Season recap: Cole Farrand
Players on the Pope John XXIII football team in Sparta, N.J., always knew where they stood with Cole Farrand.
Throughout his career with the Lions, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker was never shy about voicing his opinions on the field and off.
“He’s a true leader,” said Pope John coach Vic Paternostro. “He’s not a silent leader. He is verbal. And he gets his point across.”
Paternostro had plenty of examples of the Maryland-bound linebacker demonstrating his leadership skills during his senior season. But one game, against cross-town rival Sparta, stands out.
“We had a tough ball game playing our archrival,” Paternostro said. “Things just weren’t going right, and at halftime, he just laid into the team and really got them awakened and got them going. We came out fired up.”
The Lions trailed 9-0 at halftime, but after Farrand’s speech, they rallied for a 19-9 victory over Sparta. With Farrand patrolling the middle of Pope John’s defense at linebacker, and providing a dynamic offensive threat at tight end, the Lions finished the 2010 season with a 10-1 record. Farrand’s senior year came to an earlier-than-expected end with a 34-27 loss to Holy Spirit of Atlantic City in the semifinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Non-Public, Group 3 tournament.
“It wasn’t easy,” Paternostro said. “It wasn’t easy for any of them. We had 14 seniors who played their last game. You make a three-hour trip down there, then play our hearts out, then lose in the last 22 seconds. It’s kind of hard to take.”
Farrand, a three-year starter at linebacker, finished the season with 78 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception returned for a touchdown. He also caught three touchdown passes, impressing his coach with his versatility.
“One thing he has is decisive speed on offense,” Paternostro said. “He has very good hands and he’s quick defensively. The way he gets to the ball, you don’t know how he did it, but he just gets there. His ability to read and diagnose plays is impressive.”
Paternostro called Farrand a “darkhorse at tight end” in college, but Maryland’s plans call for him to play defense upon his arrival in College Park. Paternostro said he thinks Farrand has the potential to contribute on special teams as a true freshman. Based on Farrand’s success at Pope John, nothing would surprise Paternostro.
“When you have a sophomore linebacker starting for us, it’s very, very unusual,” Paternostro said. “To see him come up and step up sophomore year, you knew we had something special. He had an outstanding junior year as far as his reading ability and everything else. … [And] he had a fantastic [senior] season. He’s constantly improving every single day.”
