By: Edward Kensik, Correspondent – Record Sports
ELMWOOD PARK – It was a tough junior year for Elmwood Park’s Eugene Figueroa.
First, he tore his ACL in his left leg in the first game in 2016 against Pompton Lakes that ended his football season that year.
And then the biggest blow came in January 2016 when his father, Felix, passed away.
Eugene was able to bounce back in several ways despite a heavy heart and play his entire senior year of football for the Crusaders.
And this fall, Eugene Figueroa will be playing for his father and himself when he starts his next step of life at Susquehanna College in Selinsgrove, PA.
“I just know that my dad is looking over me,” said Eugene who was listed at 6-feet-1 and 205 pounds for the 2016 season. “He always wanted me to go to college and play college football.”
Figueroa is coming off a senior year where he had one of the top sack totals in the NJIC with 15 along with 85 tackles and 23 for a loss where he was named to the All NJIC Liberty Division first team defense despite the team going 1-8. On offense as wide receiver, he caught 16 passes for 538 yards and four touchdowns.
Elmwood Park head coach Tom Mulligan lauded Figueroa in dealing with the tough times.
“The hardships and adversity that he has faced the past three years would make most young men throw in the towel, but not him,” said Mulligan. “He just put his hard hat on and went back to work. He and I had many conversations about overcoming adversity and prevailing and he did an awesome job taking the advice and using it to help him get through it. He is a great student and an even better person.”
The Crusaders head coach knows that his toughness will help him on the college level.
“Eugene is one of the toughest kids I have been privileged to coach,” said Mulligan.
Eugene is ready to head about 2 1/2 hours west to go to Susquehanna and report on August 11 where they will get their physicals before starting practice.
He admitted it’s already been strange this summer not working out with the Elmwood Park football team.
“I saw them having practices and it felt weird not being there and wearing white and red,” said Eugene.
At Elmwood Park, Eugene was a two-way threat between wide receiver and linebacker. But at Susquehanna it is pointing to outside linebacker to play as a freshman.
“We are very excited about having Eugene join us and think he is a perfect fit for us here at Susquehanna,” said Susquehanna head coach Tom Perkovich. “He is a young man that cares about his academics and has a passion for the game of football. Those are the two most important qualities we look for when we recruit student-athletes. We love his upside and can’t wait to get started with him and the rest of our team next week.”
For the now graduated senior, it will be difficult to not be playing offense on the gridiron.
“I’m going to miss it (wide receiver) so much, but I also love hitting,” said Eugene Figueroa.
Eugene picked Susquehanna over South Connecticut State and East Stroudsburg State University. He said that Susquehanna gave him a shot right away for playing time while the other two schools he had to walk on.
“I’m going to work as hard as I can to win a spot,” said Eugene.
Figueroa joins the ever growing group of Community News area student/athletes who are on the Susquehanna football team last year. There were two Garfield graduates in incoming sophomore Ricardo Reyes and incoming senior Michael Reyes along with Josh Hanrahan, a Hasbrouck Heights graduate and incoming sophomore who were on the 2016 roster at Susquehanna.
