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FOOTBALL
Continued from Page 9 players coming back after being out with injury,” Huseinovic said. “We had some nice incoming freshmen who were going to help us.” All the pieces were in place, or so it seemed. The Setters looked to be solid, led by their defensive buzz saw from a place that thenUnited States President William Howard Taft called “the beehive of Industry” during a visit to Harrison in 1912, with more than 6,000 people watching and listening. It was going to be a great college football season for the Setters of Pace. Nothing could stop the Setters. But then, disaster struck – and struck real hard. The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March and just spread like wildfire across the country. While the virus has been controlled somewhat in most of the states, especially New York and
New Jersey, it has not been tapered enough to play college football, especially on the smaller scale. So with that in mind, Pace University has announced that the school will not participate in any fall sports this year, meaning that Huseinovic and his teammates will have to wait to get back onto the field again. Pace University officials have announced that they have tentatively planned to bring football back in the spring, a move that Huseinovic applauded. “Not playing this fall was devastating,” said Huseinovic, expected to be a team leader this year for the Setters. “We put all the work in during the offseason and now this. But on the positive side, this gives us more time to prepare for the spring.” Huseinovic left for school Monday and will begin to take a full semester of classes. “It’s like a hybrid,” Husenovic said. “Half will be online, but the other half will
be in class in small groups.” The same will be with football workouts. “It will be in small groups (by position) or it will be with the guys you live with,” Huseinovic said. “I’m not going to lie. Not playing this fall definitely hurt, but I’m not choosing to look at the negative side. I’m staying positive. Everyone has to deal with something. I’m dealing with this in a positive.” So with that in mind, Huseinovic went to weekly workout sessions outdoors at the Lyndhurst Recreation facility with the staff of FASST (namely Paul Johnsen and Ryan Marshall) as well as other top local athletes like Petey Guerriero of Lyndhurst, who last week had a workout session with the New York Jets, and Brian Kearns of North Arlington, who is entering his senior year at Stonehill College. “I love Brian,” Huseinovic said. “We work well together. I work out with Petey
HEALTH&WELLNESS & &WELLNESS DIRECTORY
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
a lot. I try to keep up with him, but it’s useless. I think we motivate each other and push each other. I think it helps me because he’s always a step ahead of me. We have a good group there and I’m glad to be a part of it.” Huseinovic said that his offseason regimen is going to help him in a lot of ways. “It definitely helps my confidence for sure,” Huseinovic said. “I feel really confident moving forward.” As for his Pace teammates, Huseinovic said that he has been in touch regularly. “We do Zoom meetings,” Huseinovic said. “Especially in the spring, we worked with our coaches and stayed in touch a lot.” The NCAA has announced that all college student-athletes will receive an added year of eligibility because of the pandemic. “I am definitely going to take advantage of the extra year,” Huseinovic said. “I will hold back a couple of classes.” Huseinovic is majoring in business management with a minor in fashion marketing – an interesting combi-
nation. “I want to get involved in either sports apparel or urban clothes,” Huseinovic said. “I’m really open to see what’s out there and what I can do. I just have to get my foot in the door.” So if the Setters are back playing competitively in the spring, then Huseinovic will be good to go. “We have a very good team, whenever we do play,” Huseinovic said. Some of his teammates include kicker Benny Franchino of Lyndhurst and his Lyndhurst teammate Paul Cimicata and Harrison native J.J. Scocco, who played his high school football at St. Peter’s Prep. “J.J. and I have been the best of friends since we were like four years old,” Huseinovic said. “We’ve always been very close. It’s great to have him here with me. With the addition of the freshmen, I just have to play the role of being a leader as best as possible and push the others.” You can be rest assured that Dustin Huseinovic will do exactly that.
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