CATCHING ON: Princeton High senior receiver Remmick Granozio heads upfield in recent action. Last Saturday, Granozio made three receptions for 41 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown catch, in a losing cause as PHS lost 14-7 to Riverside to move to 1-1. The Tigers will look to get back on the winning track when they host Haddon Township on September 9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Remmick Granozio dabbled in flag football as a middle schooler, playing in the Princeton Junior Football League.

Once Granozio got to Princeton High in 2020, however, he poured his athletic efforts into basketball, developing into a threat from the perimeter as a sharp-shooting guard.

Heading into his senior year at PHS, Granozio decided to give tackle football a try at the urging of his friends who convinced him to join the Tiger squad.

“Running back Tyler Goldberg reached out and got me to come out here,” said Granozio. “I had focused on basketball; this is my senior year and I wanted to come out here. These guys work super hard every day.”

Impressing the PHS football coaching staff with his work ethic, Granozio has emerged as a key option at wide receiver.

In the Tigers’ season-opening 20-0 win at Lawrence High on August 25, Granozio sparkled in his gridiron debut, making three receptions for 18 yards.

“Obviously there were butterflies in that first game,” said Granozio. “It has just been really exciting, I love being out here; these guys are just like a brotherhood. It is a lot of fun.”

Last Saturday against visiting Riverside, Granozio had more fun, scoring his first career touchdown as he snared a 28-yard pass from Travis Petrone and lunged into the end zone as PHS drew to within 14-7 of the Rams midway through the fourth quarter.

“Travis [Petrone] and Wyatt [Arshan] had a great middle screen in the beginning of the game where they executed well even if it didn’t go for a big gain,” said Granozio. “On that play, we ran that fake, everyone bit up, and I slipped by the defense. I wasn’t thinking of anything, it was a great ball from Travis. I didn’t have to move for it. I was just trying to help the team win. It was really exciting.”

Although PHS didn’t win as it fell by that 14-7 margin, Granozio was proud of the way the Tigers battled to the final horn.

“We put up a great fight, there were moments where we could have capitalized,” said Granozio, who ended up with three receptions for 41 yards on the day. “It was just hard down in the red zone. They are a tough team, they are good down there.”

In joining the PHS football program, Granozio had to toughen up physically.

“We have been lifting since January actually; they were focused on that Lawrence game since January,” said Granozio. “Everyone has been excited for the season. We run at practice a lot, we are conditioned. You see guys cramping on the other team today and we are not because we practice really hard.”

For Granozio, one of the hardest parts of his transition has been mastering the finer points of his position.

“There are a lot of logistics you don’t really realize when you first come out, whether it be lining up on the line of scrimmage or shaking someone off or making a block,” said Granozio. “As a wide receiver, it is all of the stuff you don’t really see from the crowd.”

Granozio’s teammates have helped him develop a comfort level.

“Coming out at wide receiver, the quarterbacks are making great throws, I don’t have to move that much,” said Granozio. “I am just trying to learn every day from the guys. Wyatt and Ellington [Hinds] have helped me a lot.”

It has taken long for Granozio to get in synch with junior quarterback Petrone.

“We are starting to build that trust,” said Granozio. “He finds me which is nice.”

PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher is developing trust in Granozio.

“We are happy he is out here; he made those connections and we have to get him more involved in the game,” said Gallagher. “We faked that middle screen and they bit on that. That was good, it is drawn up that way. Travis put a nice ball out there and he was covered. Remmick had to get that and stretch across the line. For a guy that has never played football before understanding that concept to be able to reach out is great. We are happy to have him.”

Gallagher, though, was not happy with how the PHS offense squandered opportunities as interceptions in the red zone ended drives in the first and third quarter.

“We moved the ball but we made some bad plays,” said Gallagher, whose QB Petrone connected on 8-of-15 passes for 86 yards with Goldberg rushing for 40 yards on 10 carries. “We didn’t protect the ball. I feel like we had a lot of turnovers, we had two interceptions. We were in deep too; we were in scoring position, so that is really tough. We need to get the offense going a little faster, getting a score with six minutes left is not good enough. Now you are just playing on your heels, you are hoping to get them three and out.”

The Tigers nearly got a three and out against the Rams after the Granozio TD, but Riverside converted a third and seven on a pass play that saw its receiver pluck the ball out of the air from his back. PHS never got the ball back as the Rams ran out the clock.

“Man, that one play was tough; that kid caught that crossing route,” recalled Gallagher. “I thought it ricocheted in 14 different directions, I was convinced from my angle that it was on the ground. What a great play — good for him.”

With PHS having lost 35-0 to Riverside last year, Gallagher was proud of the good defensive effort he got from his squad in the rematch.

“Our defense only gave up 14 points, the defense played well,” said Gallagher. “They run it up the gut, the defense played 10 times better than they did last year. I am happy about their performance.”

Junior linebacker Joe George along with senior co-captains and defensive linemen Jake Angelucci and Anthony Famiglietti led the charge for the Tigers.

“They are players that we rely on; we are blessed that Joe is a junior,” said Gallagher.

“We are getting everything we expect from Angelucci and Famiglietti. They are seniors so this is it for them and they are playing great ball. They are playing just like seniors are supposed to play, they are leaving it all on the field. They are doing a great job of communicating to the team — that is why they are captains. It is exciting to see your seniors come up through the program and finally take ownership and saying, ‘Hey, I am a senior and this is how I am supposed to play. I am going to have to put it on my shoulders,’ and that is what they are doing.”

While Gallagher viewed the loss to Riverside as one that got away, he is happy with how PHS is playing collectively.

“We are 1-1, we wanted it to be 1-0 at the end of this week, that is how we looked at it,” said Gallagher. “We have played two really good games. We have scored more points than we have given up so that is a good thing. That has not been normally the case.”

With PHS hosting Haddon Township (0-1) on September 9, Gallagher knows his squad is facing another tough battle.

“We have got to find a way, we have another home game so we are excited about that,” said Gallagher, whose team lost 34-27 to Haddon last fall. “They are coming off a 19-0 loss (to Gateway on August 31), so they are going to be hungry. They beat us last year as well, I am sure they feel a little bit of confidence from that. Again at the same time they are probably pretty upset about Thursday’s game.”

Granozio, for his part, is confident that the Tigers will be ready for that challenge.

“We have to practice really hard this week,” said Granozio. “We have a good team coming up and we are just focused on being 1-0 at the end of next week.”