Nov. 5, 2025
By Bruce Bartlett
Staff Writer
The football season concluded on Nov. 1 following a 7-46 loss away against Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark in the first round of playoffs.
Following a 35-7 win in an away game against Park Ridge High School on Oct. 24, the football team completed its regular season with a record of 6-3. All of the team’s wins this year have been blowouts, the closest being a 24-7 victory against New Milford High School on Sept. 8.
Led by senior captains Nate Boyd, Matthew Jarvis and Shadeed Smith, sophomore kicker Anthony Andrinopoulos said he is proud of his team for recovering after the loss of 16 graduating seniors, the most influential being quarterback Shawn Bellinger and running back Roddy Morinho. Those seniors led the team to its best record since 2019 when it finished 7-1.
“This season is just as challenging as the last, but I think we managed to fill in the spots where seniors were last year very well,” Andrinopoulos said.
He has contributed to the team by taking charge of extra points, field goals, kickoffs and punts. He is 30 for 31 on extra point attempts and four for seven on field goals, the longest of which was 36 yards against Palisades Park High School on Sept. 26.
Andrinopoulos said, despite the team’s winning record, there is room for growth.
“[The] team needs to improve on focusing on our jobs and our parts of the game, and once we do that, we will be unstoppable,” Andrinopoulos said.
Sophomore Avery Cano is another high-achieving player. On Oct. 18, he broke 1,000 rushing yards in a home game against Glen Rock High School with 44 yards in the game.
Cano, who was named The Observer’s Athlete of the Week from Sept. 14-20, has been averaging 121 rushing yards per game and about two rushing touchdowns a game.
Cano said the team’s success requires diligence on and off the field.
“Out of football, our behavior [must be solid] – not messing around, taking everything [seriously], having good practices,” Cano said.
He said this year has been demanding.
“This season is just as challenging as the last, but I think we managed to fill in the spots where seniors were last year very well.”
“We’ve lost [some of] our [offensive] line, [and] this year’s game schedule definitely had a lot more competition we had to play against,” Cano said.
He said the team’s biggest rival this season was Becton Regional High School, which LHS played in an away game on Oct. 3. LHS lost that game 13-14 after missing a two-point conversion attempt to win with a few seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Head Coach Tuero, who is in his 12th year as head coach, said he will never forget enduring a loss in such a close game.
“That moment will haunt me the rest of my life,” Tuero said. “The greatest challenge I face as a coach is letting go of the losses.”
Tuero said he requires his players to follow a strict set of rules.
“If you want to be a part of my program, you must have discipline, loyalty and respect,” Tuero said. “That is the recipe for success.”
