ROOF: Cecchetti puts game on the line at Akron
William Wilson
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Cecchetti,
the former Big 30 and Kane High School football star, was in the lineup
Saturday afternoon when the Zips visited the University at Buffalo and
left with a 13-7 Mid-America Conference win over the Bulls.
And though he wasn't credited with a tackle, the 6-2, 260-pound
sophomore defensive lineman was just glad to be back in UA's rotation.
"It's just great to be playing after the way this season started," said
the 2004 Kane graduate, who was a four-year starter on both sides of
the ball for the Wolves. "I'm just starting to feel like myself again
... every day is a little bit better."
After a freshman season in which he appeared in nine games as a reserve
defensive lineman, one of only six true freshmen to see game action for
the Zips, Cecchetti was looking forward to a big start to the 2005
season.
And the Zips were expecting him to compete for time at both nose guard and defensive tackle.
Unfortunately for Cecchetti, he found himself locked in a battle with mononucleosis that he wasn't about to win any time soon.
"It really set me back," Cecchetti, who had started one game, at
Virginia, as a freshman said. "I lost 20 pounds and my strength
completely went.
"I'm just starting to feel better now, but I missed most of three weeks
... and that's a lot when you're trying to get ready for a football
season and everyone else is going full out."
After missing Akron's opener at Purdue, a 49-24 loss, Cecchetti has
gotten back in the lineup the last four games — a 17-7 win at Middle
Tennessee State, a 48-42 overtime win against Northern Illinois, a
31-17 loss to Central Michigan, and Saturday's victory at Buffalo.
He got the start against Northern Illinois, but for the most part he's
rotating with senior defensive tackle Brian White, while also seeing
time at nose guard.
Against UB, Cecchetti's assignment included facing off with the Bulls'
senior All-MAC candidate and fourth-year starter Zachary Love, who goes
a mammoth, 6-4, 324-pounds, and 6-5, 292-pound freshman Ray Norell.
"That really isn't anything different than I've been seeing," said
Cecchetti, a physical education major. "Nearly everyone has been bigger
... and that's pretty-much what I run into in practice every day, so
you kind of get used to seeing it."
But Cecchetti, who chose Akron over Villanova, did say that's easily
one of the biggest differences he's seen since leaving the Allegheny
Mountain League for the MAC and Division I.
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