HANDS ON: Princeton High football player Ethan Guerra, left, battles in the trenches during a game last fall. Recently graduated star lineman Guerra will play the final game of his football career as he competes for the West team in the 21st annual Sunshine Football Classic at The College of New Jersey on June 29. He will be joined on the squad by PHS teammates Alex Solopenkov and Matt Hawes. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Ethan Guerra experienced plenty of ups and downs during his career with the Princeton High football team.

PHS went 0-10 during Guerra’s freshman year in 2013 and then produced a remarkable reversal of fortune the next fall as the Little Tigers posted an 8-2 record. Over the next two seasons, PHS struggled, going 4-6 in 2015 and 1-9 last fall.

For Guerra, the love of the game was more important than the numbers on the scoreboard.

“Regardless of whatever the score was or what our record was, I just played to enjoy the game, that is really what it was about,” said the 5’9, 215-pound Guerra, a star lineman for PHS on both sides of the ball.

This week, Guerra is getting the chance to play one more game as he will play for the West squad in the 21st annual Sunshine Football Classic at The College of New Jersey on June 29.

“It was an honor; I know there have been some really great football players who have been selected to play and to be part of that is great,” said Guerra.

“I am very excited about it, I think it is going to be a great experience. It is going to be a lot of fun.”

After enduring the winless campaign as freshman, Guerra had a lot of fun becoming a starter on both the offensive and defensive lines as PHS enjoyed its bounce back campaign in 2014.

“We just had great teamwork, the vibe on the team was great,” said Guerra.

“We all took the 0-10 season to heart and had that chip on our shoulder going into the next season. We used that as a driving force, a motivation to work harder and play every down as hard as you can. I just remember that teamwork and that drive to redeem ourselves and show what we are about.”

While the Little Tigers experienced some hard luck in going 4-6 the next season, Guerra was driven to make a greater impact in the trenches.

“I definitely became a lot more aggressive as a player, I think technique-wise I improved; I took what I learned my sophomore year and really just grew on that,” said Guerra.

“I gained muscle and took that winning mentality form going 8-2 that season and applied that to my style of play. I am very quick off the line, aggressive with hands on the other guy. As a lineman, it is all about the contact.”

As a star wrestler in the winter, Guerra found that the two sports complemented each other.

“I think football and wrestling go hand in hand, especially with my position on the line,” noted Guerra.

“It is very contact-based, having the kinesthetic awareness that is what coach [Rashone] Johnson always says. It is having that awareness of where your body is and your opponent’s body is and knowing how to manipulate that in a way that is advantageous for you. Going from football to wrestling, it helped having that aggressive attitude and knowing to push the other guy in the throat until you get your way.”

Although things didn’t go well this past fall for PHS, that didn’t dim Guerra’s enthusiasm.

“It was just enjoying the sport,” asserted Guerra. “We didn’t have the record that we wanted. No one wants to be like that but you play because you love the sport. All four years that I played, I loved it. Winning or losing, I went through both experiences. We went from winning almost all of our games to winning almost none of them.”

Guerra is hoping to leave a legacy for the players that follow him next year.

“I want to make sure that they know how to keep that chip on their shoulder,” said Guerra, who is headed to Penn State where he plans to study chemical engineering and is considering playing club sports.

“They need to take that negative, the bad emotion about it and use it as positive energy.”

Looking ahead to the Sunshine Classic, Guerra is excited for a positive final experience on the football field.

“It is really exciting to see guys I have faced before, either on the mat or in the field, and play with guys I have played with for four years,” said Guerra.

“It is one more time to put on the pads and play some. It is not about a win or a loss, it is going out and everyone having love for the game and enjoying it. It is not a bad way to end a football career.”