Phil Anastasia: Alcott adds muscle to unbeaten Rams

He doesn't steal the spotlight on Friday nights.

He doesn't stand out on Saturday mornings.

But when they turn on the projector in the darkened classroom on Monday afternoons, Ryan Alcott is the star of the show.

"As long as my teammates see it on film, that's good enough for me," Alcott said of his occasionally overlooked role in Gloucester Catholic's high-powered offense.

The Rams have the third-highest scoring average in South Jersey. The No. 8 team in The Inquirer's Top 10 is generating 42.6 points a game, behind only Glassboro's 45.8 and West Deptford's 44.

Gloucester Catholic (5-0), which plays at Cumberland (4-1) tonight in a crucial Tri-County Royal Division clash, has been registering points like a pinball machine thanks to great work from running back Pat Schuhl, wide receivers Jacob Yates and George Spingler, tight end Steve Rotella, and quarterback Zach Barlage, among others.

But coach Tony Garczynski said the offense runs on the muscle provided by its front line and unsung fullback.

"Ryan is one of those kids that sticks his nose in there on every play," Garczynski said. "You have to have players like him to have a good football team. We've been doing a lot of good things on offense, and a lot of guys have been playing well.

"But a lot of times, it comes back to what you're doing up front and what's happening in the holes at the line of scrimmage. That's where you notice what Ryan is doing on every play."

Alcott, a senior who also starts at defensive end, said he split time at running back with Schuhl when both were members of the Rams' freshman team in 2005. By the next year, he was a starter at fullback on the varsity.

"I think they figured out I was too slow to be a tailback," said the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Alcott, who resides in Gloucester.

Alcott prefers the dirty work, anyway. He's partial to defense but figures the best place to be on offense is fullback, where he gets a running start and an opportunity to deliver a hit on nearly every play.

"I like blocking," said Alcott, who hopes to continue his football career at the college level and is looking at Kutztown State (Pa.), among other schools. "You get to hit people."

Schuhl said Alcott's blocking had been the key to the offense.

"I think he's the biggest difference from last year to this year," Schuhl said. "He's killing people out there."

For all their gaudy numbers, the Rams are more about strength than finesse. This is a big, strong team led by the likes of Alcott; Rotella, 6-4 and 235, a two-way end; and Harry Amwake, 6-1 and 250, a two-way tackle.

Schuhl, 6-1 and 210, is a power back, and the team has several other veteran linemen and linebackers who specialize in a physical approach.

"We just try to wear on teams," Alcott said. "We throw the ball mostly when we get down in the red zone, just to mix it up. Mostly, we're a power team that tries to just keeping hitting teams for four quarters.

"Our line is huge, and those guys all love to mix it up. We feel like we can intimidate teams. We can wear teams down by the fourth quarter."

The Rams are entering the teeth of their schedule, with key division games on the road the next two Friday nights, against Cumberland and seventh-ranked Williamstown.

Not far down the line loom the Non-Public 3 playoffs, with possible matchups with third-ranked Camden Catholic and the defending state champion, Holy Spirit, as well as two North Jersey powers in Immaculata and St. Joseph's of Montvale.

It's a stretch of hard road for a team with aspirations of finishing first in one of South Jersey's most competitive divisions and making serious noise in the state tournament.

The Rams are going to need their skill-position players. They're going to need their big men up front. And they're going to need their tough-guy fullback, maybe most of all.

"I don't care what they say about me in the papers or whether people really notice what I'm doing out there," Alcott said. "As long as my teammates notice, that's good enough for me."