PORT ST. LUCIE – Angelo Gornitzky is the center of Centennial’s offensive line.
In addition to that, the senior lineman is the team captain.
In short, he could be the most important player in the entire Eagles program.
But Gornitzky does not look at it in that way, as he sees himself as just one of the guys.
The level of awareness, humbleness, and maturity that Gornitzky has displayed does not go unnoticed.
“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.”
In 10 games this season, the 6-foot-2, 285-pound offensive lineman has recorded 67 pancakes, while allowing only one sack in the process.
One of Gornitzky’s best games as a senior was in Week 11 against Port St. Lucie. He tallied five pancakes, one of which happened on the first drive of the game.
“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.”
For his efforts, Gornitzky was selected by our voters as the Lineman of Week 11.
“It feels really good,” said Gornitzky, who is our No. 10-ranked overall player in the Treasure Coast. “I been nominated a couple times. I’ve been playing hard all year, doing everything coaches asked me to do. I’m glad people voted me for lineman of the week.”
Last week’s masterpiece proved to be a key part of Centennial’s best overall effort this season, as it earned a 59-0 win over Port St. Lucie to finish the regular season at 6-4 and the Treasure Coast’s No. 6 team ranking.
“It was a great regular season,” Gornitzky said. “We had our ups and downs, but we always sticked together. We’re ready to make a run in the playoffs.”
And now going into the Class 4S playoffs, the Eagles have earned the No. 5 seed in Region 3 and will be on the road at the No. 4 seed Melbourne Bulldogs (8-2).
The Centennial-Melbourne playoff tilt will kick off today (Nov. 12) at 1 p.m. in Melbourne.
The winner of this game will play in next Friday night’s (Nov. 18) 4S-Region 3 semifinal.
The winner’s next opponent will be against the winner of tonight’s 6 p.m. matchup between No. 1 seed Vero Beach (9-1) and No. 8 seed Harmony (6-4), which will be played in Vero Beach.
Gornitzky on how Centennial can move on to the next round of the 4S playoffs:
“It will be a group effort,” Gornitzky said. “If everyone does their assignments, we’re going to be good. We have the players to do so.”
