Wallkill Valley (7-0) Outmuscling Its Opponents

The Wallkill Valley football team has been throwing its weight around in the SFC-National Blue this fall – because the Rangers have spent the last two offseasons pumping more iron than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Walk into the gym any time of year and you’ll see 10-15-20 guys lifting weights,” senior Rocco Restel said. “We have noticed that it has helped us with our physicality and we are stronger and bigger than any other team.”

The Rangers newfound strength came through once again as they improved to 7-0 after posting a 14-0 shutout win over Verona over the weekend.

Wallkill was constantly in Verona’s backfield as it rang up three sacks (Zane Russell, Michael Testa, Nicolas Hamarcak) and nine tackles for loss (Testa had four, while Travis Barlow, Gabriel Perrotto-Wald, Russell, Hamarcak, and Restel had one apiece).

Wallkill is a win over Lenape Valley away from winning the National Blue. The two play in two weeks. The Rangers have tied for divisional championships in their history (2018, 2024) but have never won one outright.

That has been the battlecry this year.

“We want our very own,” Restel said. “That is what the kids want.”

The defense has led the way. While the offense has been good, the ‘D’ has been superb.

“The last two years, our defense has been our identity,” coach Jim Hamill said. “Our kids play a brand of football that relates to defense.”

That all comes back to the hard-nosed, physical, brutish attitude brought about by the commitment to the weight room. As little as three years ago, Wallkill was like the weak, skinny kid who got sand kicked in his face by the muscular guy at the beach.

The team’s softness can be traced to a 2024 game against Sussex Tech, which rushed for over 400 yards and beat Wallkill.

But one play stands out: Sussex Tech behemoth Gavin Mercile – all 6-foot, 3, 245 pounds of him – carried the ball and a swarm of Rangers couldn’t bring him down.

Ever see a group of children try and bring down a grown man? That’s what Wallkill looked like on that one Mericle carry.

Recalled Restel, “They handed the ball to him, it was a big game, and there was a fullback dive. We had three guys on his legs and one guy on his back and he carried them 15 yards. On his back and legs. 

“I was like, ‘Wow, he is so much bigger. We need to get stronger and attack the weight room. It was a WOW moment for all of us.”

It was Hamill’s first year.

“I remember we had maybe three kids in the weight room in those days … not good,” he said. “We had three kids on Mercile. It was a pretty embarrassing game. That was the cherry on top. ‘We need to get in the weight room.’”

Slowly, the Rangers have gravitated to lifting with such usual movements as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, etc. 

Hamill visited Rutgers and witnessed those athletes perform dynamic-type movements.

“I want our guys to be athletic, not big lugs that cannot move,” Hamill said. “So we do a little bit of everything.”

Hamill was hired in March 2024 and barely had enough time to incorporate an offseason program. That has changed dramatically ever since – and so has the team’s strength, agility and conditioning.

The team really dove into the weights between last year and this season.

“We were tiny and there was not much of a weight room program,” he said. The kids were undersized. The major focus was to improve the football culture as a whole but also the weight room.

“It’s paid off tremendously, not just how physical we play but in injury prevention. It’s become a cornerstone. The kids are a lot more confident now.”

The team also exhibits incredible on-field intelligence rarely seen on a high school field. Wallkill is supremely intelligent. The kids are immersed in film study daily and cannot get enough.

“The kids are smart,” Hamill said. “Our kids understand our system so well, they are an extension of the coaching staff. They make checks and calls on things. They put in over 3-4-5 hours of film study a week. They are an intelligent bunch of players. Football is a lifestyle. They make choices every day with football in mind. That has not always been the case at Wallkill Valley.”

The defense has been getting contributions from all over the field, from the front line (Ezekiel Frayko, Hamarcak, Perrott-Wald), to the linebackers (Testa, Barlow, Mason Yorke, and Restel), to the secondary (Maddox Boyd, Carlow Colon, Scottie Weiss, Kenny Brown).

The Verona game typified what the Rangers have done all season. The team has 12 sacks and 48 ½ tackles for loss. Testa (1 ½ sacks, 8 ½ tackles for loss), Hamarcak (3 ½ sacks, 7 TFL), Perrotto-Wald (1 ½ sacks, 7 TFL) and Restel (7 TFL), have led the brigade in opponents’ backfields.

“That shows where our kids are smart,” Hamill said. “They understand technique and concepts of other teams’ run game and pass game. When we first took over they couldn’t tell what was power or what a counter was. Now, it’s ‘Coach, they like pro trips and they run counter trey.’ It’s like we have a bunch of coaches on the field. It’s impressive in practice. The kids know what’s coming on the scout team.”

Coaching might well be in the future for some of these Rangers.

“It’s reached the point where we have gameplanned and then the other team may come out in something different,” Hamill said. “We can check in to things in our back pocket from film review without a big dropoff.”

The offense is led by a balanced running game featuring Barlow (411 yards, 5 TDs), Weiss (334 yards, 2 TDs), Yorke (252 yards, 3 TDs), and Perrotto-Wald (165 yards, 4 TDs). The team has rushed 194 times for 1,310 yards and 16 TDs).

“Our offensive coordinator, Dan Rosanelli, got us to using a four-headed monster in the backfield in Barlow, Gabriel, Yorke and Scottie Weiss,” Hamill said. “We rotate them in. We have a couple of sets where all four are on the field at one time. It’s a potent package. They are big physical kids who block tremendously. They are really impressive to watch.”

The team is experiencing success moving the ball despite the loss of starting QB Cole Bolich, who was injured in Week 3. Nathan Zanella has stepped in and done well (28 for 48, 413 yards, 8 TDs, just 2 INTs). Testa (25 for 313, 5 TDs) has been the leading receiver along with Colon (14 for 153, 2 TDs).

“We struggled last year because we were banged up and we had some new guys,” Hamill said. “This is the second straight year we lost our starting QB but Zanella has stepped in and he is doing a great job. The big difference is we have two guys out wide in Tesla and Colon who stretch the field and give defenses fits.”

Hamill is looking at the playoffs but is not gameplanning for any opponents just yet. The team is currently 10th but has beaten two teams ranked ahead lately of them in Verona and Glen Ridge.

Going on the road to Kinnelon and beating the eighth-seeded Colts would be another win over a team seeded ahead of them. The first 16 teams qualify.

“It looks like we’ll be on the road and playing at New Milford as of right now,” Hamill said. “Beating who we have beaten allows us to make up some ground and we hope we can do that against Kinnelon.”