Before He "Uncled" a Star Player . . . 

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  This story was written in 1979 about two of Judge's star players,
linebacker Vince Guckin and guard Tom Carboni, whose personalities
were vastly different. Vince is the uncle of Andrew Guckin, star
halfback and linebacker for Archbishop Wood. (And, yes, he is
sitting on the crossbar of a goalpost.)

Opposites Attract for Judge
 

By TED SILARY

On the football squad at Father Judge these days, Coach John (Whitey) Sullivan has noticed that the Kent traits can be found in most of his offensive starters, while the guys like Rickles mostly stick to the 'D.'

IN GUARD TOM CARBONI and linebacker Vince Guckin, Sullivan has provided two splendid examples. Both have made All- Catholic and are huge reasons that Judge will play Cardinal O'Hara in the Catholic League championship game on Dec. 1. But that is where the similarities grind to a screeching halt.

While Carboni, one of 13 children and prone to " yes sirs" and " no sirs, " treats words as if they cost a dime apiece, Guckin has been known to burst into song at the drop of a chant. On a crowded bus of football players after a game, no less.

" That began last year," said Guckin, smiling. " I was singing in the shower one day, and the guys said they liked it. I've done Elvis, the White Shadow, Frankie Valli. Now, I pretty much stick to Elvis. I give them a little taste every time we win.

" When we win, I'm high as it is. It doesn't take too much to get me going. All I do is make them wait awhile. When they go, 'GUCK-in, GUCK-in, GUCK-in,' that's when I stand up. I put a towel around my neck, twist my pads around. The song I usually sing is 'Heartbreak Hotel. ' I know all the words.

" DO THEY LOVE it? Hey, they go wild. If they didn't like it, they wouldn't ask me to do it over and over. "

While Guckin wails, Carboni enjoys himself as much as anyone. But, when Tom was asked if he could ever match Guckin sour note for sour note, he responded, " Not as long as I still have my intelligence. "

You can chalk that up to a disciplined upbringing. While dad Daniel and mom Mary were raising Mary Lou, Kate, Danny, Josephine, Frank, John, Lou, Bernadette, Rose Marie, Tom, Ed, Bill and Janet, they laid down a stern set of rules on the course that life should follow.

" We're not real quiet at the house, but we're quiet outside it," said Carboni, who lives in a three-story home three blocks from Judge. " Our parents taught us not be rowdy. If we were bad, we'd have to stand in the corner, or take a smack in the face, or get put in the elevator (yes, the elevator) a couple hours.

" Really, we have 14 kids, because you have to count Poco, our dog. Until a few years ago, we had a maid, too, but we had to fire her, when it came down to Poco or her. She didn't want to clean up the dog hairs.

" I guess being shy and quiet is usually not a trait of kids from big

families, but it's just the way I grew up. If you'd been in our house five years ago, you would have heard a lot of racket. We're pretty well settled down now. "

CARBONI CAME TO Judge as a fullback but was shifted to the offensive line two days before his first game as a freshman. Guckin played both ways in youth ball and was almost foaming at the mouth for the chance to shed offensive duties.

" I could never stand it on offense," Vince admitted. " It's too dull. I like to get after the people who are running the ball, not help 'em. On defense, you're the one that's hurtin', not the one that's gettin' hurt.

" We have a lot of fun between defense and offense. We call 'em dirtballs. They are always caked in mud. We keep ourselves respectable. When we are stretching, I'll call out insults about their girlfriends. It's done in fun. "

If Guckin appears like a wacko after games and during practice, you should see his routine when the clock is running. It has been reported that the Crusaders' defenders suffer more concussions due to Guckin than due to collisions.

" On Sunday," Guckin said, referring to the 15-15 tie with Archbishop Wood that Judge won on yardage, " I was hitting guys in the head all over the place. I was trying to get 'em up. There were one or two guys that seemed kind of down, like they weren't ready to play. I noticed that and cracked them on the helmet. Hey, I almost knocked 'em to the ground. "

" The defensive guys need to be more wild than we do," Carboni said. " Like they say, 'Defense wins the games. ' It's fun to watch them go wild out there. In the Wood game, they made three great plays and forced Wood to punt. We put together an 80-yard drive for a touchdown.

" Joe Lorenc is kind of quiet, and so is Gerry Clothier (both are down linemen), but, as a rule, the guys on defense are nuts. The guys on the offensive line are calm and cool, for the most part.

" We don't go 'live' against each other very often, due to the chance of injury. But sometimes we will set up to run a play against them. If we call an audible, say a 'dive option right,' the defensive guys will all run to that side, because they know our plays. "

As you might imagine, Vince (Rickles) Guckin leads the way. And, if the guys on offense fail to laugh, there's a good chance they are taking their cue from Tom (Kent) Carboni.