The expectations for the football program at St. Peter’s Prep are always so incredibly high. It’s gotten to the point where the season is a failure unless the Marauders are competing for the NJSIAA Non-Public (Parochial) Group 4 state championship.
“I’d be lying and I’d be a fool if I said it wasn’t there,” said veteran head coach Rich Hansen, who enters his 24th season as the Marauders’ mentor. “We’re expected to get back there. We can use previous history as a guideline, but we don’t dwell on it. We’re motivated by our success and our future. Our goal is always to get back there.”
But for the last four seasons, getting back to the state championship game has always meant one gigantic roadblock– namely Don Bosco Prep, the team that has sent the Marauders packing from the state playoffs each time, three times in the title game at Giants Stadium.
In 2006, Bosco won in the title game, 41-7. A year later, again in the championship tilt, it was 42-14. In 2008, the two teams met in the sectional semifinals and Bosco won again, 38-13.
Last year, it was again for the whole shebang and again, the Marauders fell flat, losing 35-15.
Needless to say, the time has come to turn the tide a little.
“We know what’s there,” Hansen said. “Our expectations are always the same. We’re disappointed if we don’t get a ring [a state title]. This is why we’re here and why we do what we do. The goal is to be the best team in the state. We’ve done that in the past. Every year is a new year in high school football and we feel we have a good team that will make another run. This is a talented group, a very skilled group. If one of the criteria of having a good program is having high standards, then the only way we can end it is topping it off with a ring.”
Leading the litany of returnees is senior running back Savon Huggins (6-0, 200), who was the 2009 Hudson Reporter Most Valuable Player after rushing for more than 1,400 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. The talented Huggins, who also set a new single-game school rushing record by totaling 312 yards in a win over St. Joseph of Montvale, is considered the best college prospect in the state and among the very best in the entire country.
“He’s good,” Hansen laughed. “He’s now officially good. It’s no longer about potential and what he might be able to do. We’ve talked about what he has to do. He has to raise his toughness level and play when he’s a little dinged. He’s going to get his touches and his opportunities and he has enough talent to carry it. He’s a great player and has to get his touches.”
The new quarterback is junior Brandon Napoleon (5-11, 170), the son of former St. Joseph of the Palisades and West Virginia standout Eugene.
Napoleon will bring a dimension to the Prep offense that had been missing since Will Hill graduated in 2007, meaning a mobile signal caller who could get the ball to the perimeter.
“Brandon is fast and can run the ball,” Hansen said. “He has good feet. He can really hurt you in a lot of ways. We’re turning the page back a little and do some of the things we used to do. We’re going to be able to do more things with our offense and that will make a difference.”
Joining Huggins and Napoleon in the Prep backfield is another highly coveted college prospect, namely senior Sheldon Royster (6-1, 195), who also has his fair share of college offers to choose from. Royster is lightning quick as a running back, but he’s projected more as a defensive back on the collegiate level. Royster also comes from good stock. His father, Shelly Archie, was an All-County running back at Lincoln in the late 1980s.
The talent doesn’t end there. Junior Jared Crayton (5-11, 195) is the next in line and will get his share of carries. He also will get his share of major college looks as he develops.
The fullback duties will be shared by senior Denzel Thomas (6-1, 230), senior James Lancellotti (6-1, 220) and senior Dan Lesce (6-0, 230).
The Marauders also possess a ton of depth and talent in the receiving corps, headed by returning starter Joe Vesey (6-1, 180), who had 18 receptions a year ago.
“It was a source of concern coming into training camp,” Hansen said of his receivers. “But now, I can’t remember every having this much depth at the position.”
Vesey is joined by junior J.R. Robinson (6-0, 180), who Hansen said “had a phenomenal pre-season, showing his phenomenal hands;” sophomores Trey Bell (6-0, 170) and Charlie Callinan (6-3, 190), and junior speed burner Najee Glass (6-3, 175), the state 400-meter dash champion last spring who spent the month of August winning medals at the Junior Olympics in Singapore. Glass is just working himself into football shape after concentrating on his track efforts in August.
The Marauders can also call upon sophomores Terrell Gibbs (6-3, 180) and Mike Githens (5-10, 170) at receiver as well.
“We now have tremendous athletes at that position,” Hansen said. “They’ve all done a great job.”
The tight end is junior Mike Giacone (6-4, 230), whom Hansen believes “is as good of a pass receiving tight end we’ve ever had.”
The offensive line features the third of the Prep major college prospects in senior tackle Keith Lumpkin (6-8, 290), who spent the summer concentrating more on football and less on basketball.
Lumpkin is joined at tackle by senior Blake Shapshinsky (6-3, 260). The guards are senior Mike Heatherington (6-1, 245), senior Dane Longa (5-10, 290) and junior Keon Williams (6-1, 270). The center position will be shared by sophomore Marquise Watson (5-11, 240) and junior Lucas Locasio (6-0, 240).
Defensively, the Marauders look to Heatherington and Longa at defensive end. Longa was a force at defensive tackle last year, but he’s been shifted to the outside.
The outside linebackers are senior returning starter James Fox (6-3, 210) and Crayton. Thomas, Lancellotti, Lesce and junior Tony Pfume (5-10, 175) have been seeing time at inside linebacker.
Huggins, Napoleon, Bell and senior Khiry Hughes (5-8, 175) have been sharing time at cornerback, with Royster and junior D.J. Singleton (6-2, 195), who will also get his share of college looks next year, at safety.
Sophomores Treijon Dinkins (5-9, 160) and Anthony Travisano (5-9, 180) are others who can see time in the Marauders’ deep secondary.
The Marauders also return the best kicker/punter in the county in senior Kevin Cosgrove, who earned Hudson Reporter All-Area honors last year, along with returning players Huggins, Royster, Lumpkin and Fox. It’s been a long time since one team returned five All-Area players.
So the ingredients are definitely there once again. The Marauders were slated to open their season Saturday night at Rutgers Stadium against St. Joseph’s Prep of Philadelphia, coached by West New York native and former Memorial standout Gabe Infante.
The Marauders then travel to Montvale next weekend to face perennial New Jersey power St. Joseph.
“We’re going to know right out of the box how good we are,” Hansen said.
Just how good the Marauders are come December is another thing altogether. It’s safe to take the wait-and-see approach.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.