Abel Paul is an attentive young man who has maintained a close eye to capture any changing vibe in the Livingston locker room which then translates out onto the field.
“Believe in the people to the right and to your left, and believe in the people you do it for,” said the Lancers’ junior running back, who in just his third year of organized football is continuing to ascend on the Essex County gridiron scene while helping to lead his improving team assume promising status as the regular season now hits its stretch run.
Last spring, he served notice when it comes to his athleticism in track and field as he won the 100-meter dash (10.99) in the Essex County championships, and this fall he is emerging as one of the area’s top running backs, already eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark (104 carries for 1,039 yards and 10 TDs) through the first six games.
He is coming off one of the top performances of his still-unfolding scholastic football career when he had 30 carries for 243 yards and a touchdown in helping to establish the strong and time-consuming Livingston ground attack behind a solid O-Line during this past Friday night’s come-from-behind 28-19 victory at Irvington (3-3).
For his efforts, Paul is the Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
Livingston (3-3) was coming off a hard-fought effort in an eventual 24-14 homestanding setback to Chatham (3-2) in a Sept. 27 game that could have gone either way and the Lancers needed a stronger effort from start to finish.
As it entered the second half action at Irvington trailing the Blue Knights, 13-7, Livingston began its first possession of the third quarter pinned deep in its own territory at the 5-yard line.
However, behind the workhorse running backs Paul and senior Christian Giordano (17 carries for 84 yards and 2 TDs), plus dominance up front by an emerging O-Line, the Lancers proceeded to put together an emphatic 95-yard march down the field capped by a Giordano 7-yard TD run and a 14-13 lead that the visitors would simply build on the rest of the way, including adding a fourth-quarter insurance TD run by Paul, who like Giordano, is blossoming as a first-year, full-time running back after being used primarily as a wide receiver in his first varsity season last fall when he led his 4-5 team with 48 receptions for 854 yards and 7 TDs.
“Coach ‘B’ (head coach Bob Breschard) and our coaching staff made a few adjustments this summer, with me playing more at running back, and the more reps I have gotten has made it all go more smoothly,” said Paul. “Plus, I was getting used to my linemen and they’ve been amazing!
“I couldn’t get a better group of guys up front, and they’re the main reason that our offense has been heading in the right direction, really starting vs. Chatham the week before.”
Livingston travels to face Columbia (3-2), 7 p.m., this Friday night, at Underhill Field in Maplewood.
The Lancers’ O-Line, which will continue to pave the way for both Paul and Giordano, is comprised of three seniors in right tackle Lucas Loucopolos (6-2, 226), right guard Shawn Labady (6-4, 240) and left tackle Evan Baptiste (6-0, 240) along with a pair of emerging juniors in center Mason Gordon (5-10, 200) and left guard Kodi Gbanite (6-1, 220).
“Things tend to always evolve with personnel as you prepare for any new season and we always knew that we would want to get Abel some more touches in the backfield, although we may not have been thinking about 30 in a game like he had at Irvington,” said Breschard, who is in his third season of a second tour of duty as Livingston’s head coach. “He’s just been so consistent in his yards per carry and we’re not behind the chains as much now.
