Ethan Valenza could have been devastated, but he took it all in stride.
After having a strong freshman season on the Hopewell Valley Central High JV football team, the running back was figuring on getting some varsity reps as a sophomore. But he not only didn’t get on the varsity field that season, he didn’t suit up for the JV either.
Shortly before the Bulldogs’ opening game, Valenza suffered a herniated disc in late August. “It was pretty bad,” he said. “It wasn’t really the end of the world, but it sucked, definitely.”
Valenza went to work at physical therapy, doing everything he could to get back. “It was a lot of hip stuff and hamstring, lower body stuff to nurse it back together,” he explained. “Just a lot of issues with my hips. They were tight, so that’s a reason my back got hurt. I was compensating for my tight hips.
“I did a lot of that work. I was able to come back around week five.”
But then …
“I re-injured it in practice,” he said. And that was the end of the season as his hard work could not lead to playing time. The first injury was tough, but the second had to be heart-wrenching.
Or did it?
“Not really, it just told me a lot about my body,” the laid-back Valenza said. “It was a positive thing by the end of the day. It would have been a lot worse than if it was my junior or senior year.”
Once he got the back issues settled, Valenza returned to getting in playing shape. He earned the starting job as coach Dave Caldwell and his staff waited patiently for Ethan’s healthy return.
“I think we knew when he was a freshman and sophomore that he was gonna be something special for us,” Caldwell said. “We’re lucky to have him for two years.”
Valenza had a debut to remember. After not playing in the season opener against Montgomery, he tore through Robbinsville for 308 yards and four touchdowns on just 18 carries.
Everyone was impressed but the runner himself. When asked if that game made him feel like he truly belonged on varsity, Valenza said, “To some extent. It was really fun, really nice but it was kind of hard to tell because that team wasn’t really good at defending the run. As we started to play other teams I wasn’t able to perform like that. But for a bit, yeah, I was definitely happy about that.”
The biggest problem early in the season was getting back in football shape after missing a year.
“I was a little rusty,” he said. “It was just my stamina. I got a lot of carries and I was really out of breath those first few games.”
Valenza went over 100 yards in three of his first four contests before being limited to a combined 87 in consecutive contests against powerful Seneca and Burlington Township. He bounced back with 191 yards at Steinert and a 117-yard, five-touchdown effort against Hightstown.
After the Steinert game, Valenza said he had a slump and had spent time working on fighting through contact. He finished the season with 1,073 yards and 14 touchdowns and was not shocked at his success.
“I would have gotten some varsity reps as a sophomore,” he said, “so I knew I was able to play at this level. It didn’t come as a surprise.”
Nor did it surprise Caldwell.
“Every year you look for guys who play JV that stand out, and he definitely stood out that freshman year,” the coach said. “He’s just explosive. He can stick his foot in the ground and get vertical and change directions. He has great acceleration.
“He also has a second gear. His top speed is about 22 miles per hour. He runs about a 4.7 40, his best is a 4.66. So he’s got the ability to run behind his pads, secure the ball and change direction and kick it into second gear if he sees open grass.”
Valenza agrees with his coach, feeling speed and vision are his strengths.
“Once I can see an open gap I’ll at least get a few yards out of that,” the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder said. “But this year I definitely want to bring more physicality. I’ve been working on getting bigger, on my physicality and conditioning too. Those were my biggest weaknesses last year.”
His work in the weight room has added 10 pounds of muscle, which should help with the physical aspect as Valenza feels stronger this year.
It has been an interesting journey for a guy who started football later than many of his teammates. Valenza did not start playing until seventh grade at the behest of his friends.
“They convinced me to play,” he said. “I was taller. I played lineman at first (for Hopewell Youth Football). In the spring of my seventh grade year I was in a league without weight classes in Ewing, so I played running back. When I went back to Hopewell I was a linebacker.”
He finally became a permanent running back his freshman year at HVCHS, and it is paying off for the Bulldogs, who were 7-3 last season and are 35-7 the past four campaigns.
A runner is only as good as his offensive line, of course, and there are a few holes there this season. Gavin Barker, who started mainly on the defensive line last year, will be at center. Seniors Sam Dede and Scott Mangan are at left tackle and right guard.
“Offensive line is always a work in progress,” Caldwell said. “It doesn’t look exceptional in the summer and the first days of camp, but it’s definitely gonna be fine.
“I’ve got a bunch of guys who care, who work well in the weight room, who communicate with each other because they care for each other and want to be good. It’s been our standard. We’ve been good now for some time. They’re willing to work hard to make sure we uphold those standards.”
Valenza has no doubt the line will be settled early in the season. And they need to run block as Hopewell will rely heavily on Valenza while it figures out who will be the new quarterback.
“Last year we had a great line, it sucks to lose a lot of guys but we have three returning guys so we’ll definitely be solid,” Valenza said. “The line works hard in the weightroom. They move good weight and they can also run. The line looks really good and athletic. I’m excited about that. They should be really good.”
A guy like Valenza can make a line look good. If he gets a small crack, he can turn it into a mile gain. He is also a smart runner, which comes from being smart in general.
“He’s a great student-athlete, he has excellent grades in the classroom, he did really well in his SAT scores and he loves football,” said Caldwell, who may also use Valenza as a pass catcher and on special teams. “He’s committed to the weight room and now we have a 1,000-yard rusher coming back for another year.”
Valenza sports a 3.7 grade point average and has received interest from Bucknell, which is a high-powered academic school. He is also in Hopewell’s FBLA and Fellowship of Christian Athletes clubs.
“If I went to Bucknell I’d be a walk-on, and I’ve had a few D III’s contact us, so it’s nothing crazy,” Valenza said. “Usually the recruiting is after junior year but I’m really trying to turn some heads this year.”
Wherever he lands next year, it will be a dream come true for Valenza, who has had hopes of playing college ball since ninth grade.
“I played pretty good my freshman year,” he said. “I knew this program was good and I’d be stepping into the program at a really good point. Coach has been sending a lot of guys to college. I knew if I was able to work hard and be one of the best guys on the team I’d definitely have a shot at college.”
One thing is certain: He has learned to truly appreciate football after having it taken away for a year.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I was definitely trying to live in the moment and enjoy last season since I lost one.”
Despite losing that year, it never got him down.
And he made up for it in a big way last year.Hopewell Valley football, Ethan Valenza, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Bulldogs football, high school football
