By Anthony Bosco
For 32 years, Pete Gorynski has been a staple of the city’s oldest high school football rivalry, Fordham Prep-Xavier. Whether as a player, coach or spectator, the 46-year-old Bayside resident has been there and will be again when the two teams meet in the annual match-up on Thanksgiving.
As the head coach of the Fordham Prep Rams, Gorynski is naturally conflicted about the game. He played for Xavier while a student at the school and later became the team’s head coach before eventually taking the top position at Fordham Prep, something that must have seemed like sacrilege to some of his old players and teammates.
“That’s an interesting dynamic for me,” the coach admitted. “I’m conflicted about the whole thing, but it’s good.”
Born in Manhattan, Gorynski came to Queens in his early 20s, eventually settling in Whitestone after he was married in 1982. He later moved to Bayside, where he now lives with his family. And what a family it is.
Gorynski is the father of the TimesLedger CHSAA girls’ basketball player of the year, Dawn Gorynski, currently on full scholarship at Lehigh University to play basketball. Dawn was one of the most under-recruited players in the city last year, but her father is more than happy with where she landed.
“It’s less than two hours door-to-door,” he said. “The Patriot League is a league she can play in right away.”
Gorynski’s son, P.J., is a junior at St. Francis Prep and also a stellar athlete. He was brought up to the varsity baseball team early in the season last year and started most of the games he played in at second base.
“He was fairly successful on his first year on varsity,” Gorynski said. “His growth as a player has been real solid.”
Gorynski’s youngest is Emma, a freshman at St. Francis who recently made the junior varsity soccer team.
Gorynski is gearing up for the upcoming football season with the Rams, a team seeded 14th by the CHSFL power rating system, but one that may turn some heads in the months to come.
“I’m very, very optimistic,” the coach said. “We’re coming off a horrible year [in which I was] forced to start five sophomores and 10 juniors. That was a liability last year. Now the pendulum swings to positive. All these kids who went through a learning curve are experienced players now. We’re returning 15 starters.”
The team, which will play its home games at John F. Kennedy High School, will host Brooklyn’s Xaverian Clippers on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 1:30 p.m. in the league opener.
“It should be a very good opener for both of us,” Gorynski said. “I think we’re going to find out where we’re at. It’s hard to make a determination at this point. Usually by game three you’ll know what you have.
“We’re pretty big this year,” he said. “We have a lot of size and we have a lot at the skilled positions. A lot of our success will depend on how healthy we stay. We have some good kids. I’m enthusiastic.”
Gorynski’s Rams will host Queens’ Holy Cross Knights on Sunday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
