The Great Neck South boys varsity football team has begun a year of cautious optimism. The team's season will be a year of rebuilding, according to Head Coach Jim Morrow.

His major goal is for the team to remain as competitive as possible. The Rebels' record is 0-3 so far.

Compared to the team in other years, this year's squad is much younger and lacks significant experience at the varsity level. In most years, the team has been composed mainly of juniors and seniors. However, this year, the team has 14 underclassmen. The 12 sophomores make up the largest number of students by grade, and there are also two freshmen on the team.

While the team lacks much needed experience, Morrow is encouraged by the enthusiasm and dedication of the younger players. He believes that the team's practice, training, and games will serve to develop the talent of the younger players.

"The future looks bright if the kids continue to stick with it," Morrow said.

The Rebels started the year seeded 12th out of 14 teams in the competitive Nassau A-II Conference. Last year, the team finished the season with a 3-5 record in the conference, showing great improvement over the team's winless season two years ago. But for Morrow, a more important part of the team's success and progress cannot be seen in the team's record. This is their ability to maintain competitive against difficult opponents despite the team's lack of experience.

Although the team did not earn a spot in the playoffs last year (it has not made the playoffs since 1996), Morrow considered the season to be highly successful.

Morrow believes that the team can make significant progress this season by working hard to improve and by staying competitive, even though he sees no real chance of the team making the playoffs.

The Rebels are led by four captains - seniors Greg Green, Rich Femia and Jesse Ronchetti and junior Maximo Mercedes. Morrow said the team's captains and seniors Rene Zurita and Michael Isaacman and sophomore Mike Parada are veterans that are the "anchor of the team."

Green is a powerful offensive force, making many important plays as runningback; he also makes important tackles when playing defense. Ronchetti is the Rebels' quarterback. Mercedes, Isaacman and Zurita are important defensive players. As center, Zurita leads the offensive line.

The Rebels' first game of the year was against Floral Park. They lost 14-0 in a tough loss. The second game was against Westbury. The Rebels lost 13-0 after a long, hard struggle. In both games, the opponent scored towards the end of the game, so the contests were really closer than the final scores indicate for most of the game.

In their third game, the Rebels lost to New Hyde Park by a mark of 37-0. New Hyde Park scored 16 points in the first quarter and 21 in the second. The score remained the same during the entire second half.

The Rebels will face MacArthur on Saturday, Sept. 13. Morrow is hoping that the team will finish the year strong. After facing many tough opponents early on, the Rebels will face the weaker opponents of Bellmore JFK and Herricks. Morrow would like the team to at least match the three wins that it garnered last year.

So far, the team's strengths are its defense, as the Rebels were able to hold their opponents to fairly low point totals in two of three games; its veteran offensive line; and the dedication of the team members to practicing and improving.

The team's weaknesses have been its youth and lack of experience and its offense, as the team has not scored an offensive point in its first three games. Many skilled positions, such as wide receiver, are played by inexperienced underclassmen who are working to develop their skills but have not been able to play effectively yet because they are adjusting to the demands of varsity football.

Morrow is hopeful that the team's hard work will enable it to maintain competitive and improve greatly this year. He is even more hopeful about the squad's future. "If everyone works hard in the off-season, plays other sports, and goes to football camp, we should be able to improve about 100 percent from this year."