Returning Contributors: Watchung Hills Warriors Linemen
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After a 7-2 regular season, the Watchung Hills Warriors hosted a playoff game, and won their first playoff game by 1-score against a 3-win Bridgewater-Raritan team. The long-time-coming season would end short of a sectional title game – which would…
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Continue ReadingAfter a 7-2 regular season, the Watchung Hills Warriors hosted a playoff game, and won their first playoff game by 1-score against a 3-win Bridgewater-Raritan team. The long-time-coming season would end short of a sectional title game – which would have been their first since 1978 – to the hands of Montclair by a field goal with under a minute left.
Who will the Warriors be counting on to replicate and expand upon last year’s success? Here are some of their top returning players for the 2024 season.
One of two returning guards along the Warriors’ offensive line is Jake Carfaro Jake Carfaro 6’0″ | 230 lbs | OL Watchung Hills | 2025 NJ . Carfaro’s play beings with his solid base and drive to keep his feet moving and he does a nice job staying active. Solid in pass protection, we see Carfaro create separation by locking his arms out. Somehow, Carfaro has figured out to chop defensive linemen’s hands down, only to chop them down again face-first to the ground when protecting the quarterback. Because he can move pretty fluidly, as a junior he a solid job as a puller. There are some technical elements of Carfaro’s game that he can stand to build and improve upon; however, if I was coaching him I think the first thing I would clean up is using his hands. In pass protection he should look to punch and recoil and in run blocking he should work to refit under the defender’s chest plate.
Film from his freshman year shows that Camryn Ralli Camryn Ralli OL Watchung Hills | 2026 NJ is a prospect in the pipeline that we ought to be aware of. The junior-to-be show flashes of being the type of player I would want as my nose in a 30 front. Ralli has a solid get off that enables him to easily beat slower linemen across their face. He uses his hands by consistently getting his hands on the man in front of him. coached with solid technique, from there he keeps his feet buzzing and works offensive linemen back. We see glimpses of Ralli feeling – and fighting against – pressure. When asked to bounce out to a 4i we see that Ralli rallies to the ball well too. From an offensive standpoint Ralli played center his freshman year. His biggest redeeming trait was that he keeps coming at you, looking to block from snap until the whistle has stopped being blown. Additionally, Ralli lets undisciplined down-linemen fight against themselves as he simply rides them upfield as they go with pressure. Granted we did not see film of him from his sophomore season in 2023, based on what I saw Ralli would benefit from, defensively, moving his off-hand forward a bit so it does not have to come from as far back when he strikes his opponent and, offensively, improving his base and ability to snap-and-step simultaneously.
The second of two guards returning, Alejandro Dilone Alejandro Dilone 5’9″ | 200 lbs | OL Watchung Hills | 2025 NJ is primed to build off of a big season. Dilone has the makeup of a Watchung Hills-coached offensive lineman. He is tough, grinds, does not relent, and wants to finish his blocks with you on the ground and him pinning you down. When asked to pull, Dilone does a nice job exploding low-to-high out of his stance. Should Dilone ever not get his head around on a reach block, he understands the importance of opening a gap and will commit to a drive block out of the frame instead. In pass protection we see that he does a nice job refitting his hands and using his height to maintain lower leverage against taller opponents. Additionally, Dilone has a solid base and does not appear to get off balance too often. An area for Dilone to be mindful of is to sit back in pass protection. He looks as if he leans forward slightly, which against astute defenders can be exploited.