Christian Helm doesn’t want to make any excuses about the 3-7 record Nutley had in his first season as head coach.
But as Helm starts his second season leading the Maroon Raiders, the difference of a normal offseason and weightroom, as well as an additional year of implementing the culture he wants to create is obvious.
“It’s not even close (comparing this preseason to last year’s). Truthfully, we’re practicing at a level that I thought we wouldn’t even be at just yet,” said Helm, adding that they are starting to rebuild that Nutley tradition. “You can see it in the way they work, the way they practice, the way they’re playing. We’re far ahead than we were last year.”
One player who has shown as much progress as any is senior quarterback Clark Mohrbutter (6-1, 195), who enters his second full season as starter. Mohrbutter threw for 919 yards and six touchdowns last year and is poised for even bigger things as he continues to become more accustomed to the position and Helm’s offense.
“You can just see the maturity in him as a person on and off the field,” Helm said. “We definitely feel strongly about him in that leadership role. His teammates voted him heavily to be captain and he’s a great leader and he’s really understanding the game.”
Mohrbutter and the Nutley offense are sure to be helped out by the fact that this year’s Raiders have a deeper collection of offensive skill players and big play threats than they’ve had in recent memory.
Sophomore Aidan Rotbaum (5-9, 180), a starting linebacker and standout wrestler last year, adds lead running back to his resume. The hard-running Rotbaum is joined by senior captain Tyler Von Roth (6-1, 190), a physical fullback, and electric junior Zahir Weatherington (5-10, 175), a dynamic speedster who moved into Nutley from Clifton.
Adding to the big play ability are junior wide receivers and cousins Jeremiah Tirado (5-10, 180) and Jalyn Caraballo (6-2, 190). Caraballo has grown three inches since getting seven catches for 189 yards as a sophomore, and Tirado is poised to do big things after missing last year due to injury.
Jordan Small (6-0, 160), Michael Sanabria (6-0, 175) and Leander Mejias (5-8, 165) are also options at receiver, while Nick Gallo (6-1, 190) and Tim Gordon (6-1, 200) are battling it out at tight end.
“We can get into reduce sets and get to some of our spread stuff. We can go from spread to our reduce (formation) and vice versa. We can power run if we need to. We can be in convoy, which I think is going to be a major issue for people,” said Helm. “We should be pretty balanced and I think we’re going to be tough to defend.”
Helm is very high on his offensive line, giving strong praise to O-Line coach Brian Kutzleb, who like the rest of the staff, is comprised entirely of Nutley alums.
Senior captain Damiano Farro (6-1, 220), a three-year starter on the offensive line, moves over to left tackle. Senior Gerard Russo (5-11, 190) returns to start at left guard and senior Justin Bido (6-0, 210) shifts to center from tackle. Another senior, Paul Vazquez (6-0, 210) is set to start at right guard and junior Matt Serritella (6-1, 230) at right tackle.
Juniors Noah Smith (6-3, 220) and Andrew Abdelmalak (6-3, 260), freshman Luciano Pizano (6-3, 240) and senior Gerald Santangelo (5-8, 180) add depth to the line.
Nutley’s defense has a new look with a 4-2-5 scheme as the Raiders will bring a level of speed to the unit not normally associated with the program.
“It’s definitely a different look. I know it’s a different defensive scheme for sure,” Helm said. “It allows some of those athletic kids to get on the field and we’re fortunate enough I think to have a good crop of kids on the back end that can definitely help get it done.”
Weatherington starts at one corner while juniors Mo Mughal (6-1, 175) and Max Forcer (5-9, 160) are competing at the other spot. Small starts at free safety, Tirado takes over at strong safety and sophomore Dom Saladino (5-11, 175) is the rover.
The linebacking group is an experienced one with seniors Sander Boissard (5-9, 175) and Andrew Santangelo (5-9, 175) and Rotbaum all back with starting experience.
Farro and Abdelmalak are projected to start inside at defensive tackle with Von Roth and Caraballo set to bring speed off the edge at defensive end.
Nutley, which closed last year with wins in three of its last four games, looks to build off that momentum on Thursday, Aug. 29 when it hosts an always-tough River Dell team at 6:30 p.m. A trip to longtime rival Bloomfield follows on Sept. 6.
“We love this place, we love these kids and I’m telling you, there’s something special about them,” Helm said. “They’re very tough. Nutley’s always had tough kids and I think it’s a lot of good pieces coming together now.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)