PORT ST. LUCIE – He has been the Treasure Coast’s best senior center in the game this past season.
Angelo Gornitzky proved his worth in 11 games for Centennial.
Here are his final statistics:
•70 pancakes
•1 sack allowed
The 6-foot-3, 285-pound offensive lineman earned the following honors:
•New Era Prep Lineman of Week 11
•ESPN Top 63 selection
•TCPalm All-Area First Team Offense
The best game for Gornitzky may have been against Port St. Lucie in Week 11, when he had five pancakes in his team’s whopping 59-0 home win.
LAST WEEK: @angelogornitzky earned one of his five pancakes (🥞) for @Cen10_Football in his team’s 59-0 win over @PSLJagsFootball.
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) November 12, 2022
This play and others led voters to select the son of @CoachGornitzky as our @EraPrep Lineman of Week 11 – 772.@_JoshuaPastrana @riveron_daniel pic.twitter.com/i3SfIZshcw
“On a run play, I had a double team,” Gornitzky said. “I went off to the linebacker and took him 20 yards down the field and pancaked him.”
Centennial sophomore athlete Ze’Quan Wright spoke about Gornitzky’s impact on the team.
“He’s very big hearted,” Centennial sophomore athlete Ze’Quan Wright said. “He brings his all to the table every time he touches the field. He also keeps the team’s energy up. We can count on him in the trench game to be at 110 miles per hour.”
Junior defensive end/linebacker/tight end Nikko Lopez added his take on how Gornitzky played this past season.
“He played very well and works hard for sure,” said Lopez, who played for Centennial in 2022 before transferring to Treasure Coast in the offseason.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Lopez continued. “He don’t complain where he’s gotta play on the line. He’s gonna do his job every time. He was moved around a lot this year on the line due to teammate injuries. But overall, a great leader of the whole team.”
Gornitzky’s final high school football game was in the Class 4S-Region 3 quarterfinal round at Melbourne (28-16 road loss). He finished that one with five pancakes and no sacks allowed.
Centennial offensive line coach Joe Louis Hawkins III marveled at Gornitzky’s overall play from this past season.
“Angelo was a dominating offensive lineman that became essential to our line,” Hawkins III said. “We suffered many injuries, traveling with five primary o-linemen at times. I could move him anywhere on the front and get a dominating performance from him. Throughout the season he played center, right guard, and right tackle. Any college he ends at, I’m sure he’ll excel.”
Centennial head coach Jacob Turay, who was recently promoted from his position last season as the team’s co-offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator, chimed in as well.
“Gelo is an incredibly smart o-lineman,” Turay said. “He literally played every single o-line position. He can run down the field on that third level and do some damage to safeties. There’s film of him pancaking safeties. He’s a guy that runs to the football and runs with our running backs. He’s incredibly athletic. He’s basically a coach on the field who will be irreplaceable on the line.”
Now that his high school football career is finished, Gornitzky’s transition to the next level is in full swing. He currently has four offers from Allen University, Westminster College, Trine, and Keiser.
No decision will be made by National Signing Day, which is this Wednesday on Feb. 1. Instead, Gornitzky wants to take his time with his college recruiting process.
“Still deciding what is the best fit for me,” Gornitzky said. “I have a couple D1’s and a bunch of D2’s and D3’s interested right now. The overall experience is pretty good. I went on my first official visit last weekend at Westminster. It was a good experience.”
Gornitzky reflected on this past season to end his high school football experience with Centennial.
“It was a good overall season,” Gornitzky said. “We fought as a group and worked hard together. It just didn’t end how we wanted it to.”
