Things changed a lot for John Fogarino during his time as a Judge guy.
When the Father Judge High School senior entered the school, he knew three people. He was shy, and coming from South Philadelphia, he wasn’t even familiar with most of the other kids who roamed the halls.
“Freshman year was tough, I’m young, my birthday is in May, so I was young, I was shy and it was hard,” Fogarino said. “I didn’t know anyone. I knew two kids and one of my friends got called up to varsity, so I was (on the freshman team) and didn’t know anyone.
“It wasn’t long. It wasn’t too hard to make friends with everyone. Sophomore year, I knew everyone. It was hard, but coming here and staying was the best decision I ever made.”
Not only did he stick it out freshman year, he stuck it out junior year when he watched his dream of being the starting quarterback blow up.
And it wasn’t because of something he wasn’t doing.
“During my sophomore year, we had a kid transfer in and he was our quarterback junior year,” Fogarino said. “I play safety now, but last year we had two really good safeties, so I moved to outside linebacker. Then our quarterback transferred, but since I was playing well on defense, they kept me there.”
That wasn’t exactly what Fogarino wanted, but he put the team first. Then after the season, he worked to become the Crusaders’ signal-caller.
Also during this time, the Crusaders hired Ryan Nase to take over as head coach. Fogarino continued to put in the work to become the team’s starting quarterback, and midway through training camp, the new coach had some news.
“In the beginning, I could tell they didn’t want me to go both ways, but then after a few practices in the summer, Coach Nase said to me that you’ll be our quarterback. He said you can play defense, too. It wasn’t hard, I knew I wanted to play both ways all off-season. I was so happy they gave me a chance.”
And Fogarino made the most of it.
The Crusaders had a solid year under Nase. They finished 3-8, 0-5 in the Catholic League Red Division, but in that league, wins are very hard to come by.
The Crusaders did defeat Lansdale Catholic, Archbishop Wood and Springfield (Montgomery County) this year. Among their losses were setbacks to La Salle, St. Joe’s Prep and two losses – one during the regular season, one in the 5A Catholic League championship game – to Roman Catholic. Those four games were against three of the best teams in the state. Four of their opponents (Lansdale Catholic, Cardinal O’Hara, Roman and La Salle) are playing in the quarterfinals of their assorted classifications.
So to say the Crusaders play a challenging schedule is quite the understatement. For Fogarino, that just means the team had to work a little harder.
And because of that, and the way they competed, Fogarino is pleased with the way his teammates played this year.
“I think we had a good year.” Fogarino said. “We won games against some really good teams. And every week, we play the best. We play the best talent around here. It’s so hard to mentally prepare. The team you’re versing is so good. It’s hard. That was the hardest part, mentally preparing, watching the film. I think it would have been harder if I didn’t watch film. I was one step ahead of the game because of film.
“I knew how to break down film, but I had a great relationship with our quarterbacks coach (Mike Hnatkowsky) and he has helped me a lot. He put in a lot of time, working with me. And last year we would break down defense, I learned a lot there. I played defense, so I think that helped me a lot. I still play defense.”
That was a challenge.
While most quarterbacks would gather with their unit, Fogarino didn’t have that option because he was playing safety.
“In the beginning of the year, I would take a drive off and talk to the guys” Fogarino said. “But we had it down. If I needed to, they pulled me to get things set. But it wasn’t a problem. I liked playing both ways.”
Next year, Fogarino is willing to do the same for any college that gives him a chance. He’s had some reach out, he’s hoping to come up with a decision soon.
“Coach Nase will help me, I have a few D3 schools that I talked to, I just want to keep playing,” Fogarino said. “I want to major in finance. I want to become an actuary. I like statistics and stuff like that. I know I can make a lot of money doing that and it’s not something I would hate doing.”
He also has options.
On top of being a talented football player, he’s involved in the Judge welding program. He could start a new job the day he graduates.
“I’m probably going to end up playing college football, I love the welding program,” he said. “I could play football and welding might come back around. It’s hands on, I’d rather be doing that than in class. If I go to college and don’t like what I major in, I can do so much with it.
“Judge was definitely the right decision. I could have transferred last year, but I wanted to play at Judge. I didn’t want to leave.
“I got to play with my brother, which was great. My dad was a big supporter of me going to Judge. I loved it. They supported me. I worked at becoming the quarterback. I wanted to play for Judge. I wanted to play against the best. I wouldn’t change anything.”
