lot of time with the team during these remaining weeks as they’ve become like family to me. And, as much as I’m looking forward to May and the first half of June, I’m excited to return to my home this summer and reunite with my friends and family!
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