After Championship, Promotion to New Conference, AP Randoph HS Football Coach Eric Perlowitz Optimistic of Successful 2023 Season   

How does a football team repeat its success from a year ago after going undefeated in league play and winning a PSAL B Conference championship?

For A. Phillip Randolph, head coach Eric Perlowitz said he is confident his squad will enjoy another impressive season, despite the PSAL moving them up to the more competitive AA Conference.

Though the Cougars lost approximately 20 players to graduation, Perlowitz said they have retooled, and have a good number of players (50 at the start) on their roster, many of which are talented, due to the coaching staff’s freshmen outreaching efforts over the years at A. Phillip Randolph.

“We have a lot (of players) this year,” the Carmel, New York, resident said of the size of the roster. “That’s good to say after graduating 20 kids. But that’s the work we put in as coaches.”

However, Cougar football is not a one-person operation, seeing vital contributions from the coaching staff, including his dad Bruce, who coached youth football in Pleasantville, N.Y., for many years, and his junior varsity head coach Sean Frawley, to the administration.

“He’s a big part of the coaching staff,” Perlowitz said of Frawley. “He does more than most coaches do. He takes care of the physicals, and runs our academic off-season program,” which has a 100 percent football on time, successful graduation rate since he took over the head coaching reins in 2019, he emphasized.

Also, Perlowitz said, “Our principal (David Fanning) is a huge advocate. We couldn’t do it without his support.”

Another reason for Perlowitz’s optimism is senior quarterback/kicker Jaden Haly, who sat behind standout signal caller Nate Nurse–now at Division II Lincoln University–for a whole year after transferring in from Cardinals Hayes High School in the Bronx last season.

Perlowitz said Haly has worked extremely hard to prepare his body for the rigors of the upcoming PSAL campaign while improving his overall game. He said it will pay dividends for him, as well as the Cougars, in 2023.

“He (Haly) spent a year learning the system,” explained Perlowitz, who is also the school’s athletic director. “He spent the off-season training. He’s bigger, faster and has a better arm. He’s quicker and stronger now, and that will benefit him on the field.”

Another gifted player Perlowitz noted is senior Yomar Perez, a solid running back/cornerback.

“He plays all sides of the ball,” he said. “He’s very coachable and has talent. We’re going to expect a lot from him.”

As for the offensive and defensive lines, Perlowitz said a pair of seniors, Richard Stratton (nose guard/center) and Lenz Pierrot (guard/defensive tackle), are the players who will anchor both respective lines.

“He is one of the most athletic lineman I’ve seen in a long time,” Perlowitz waxed poetically of Pierrot’s overall physical abilities.

A competitive bunch of student-athletes will fill the other three open positions on both sides of the lines, he noted.

“Right now, we have a healthy competition going on with three open spots, with kids battling for those spots,” Perlowitz enthusiastically said.

Additionally, Perlowitz and the coaching staff have sung the praises of sophomore running back/cornerback Travis Gamble, a player who came in from Florida last year.

“The kid is a football player,” he said of the former junior varsity player who the coaching moved up to varsity for three games last season. “He is going to be a huge part of the team. He’ll be all over the field. He’s an offensive weapon.”

Other noteworthy players include running back/cornerback Jaden Padilla, whom Perlowitz said: “He had an awesome off-season.”

Plus, junior running back/cornerback Gmaryah Mnahsheh, whom Perlowitz described as a Swiss army knife-type of player, used for many different on-the-field situations.

Add in senior fullback/middle linebacker Rodny Fernandez, a homegrown player that has been with the program since his freshman year, that he believes will prove worthy. While his numbers may not light up a stat sheet, Perlowitz said his team-first, lunchpail attitude makes him a coach’s dream.

“He’s been with me all four years,” he said of Fernandez. “He’s got one of the best work ethics a coach can ask for. He’s a guy any coach would love to have. He’s a team player; a special kind of player.”

Other players of note include seniors Dontay Hudson and Foday Sheriff; juniors Luis Fernandez, David Folkes and Roddrick Vivieca; and sophomore Lord Winston.

While he loves his returning players, Perlowitz is high on his incoming freshman class as right away contributors and future stellar mainstays at A. Phillip Randolph High School football.

“This is a pretty special group,” Perlowitz said of this upcoming campaign’s group of players. “In addition, the future of our program is looking brighter by the day as we added incoming freshman quarterback/athlete Emmanuel Opoku and speedster Zahaire Jones, who highlights an insanely talented freshman class for 2023-2024.” 

The Cougars begin the season on Friday, September 1st, in a non-league game against PSAL Quadruple-A JFK at 161 St Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx.

— Jerry Del Priore 

Photos: Courtesy of APR High School Football