Rams upcoming football season a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar Indy team names

July 31, 2024 at 8:20 p.m.

The pro football Giants and Jets are already practicing for the new grid season which means the local scholastic football season can't be far behind—and judging by the newly-released Port Chester Rams schedule, it is going to be an intriguing one.

The Rams will be lining up once again with the Hudson Valley Independents in a seven-team league that includes five familiar faces and two teams they haven't played before, one of which is a nationally-ranked basketball power that is lesser known for its prowess on the gridiron.

Open against Greeley

Port Chester is scheduled to kick off its season against Horace Greeley away Friday, Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m. under the lights. It figures to be an evenly matched game because Greeley was 2-8 last year while the Rams were 3-5.

The Rams’ first home game of the season is Saturday, Sept. 14 at John Ryan Stadium against a newbie in Albertus Magnus of Rockland County at 1:30 p.m. Magnus was 2-6 last season.

Next up is Long Island Lutheran Friday, Sept. 20 at home at 6:30 p.m. LuHi is one of the top-ranked prep school basketball powerhouses in the nation, best known locally as the school that all-time Lady Rams scoring great Kayleigh Heckel left Port Chester for to enhance her college scholarship chances, a move that paid off when she made the high school All-American hoops squad last year as a point guard who won an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California.

The Rams then travel to play Peekskill (6-3 last year) Saturday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. followed by Woodlands Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1:30 p.m.

Port Chester's next home game is against Tappan Zee Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m. with the Dutchmen (7-2) coming in with the best record of any team the Rams will face.

The home finale is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. against Panas, which was 2-5 last year.

Ram players to watch

Just as the schedule is a mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar, so too are the Rams who figure to be powered by ace running back John Pauletti, quarterback Alexis Morel and the versatile baseball catcher Scott Sullivan with ex-hockey and baseball player Billy Villanova and baseball, hockey and cheerleading ace Johnny Borzoni expected to add a dash of new flavor to the backfield mix.

But the Rams will have to replace such graduated standouts as running back/defensive back John Delcid, their best offensive and defensive lineman in Jaden Barbour, defensive stalwart Alejandro Velasquez, kickers and all-around solid players like Brian Aguilera and Jayden Arbusto and key contributors such as Franklin Cabrera, Anthony Escobedo, Nathan Provencher, Miguel Valdovinos, Fabrizio Vasquez and Danny Zhagui.

So it should be an intriguing season, a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar, maybe even a winning one.