Sports

Behind enemy lines: Former Kennedy coach Vega lands at Clinton

In the five years Alex Vega ran the John F. Kennedy football team, Howard Langley and DeWitt Clinton were his greatest threat. Now, in an odd way, they are his salvation.

A year and a half after he was relieved of his duties as coach by former principal Anthony Rotunno for allegations of employee misconduct, Vega is back in the PSAL – and Langley is the reason why. The seventh-year Clinton coach reached out to Vega, who served as the offensive coordinator at Mount Vernon last fall, over the summer and offered him the Governors’ defensive coordinator job. Vega, who still teaches special education at Bronx Theater inside Kennedy Campus, accepted.

“I wanted to get back into the PSAL and what better place than Clinton?” Vega said during a three-team scrimmage Thursday afternoon at New Utrecht in Bensonhurst. “I’m loving this. I’m having one of my best coaching experiences.”

Langley and Vega had lunch before the connection was made official. They aired out certain grievances that developed in the years they went after each other and realized there were more similarities than differences, they shared a mutual respect and had common ground.

“The most important thing is we both care a lot about kids,” said Vega, who brought along former Kennedy running backs and secondary coach Ivan Morales. “I’m just trying to be one more piece to the puzzle.”

Star fullback/middle linebacker Ashton McKenzie said Vega has already made a difference for him. He can’t do anything without the new coach getting in his ear.

“He pushes me,” the junior standout said. “Every time I run the ball, he screams, ‘Ashton, keep your pads low.’ Sometimes when the play is down field, I stop and he yells, ‘Ashton, you got to pursue.’”

Langley couldn’t be happier with his defensive leader. He praised the hiring as “the best move I’ve made in seven years,” saying Vega is “one of the best coaches in the city.” Langley relished beating Vega, but he was more upset over what happened to him at Kennedy than any loss.

“I thought he was railroaded, he got a raw deal,” Langley said. “I’m real appreciative he took my offer. Hopefully, we have years of success together.”

Vega declined to go into specifics, other than to say the only mistake he made was purchasing a DVD player without Rotunno’s permission to make college highlight films for his players. “I was cleared of all criminal charges,” he said. Rotunno, meanwhile, resigned recently amid accusations school employees stole $90,000 that students raised at bake sales and other fund-raisers.

Vega has complete control over the Clinton defense and is even running the same scheme – the “50,” which is predicated on stopping the run with five down lineman – that worked so well at Kennedy. It’s a multi-front system that allows for plenty of on-the-fly changes. Clinton will still use some of its old system, Langley said.

“Remember The Bronx is the home of hip-hop – all we do is mix,” Langley joked.

That extends to coaching staffs. Just a few years ago, such a reunion would seem preposterous, rivals such as these joining forces. Now the two can imagine a prosperous future together dominating the borough they used to fight over.

zbraziller@nypost.com