Newport
“As a football committee, we looked hard and long at all of the candidates,” Newport athletic director Jeff Miller said this week. “Dennis was clearly the top choice and a valuable member of our staff for the past 12 years. He has been around all aspects of Newport football as a player, fan and coach. He has unbridled enthusiasm for the sport and seems ready for the challenge.”
Borcuk replaces Richard Boone, who resigned after two seasons, both of which resulted in trips to the postseason.
The new coach said Newport will once again have about 40 players out for the sport and he will continue coaching football like so many before him.
“We pride ourselves on fundamentals, and we will continue to do that,” he said. “We want to be a team that does not beat itself.”
Borcuk graduated from NMHS in 1997, where he was a two-way lineman starter on the NHIA Division IV state champion team in 1995 and selected to play in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl in 1997.
“Dennis deserves his shot at being the head coach at Newport,” Miller said.
“He has spent the past 12 years working and learning under head coaches Larry Carle, Larry McElreavy and Rich Boone. That’s quite an impressive group of coaches.”
McElreavy agrees.
“He’s loyal and believes in Newport athletics,” said McElreavy, now an offensive analyst at Coastal Carolina University. “This is great for him. Newport needs someone willing to sacrifice time and effort, and Dennis is the right choice.”
An excited Borcuk is raring to go. “Boy, was I glad to get that call,” he said.
He also knows that one of the reasons that Newport has enjoyed such a run of success is line coach Bill Thurlow, who has been on the staff for 53 years. Borcuk said the assistant coach situation has yet to be settled, but he knows that getting Thurlow on board is essential.
Carle believes Borcuk has the experience necessary for the job he’s facing.
“I think Dennis has a good sense of what needs to be done,” Carle said. “ He has a full range of experience and solid football instincts. I see no reason why he will not succeed.”
Newport, with just 330 students, could have dropped to NHIAA Division IV with the state association’s recent football realignment, but the Tigers chose to remain in Division III.
“Every year, we play in a preseason jamboree at Hanover, and even though it’s not a real game day, I know we can play with teams like Hanover and Lebanon,” Borcuk said.
Whatever success Newport has, it will be accomplished without junior John Thibault, who rushed 283 times for 2,119 yards and 39 touchdowns the past two seasons. The Thibault family has moved to the Manchester area and John will play football this fall at Trinity High School.
“I wish him all the best,” Borcuk said.