SLIDELL, La. – Pope John Paul II played its 2019 football season without head coach Charlie Cryer because of a medical emergency before the start of the regular season.
“I had my transplant on the 26th of September and I saw week 8, 9, and 10 from the endzone in the car so I didn’t do a whole lot with them. I was here to support him and that was about all I could do,” says Coach Cryer.
Coach Cryer says that he’s feeling great and ready to kick off his 3rd season as Jags’ head coach.
In 2020, Pope John Paul II has a lot of returning two-way starters.
On top of that, they’ve added players from another program that is already accustomed to winning.
“We have had about 5 or 6 soccer kids come out which are going to help us. They’re older kids and they have been involved in a winning program and we need more kids around us that have won more. I think we have that and I think are committed, we are very committed this year,” says Coach Cryer.
On offense, PJP will look to Senior Running back, Joseph Estopinal, to carry the load and Senior Safety, Brady Pisciotta, to hold down the secondary on defense.
“Joey has been our running back for 3 years and Brady has been our strong safety. Great leaders and they have stuck through the rough. it’s been rough around here for a while, especially for them. I think their leadership and what they want to accomplish this year is really good for this team and the younger kids,” says Coach Cryer.
Both Pisciotta and Estopinal say they’ll be playing their senior season with a chip on their shoulder after a 1-8-1 finish in 2019.
Estopinal says, “I have had a chip on my shoulder for 4 years and it just keeps growing and growing and growing.”
Pisciotta adds, “We’ve struggled a lot over the past seasons, not really having the best leaders, having a few good leaders, but it motivates us because we’ve been here through it all. We’ve seen the losing and we are just tired of it and we want to win. It’s something that we want to do instead of just going out there and playing. We have a goal in mind and we want to accomplish that goal.”
