Trezza bridging gap between North and South BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer Above, Middletown North head coach Joe Trezza works the sidelines just before kickoff of Friday night's game in Middletown against Brick Township. Below, North's Jim Trancucci tries to break free of the tackle of Brick's Joe Cusanelli. Joe Trezza knows what it takes to be put together a winning high school football program. After all, he spent the last four seasons helping coach one of the elite programs in the state at Middletown South, where he was the running backs and linebackers coach for the three-time defending state champion Eagles. But now the 27-year-old Trezza has a whole new challenge ahead of him - helping to get the Eagles crosstown rivals from Middletown North back to the state tournament. Trezza, a 1997 graduate of Middletown South who went on to play at Lebanon Valley (Pa.) College, is no stranger to Middletown North football. He grew up rooting for the Lions because of his late father, Nick, who was a legendary Pop Warner coach in Middletown, as well as his uncles, who starred at Middletown High School (now North) before Middletown South was created in 1976. PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Now, after earning a reputation as an up-and-coming coach during his time at Middletown South, Trezza is ready to help the Lions recapture some of the glory of its past. Thus far, Trezza, whose coaching staff includes his brother, Nick, as the offensive coordinator, certainly seems to be enjoying the challenge. "It's been awesome," he said. "The kids have been great, so it's like a dream come true. It's everything you've always wanted it to be." With the Lions coming off a 3-7 season, and having to replace a host of graduated stars, Trezza entered the season with realistic expectations. "We want to be competitive all season and get better every week," he said. A quick look at Friday night's scoreboard would suggest that the Lions fell short of the first goal in their 27-0 loss to Brick Township. However, the Lions' defense kept them in the game in the first half, holding the Green Dragons to just 7 yards rushing, as the two teams entered the break deadlocked at 0-0. However, in the second half, the Brick offense began to wear down the young Lion defense, scoring on its first three possessions of the third quarter to put the game away. "We ran out of gas there in the second half," Trezza said. "Right now our defense is ahead of our offense because it's more senior-dominated. We have three sophomores starting on offense right now, and it could be more before long." Trezza's spread option offense, which struggled mightily against Brick's solid defense, is led by senior quarterback J.P. Pinero, while senior Jimmy Trancucci is expected to get plenty of carries from his fullback position. The running backs are senior P.J. Corr and sophomore Ully Gibson, while another sophomore, Nick Zinner, joins senior Kyle Copeman at the wideout positions. The Lions' offensive line includes senior Rob Shope at left tackle, junior Shane Hall at left guard, sophomore Frank Constantine at center, junior Paul Muller at right guard and senior Mike Brandow at right tackle. Many of the same players will be featured on defense, with Shope and junior Matt Lennox at the defensive end positions, Muller and senior Blake Marron at defensive tackle, seniors Mike Shope and Ryan Featherman playing outside linebacker, and Trancucci and senior Andrew Lachawiec at the inside linebacker spots. The secondary features Gibson and Copeman on the corners, and senior Mike Eberhard at the safety. While Trezza certainly understands that his program is a work in progress, he can't hide his enthusiasm. "The kids are working really hard," he said. "We're gonna get there. We moved the ball a little bit in the first half against Brick, and the defense played very well in the first half." As to whether Trezza's presence at Middletown North has turned any heads around the Shore, the first-year coach certainly has the support of his new crosstown rival. "He'll be fine; he's a great fit for that team," South head coach Steve Antonucci said. "He's got a great mentality for coaching. They may not win a lot right now, but they'll get there." As for whether Trezza, at such a young age, is experienced enough to rebuild a struggling program in such a competitive division, Antonucci again sounded confident in his former assistant. "I got [a first head coaching job] when I was that young, and coach [Bob] Generelli got it when he was that young," he said. "You've got to start sometime. He's ready." Next up for the Lions is a team that many people are calling one of the up-and-coming programs in the Shore in Colts Neck. The Cougars opened with an impressive win over Howell on Friday, and will certainly challenge Trezza's young defense. "Colts Neck's a very good team," the coach said. "They want to line up and come right at you." A lot of people around Middletown are expecting to say the same thing at the Lions in the near future.