Mele and Marucci are special players for W&J football
If one ever hears their names mentioned on a televised game, live stream or radio broadcast of a Washington and Jefferson football game, it likely means they messed up – bad.
Obscurity could be their middle names.
They don’t play offense or defense.
They are specialists.
Jake Mele and Cole Marucci – two Washington County kids who just love the game and W&J. They have found a niche, a purpose for the Presidents’ football team, who hosts Geneva Saturday at 1 p.m.
Mele, a Chartiers-Houston graduate, is the team’s placement holder. For those who pay attention, he’s one of the very best. Marucci, a Charleroi graduate, is new to his job this year. He’s the short snapper. They are seniors. When you talk about perseverance and dedication, these two are the definition.
“Jake is a very good holder, and we trust him,” W&J coach Mike Sirianni said. “The other thing that Jake does well during practice is help the younger guys. He’s not the fastest receiver. He tells the younger guys what to run. He does some things that you don’t see. He’s just such a great kid from a great family, and like I said, he is a good holder. Jake never complains – he offered to go to safety this year. He’ll do anything for the team. Cole had to take a year off and then he came back as a tight end and probably wasn’t going to ever play at tight end. He told me that he snapped before and I told him, ‘We’ll see what you can do.’ So, he ended up OK snapping the ball and is our short snapper and he does a good job.
“He just wants to be on the team and again, he’s another kid who is just a good kid, been part of our program and doesn’t complain. He shows up and works and just likes being part of it.
“As a coach, you’re going to have those guys who are four-year players that play a lot, but when kids stay in the program all four years and they haven’t really played a whole lot, it makes you think that maybe they’re getting more out of it than just the wins and losses and the championships. They are part of the brotherhood and they’re learning something from the program.”
Mele said when he was in high school, he was the Bucs’ holder.
“I can’t say it was my favorite activity to do on the team,” he admitted. “But you must play your role in whatever way possible. Then coming to W&J, getting offered that spot my freshman year for our first game – I thought it’s an easy way to get on the field. I might as well take and run with it and see what I can do. I’ve kind of found that little niche and I’m just trying to do what I can and help the team out in any way possible.”
Marucci saw being a specialist as his only way to help the team. He was “like the eighth tight end” and understood he had little chance to get any playing time.
“My first year, I had surgery right before camp, so I missed all that year,” Marucci explained. “I got hurt in the spring again. That was one year where I wasn’t around the team or anything. It was tough for me. I was excited the next year to get back into it, just play football again, and then I ended up getting a concussion on the first day of pads. Then I got pneumonia. I got the flu and I was out until Week 9 that year. And that was the first time I dressed that year. I just debated not playing at that point.”
Marucci got hurt again the next spring. He wasn’t ready to give up.
“I just kind of weighed my options,” he said. “All my closest friends here play football. I love going to practice. I love hanging out with the guys, having that camaraderie that you’re not going to get anywhere else.”
Enter Sharpsville graduate Liam Campbell, who like Mele and Marucci has one job – serving as the Presidents’ kickoff specialist. He urged Marucci to try long and short snapping.
“Liam stood at the end of the hallway; I stood at the end of the other hallway. I started right there. I was all right at it. I went through all the spring, and I figured I wanted to make an impact on this team some way, somehow, or at least try to.”
Ironically, his job is to snap it to Mele.
Said Mele: “I’ll play wherever I fit and where I’m needed most.”
Kenny Cranston, W&J’s special teams coach said holder and snapper are “the two most underappreciated positions on a football field.”
“Having a good holder, like Jake, is huge for us,” Cranston added. “We know we’re going to get a solid snap with Cole.
“It’s huge for us because you need those guys to be around. They’re great teammates. It’s a testament to who they are because it’s really hard, especially here at W&J, where we have been good for a long time now, and to come in as a really good player, probably the best or one on your high school team and so is everybody else here. For them to show up every day, be positive and encouraging to their teammates is something special. It’s a long road; what they’ve done for us has been tremendous. They’re two great kids.”