Alex Picinich
Sport: Football
School: Elmwood Park
Class: Senior. Age: 17
Accomplishment: He led the Crusaders to their first season opener win since 2014, scoring three touchdowns and breaking up a pass at the goal line to clinch Elmwood Park’s 22-13 win over Palisades Park/Leonia.
Also nominated: Robert Fuerst of Ramsey, Cole Hughes of Park Ridge and Alejandro Camarena of Pascack Hills for football, and Niccolò Bongiorno of Tenafly for soccer.
Story by: Paul Schwartz / NorthJersey.com
Ask Elmwood Park coach Tom Mulligan to describe what Alex Picinich means to the Crusader football team and he doesn’t hesitate.
“He’s our guy,” Mulligan says simply. “Everything we need as a team, he’ll do. He doesn’t care what position he’s at; receiver, tailback, even guard if we need him on offense; and he runs the show on defense. He’s like a coach out there.”
Picinich relishes the role.
“I think football is my favorite sport,” said the 6-foot-2, 165-pound three-sport standout, who plays small forward on the basketball team and catcher on the baseball team. “I have a real IQ for the game and I can play any position.
“Maybe whatever sport is in season is my favorite sport. But I think I show out the most in football.
While his statistics are good (he scored three touchdowns last Friday night on just 10 touches), Picinich’s biggest strength may lie in his energy and enthusiasm. In his four years at Elmwood Park, he’s seen it all.
“When he was a freshman, we went 0-10, then we got shut down by COVID the next year, and last year we moved to the Union Division and went 4-5,” Mulligan said. “He’s been a vital part of all of that and we think we can win the division this year.”
“I’m always trying to build a team bond and team chemistry because without it you can’t win,” Picinich said. “I’m always telling the younger kids to keep up their energy and I try to lead that way.”
Mulligan said his captain shows the same energy and enthusiasm at practice as in games, vital traits on a team that 39 underclassmen on a roster of 46 players.
On Friday night, all the points in Elmwood Park’s 22-13 win over Palisades Park/Leonia were scored in the first half, 18 of them by Picinich, who caught touchdown passes of 23 and 41 yards and put the Crusaders ahead for good on a seven-yard TD run in the second quarter.
In the second half, Pal Park/Leonia controlled the ball for most of the half until Picinich made one more big play, this time from his defensive safety position.
On fourth-and-goal with about two minutes to play, he read the quarterback’s eyes, raced to the spot and batted the pass down with authority, putting an end to any last-minute comeback hopes.
“If I was younger, I might gone for the interception, but the smartest thing I could do was knock it down so that’s what I did,” he said.
That’s what winners do.
