Sports

Explosive Curtis fills in talented youngsters around veteran core

Curtis’s Josh Artis tries to avoid a tackle. (Denis Gostev)

A new school wasn’t the only change last season for Kevin Austin.

The talented junior transferred to Curtis from Florida and for the first time found himself thrust into full time running back duty at one of the PSAL’s premier programs. Austin acclimated himself well, rushing for 886 yards and 14 touchdowns. A year wiser, the explosive back is preaching patience, something both he and his team will need.

“All I need is patience to find a hole,” Austin said. “That was something I didn’t do last year that I should have done.”

Austin is one of the veteran skill position players Curtis returns from a team that lost to Campus Magnet in the opening round of last year’s PSAL City Championship division playoffs. Around them will be a bevy of sophomores who will gain experience as the year goes on.

“We need new guys who can step up,” Austin said.

Curtis will have a bunch of offensive options along with Austin to try to spring loose in the open field. Josh Artis and Reynaldo Jimenez will also be in the backfield and in the secondary at cornerback and safety, respectively. Top receiver, junior Elijah Caldwell, and senior Jaquan Hill return and will be a versatile threat for new quarterback, junior Shane Daneluzzi, a starter on junior varsity last season. He replaces last year’s dynamic signal-caller Prince Dukes, who is no longer with the team, coach Pete Gambardella said.

“All of our playmakers can catch, make moves, make people miss,” Caldwell said. “Everyone has breakaway speed. It should be a big year.”

Where the Warriors may struggle will be up front as not a single player is back on the offensive line. They will rely on sophomores and converted defensive linemen like Foster Yates to fill in. Junior Brandon Stapleton, who has impressed teammates so far, will also be in the mix. Sophomore Marcus Feyjoo, also a linebacker, will see time at guard and possibly center.

“[We’re] still trying to find it,” Gambardella said.

Curtis does have experience back on defense with Yates on the line and Jimenez and Nick Heffran at linebacker working in tandem with Shawn Brown. Milton Franklin will sure up the secondary at safety with cornerbacks Maliek Kelly and Isaiah Kelson. Gambardella called it an awkward year as his largest classes are his seniors and sophomores.

“Those guys have shown potential to make some big plays,” Gambardella said.

The coach admitted it’s a tough year to be scrambling for pieces. The PSAL schedule change, based on records over the last four years, has Curtis in the top group, playing the city’s best week in and week out. They know they can’t afford to look past Week 1 opponent Erasmus Hall, the city runner-up a year ago.

“We have to learn step by step,” Austin said. “That’s all we can do right now.”

jstaszewski@nypost.com