Community Corner

Gridiron Classic: Domingo Perez, Finding A Home In Asbury Park

Domingo Perez had many different addresses during his high school career at Asbury Park, but there was only one place he called home

By Scott Stump

Domingo Perez had many different addresses during his high school career at Asbury Park, but there was only one place he called home.

With his parents battling personal demons that caused them to lose custody of him, the Asbury Park two-way lineman has lived with foster families, in group homes, with relatives, and even with his own head coach in the past four years.

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Through it all, Asbury Park Stadium right off Sunset Avenue was perhaps his most stable address.

“Football has kept my head clear, it's kept me focused, and it's kept me in shape,’’ Perez said. “It kept me off the streets of Asbury and being around the wrong people. It's just helped me a lot to realize the bigger picture.’’

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His rewards for sticking with the sport despite constant turbulence off the field are a spot on the roster at Division III power Wesley College in Dover, Del., and one final opportunity to shine at the high school level.

Perez will suit up as part of the Monmouth County team that will square off against Ocean County at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the 36th annual U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic at Toms River North’s Gernerd Field.

When they line up in the pregame for the national anthem, there might not be a more beaming smile than the one coming from the big lineman in the baby blue helmet. He is the lone representative from Asbury Park, a proud football town and one of the Shore Conference’s oldest and most storied programs.

“I'm proud of myself, and I'm just going to keep pushing forward like I always have,’’ he said. “You have to have a lot of ambition and hunger to want to do better. I saw people going downhill and thought, ‘That’s not for me.’’’

“(Perez) is very strong mentally and physically,’’ said Asbury Park coach Matt Ardizzone. “You have to be strong to get through the things he’s been through. He is a true character kid who you would want your own kid to be like.”

However, it wasn’t always that way. The 280-pound lineman was on the varsity team as a freshman when the Blue Bishops won their third straight NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I title in 2009, but nearly derailed his career before it even began.

“I got into trouble and stopped going to school for about three months at the end of my freshman year,’’ he said. “I was just out there with the wrong people. I played varsity, but that didn't really matter if I was doing the wrong thing. That was probably my lowest point, when I realized that this wasn't me and I could do way better.’’

Just as he began to pull his life together that summer, it was uprooted when he abruptly moved to Florida with his father in the preseason before his sophomore year. After the living situation down there became unstable, he was back in Asbury Park seven months later. He bounced around several homes, many of them in some of the roughest neighborhoods on the west side of a town plagued by gun violence.

“I've been in situations where my aunt's house has gotten shot up,’’ Perez said. “It's not a great experience, but it just teaches you that life is short. You have to put yourself in a situation where you want the best for yourself.”

Perez’s living situation was so chaotic that in January of his junior year he moved in with Ardizzone, who was granted temporary custody by Perez’s father. The two forged a tight bond through Perez’s circumstances.

“It's been like father-son,’’ Perez said. “It's phenomenal to know that he is my coach, my friend and a father figure.”

“He was able to keep an even keel through it all,’’ Ardizzone said. “If he wasn’t succeeding in football or wrestling, he would just get motivated to work harder.”

As a junior, Perez was a starting lineman on the Blue Bishops team that finished 10-2 and won its fourth Central Jersey Group I title in five years during the 2011 season. He also blossomed on the wrestling mat, helping to resurrect a once-dormant Asbury Park program while starring as a heavyweight. In his junior season, he became the Blue Bishops’ first district champion since 1971. As a senior this past winter, he went 18-6 and repeated as District 23 champion before finishing fourth in Region VI.

“Football and basketball have always been the top sports in Asbury Park,’’ Perez said. “I see myself coming back and giving back to the teams, especially wrestling since that has been a growing program there and I would love to see it continue to grow in Asbury.”

Following his senior football season this past fall, Perez was an All-Class B Central pick by the coaches after helping the Blue Bishops finish 6-4 with a playoff appearance despite heavy graduation losses. Since December of 2012, he has been living at Beacon House in Neptune, a transitional living program for men ages 17 to 21 that teaches life skills like money management, personal health and home maintenance.

“It's a great program,’’ he said about Beacon House. “Ever since I've joined the program I've stayed on track with everything I'm doing.”

By staying focused, Perez was able to do what many of the players from Asbury Park’s recent run of championships could not – move on to college. While the Blue Bishops have won four state sectional titles since 2007, only a handful of players have moved on to the next level, with many failing to qualify academically or getting caught up in the streets.

Monmouth University senior wide receiver Lamar Davenport, Texas Southern junior quarterback Jamar Small and 2011 Hamilton College graduate Paul Zarella, a former Blue Bishops lineman, are believed to be the only players from those teams who went on to college and stuck with the program. Perez now joins that short list.

“When you talk to people around here and they ask about some of your biggest disappointments, it’s not wins and losses on field, it's about kids getting to the next level and staying,’’ Ardizzone said. “A lot of kids come into this program all thinking they are Division I athletes, but it’s very difficult to accomplish that. Domingo had the grades and knew what his abilities were. He was realistic about everything, and he achieved his goal.”

Perez may not be going to a flashy FBS program, but he is a symbol of what Asbury Park hopes to add to its championship trophies – solid program kids who go on to play at the next level and give themselves a chance in life.

“It definitely was my dream to play college ball,’’ Perez said. “I want to set an example for the younger guys and even the guys who graduated with me. It's never too late to go to college, and hopefully they get the chance to play on a college team as well. I definitely want to create a legacy for myself and also represent Asbury.”

When Perez returns from his freshman year at Wesley, he said he will be living in a group home in Elizabeth. However, his heart will remain in Asbury Park.

“I can see Domingo one day giving back to us by coming back and coaching here,’’ Ardizzone said. “That’s the type of person he is, and he would be a great mentor to the other kids.”

“That is my goal,’’ Perez said. “I want to give back to all the people who helped me, and show the younger guys that no matter how bad it gets, you just need to stay focused and want something more for yourself.” 

For more coverage of sports in the Jersey Shore, see Scott Stump's All Shore Media site here.


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