GROVE CITY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — There’s no pushing James Parenti around.
He’s become an immovable force at nose tackle for the formidable Grove City College defense.
(Above, Moniteau graduate and Grove City College senior James Parenti was one of the best defensive linemen in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference last season/photo courtesy of Grove City College).
The 6-foot, 285-pound senior and Moniteau High School graduate was an anchor for a unit that was ranked sixth in the nation in NCAA Division III college football in run defense last season, yielding a mere 63.1 yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry.
“Him in the heart of our defense was the big reason why,” said Grove City College head coach Andrew DiDonato. “He was right in the middle of it at nose. We play an odd front, so if you’re going to stop the run the way we’ve been able to, you better have a nose who is going to defeat two every play, it doesn’t matter if it’s defeating the double team, or defeating the guy in front of you and making the tackle.
“We talk about playing with great effort and mastering your art,” DiDonato added. “James is a guy who lives in that, and he is truly a model of so many things we talk about in this program.”
Football, however, wasn’t in the forefront of Parenti’s thoughts when he came to Grove City College.
Track and field was what Parenti thought would be his calling at the next level.
While at Moniteau, he placed fourth in the discus at the PIAA championships in back to back years. His career best high school throw was 171 feet, 10 inches — good enough for fifth all-time in Butler County history. He was eager to see what he could do as a thrower at the next level.
Parenti, a Hilliards native, owns the indoor records at Grove City College in the shot put and weight throw.
He decided to play football, too, and his career in that sport took off quickly.
“Football was the one for me that kind of came out of nowhere here,” Parenti said. “In track, you can look at the numbers and kind of see where you stand coming in, so I expected it. In football, I didn’t really know what to think coming in, but as soon as I got here and put the pas on, I just knew this is where I want to be.”
There was an adjustment period for Parenti on the gridiron.
At Moniteau, he played a different style up front, using speed and quickness to penetrate gaps and get into the backfield.
At GCC, the expectations for his position changed.
“I almost had to learn to play an entirely new sport,” Parenti said. “It’s just a different way to play the game. Here, it’s being a lot more physical and actually playing through offensive linemen. It’s honestly a lot more like playing offensive line in high school where you’re driving guys back and things like that. Instead of looking to get to a linebacker, you’re trying to get to the running back or quarterback.”
Near the end of his freshman season, Parenti had adapted well enough to crack the starting lineup.
“It comes really quick if you trust it,” Parenti said. “I’m right here. The center is right there. I just have to punch him. But it takes just hundreds and thousands of repetitions to actually be able to do it and do it well consistently.”
His sophomore year was cut to just four games in the spring because of COVID, but he recorded 25 tackles in that truncated campaign.
Last year, Parenti emerged as one of the most dominant interior defensive linemen in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
His ability — as well as the ability of the rest of the defensive linemen — to consistently take on and beat double teams allowed the Wolverine linebackers to flourish and make plays.
“It’s just our mindset that we’re going to be the toughest unit out on the field at any given time and that we’re going to make things happen,” Parenti said. “We’re going to take away your run. Tackle to tackle, that’s our territory.”
Parenti’s backup at nose tackle last season was Redbank Valley graduate Kobe Bonanno.
(Redbank Valley grad and GCC sophomore Kobe Bonanno will move into the starting lineup at defensive end this season/photo courtesy of Grove City College.)
This season, Bonanno, now a sophomore, will move to defensive end and line up next to Parenti.
Bonanno is a perfect fit for Grove City’s defense. He’s 6-3 and 280 pounds and hard to move. At Redbank, he was a standout defensive tackle for the Bulldogs.
He played in all 11 games for the Wolverines as a freshman.
“Last year, Kobe rotated in a decent bit and he got to see the field,” Parenti said. “We were just talking about ways to get Kobe on the field. He’s too valuable. Getting him in this year and playing next to him is going to be great.”
Bonanno is ready for the challenge.
“The biggest thing was learning the technique and getting that all down,” Bonanno said. “Moving from nose to end isn’t all that different. We basically do the same things. My job is to beat the two guys in front of me. It’s a fun way to play football.”
DiDonato said he anticipates Bonanno being another stalwart up front.
The Wolverines’ defense has a chance to be even better this season.
“We lost two first-team, all-conference guys on our defense and a defensive end position opened up,” DiDonato said. “We knew coming into camp that would be a position battle and we already can tell he’s going to win that spot. We’re just excited about him starting next to James. He has great size and he learned to execute things the way we like to do things up front. He’s just completely bought in and has done a great job.”
Grove City went 8-3 last season. Two of those losses came by a combined five points — a 33-32 setback to Westminster and a 28-24 defeat at the hands of Washington & Jefferson.
The Wolverines won the ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl, 49-7, over Utica. It was the program’s third bowl win in the last three full seasons.
Grove City has come a long way since three straight 0-10 campaigns from 2014 to 2016.
Parenti and Bonanno would like nothing more than to help Grove City College win a long-awaited PAC title.
“One thing now is we have a really, really solid identity,” Parenti said. “We know exactly who we are as a defense and what we have to do to accomplish these things. It’s just about going out there and getting it done.”
