Panthers look to climb back in DIII

The Johnston football team is back and ready to make another run at a Division III championship.
The Panthers suffered a devastating loss to eventual champ Middletown in last year’s semifinals. Johnston graduated a significant potion of its roster, including offensive playmakers Steve Finegan, NeAri Vasquez and Mike Carlino.
Returning, though, is all-division quarterback Matt Clements, who enjoyed a breakout year last fall and is poised to be among the top signal callers in the league.
Despite the loss of those three standouts, Clements has been encouraged early on by what he is seeing from the returners stepping up.
“What (offensive coordinator) Tom (Centore) did last year prepped us for this. The line is looking strong, Mike Abbruzzi is stepping up, young guys like Fabian Saucedo are stepping up, James Estrada is back. There’s a lot of new guys but they took a backseat last year to those other guys,” said Clements, who also feels more sure of himself this season. “I feel the pressure but I like it. These guys trust me. Last year was a big quarterback competition but this year everybody trusts me and I can be a teacher.”
Also returning to the mix is fellow senior Dean Paris, who was an all-division linebacker and figures to be a two-way player for the Panthers.
Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo has put his faith in his two captains, and believes that building the offensive line will help fill the void in production.
“We have some leadership back with Matt and Dean, and that’s a good place to start. We have a lot of young guys. At the end of the day, they say you start with the quarterback, but really, you start at the center and work your way out. It’s about getting those guys up front to work. Guys can throw, guys can catch. The war is won in the trenches,” Acciardo said. “It’s hard to make up for the guys [we lost] from last year, but you need 10 to play 5. We need depth on the line and to be injury free.”
Clements believes that doing the little things and building each week will be important for the Panthers to hit the ground running.
“It’s the fundamentals first, and what Coach Tom does is add plays throughout the year. To start, it will be simple traps, go’s, simple coverages. Guys are adapting well to it,” said Clements.
Acciardo has also been pleased with the improvements he has seen from Clements.
“Matt is a guy that is always growing. He’s a smart guy, he’s a brainiac, so there’s not a better position for him to be than quarterback. There’s no better guy to have at quarterback,” Acciardo said. “That’s how Dean is on defense, and that’s a great place to start, and we’ll figure it out from there.”

Clements is relishing the chance to lead his hometown team in his senior year, something that he had trouble picturing three years ago as a freshman.
“I knew coming in freshman year that I had some skills, but I never thought I’d have the all-division year that I had. I’m excited, but I earned it,” said Clements, who also hopes that last year’s loss fuels the incoming seniors. “It hurt, it was hell, but it is just another reason to go out there to try to do it again. For some of the seniors, they may never play again. This is our last ride.”