The news filtered down from throughout the rest of the New Jersey football circles and caused shockwaves throughout.
How in the world could St. Peter’s Prep, the defending NJSIAA Non-Public Group 4 state champion and the overall No. 1 team in New Jersey last year, lose games by scores of 47-14 and 56-14 in a span of three weeks? Were those misprints? Is something seriously wrong down at Grand and Warren?
It’s true. The mighty Marauders did lose by 33 points to state rival Bergen Catholic Sept. 12 and two weeks later, suffered a 42-point shellacking at the hands of St. John Bosco, one of the nation’s premier teams from California, on Sept. 26.
Those are setbacks that simply St. Peter’s Prep doesn’t endure – ever. The Marauders might lose a game or two during the course of a season. But two lopsided laughers? In the same calendar month? That’s simply unheard of.
Well, there’s a reason for the losses – and it begins with the loss of personnel.
Brandon Wimbush, the New Jersey Offensive Player of the Year last year, is now spotted regularly on national television every week over the shoulder of Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, just one snap away from being called upon to be the starting signal caller for the Fighting Irish as the No. 1 backup to DeShone Kizer.
If you watch a Notre Dame game like the tens of millions who do every weekend, then you’ve seen Wimbush, wearing No. 12, right over Kelly’s right shoulder, listening intently to every word. Wimbush actually rushed for 92 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, in the Irish’s win over the University of Massachusetts on Sept. 26.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, the versatile do-everything receiver and defensive back, is getting active play with the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Corey Caddle, the Hudson Reporter Male Athlete of the Year for 2014-15, is roaming the football field for Fordham.
Not to mention the 10 other members of the state championship team currently on college football rosters across the country. It was a talented bunch that the Marauders lost to graduation.
But the Marauders have established a reputation for excellence and those eye-popping losses certainly were shocking.
However, veteran head coach Rich Hansen, now easily the granddaddy of all Hudson County football coaches and who last week became the latest Legends of Prep inductee, wasn’t overly concerned with the lopsided losses.
“The Bergen game was an abnormality,” Hansen said. “We had four personal foul penalties in that game, big penalties in bad situations. We then had a couple of injuries and it got crazy. St. John Bosco is a really good program, one of the best in the country. At one point, we’re losing 21-14 and we had six juniors and four sophomores in on defense against them. I thought that was crazy. We were close, but then things just snowballed. I honestly thought we turned the corner in a lot of ways in that game. We started playing solid and what I’m used to.
Added Hansen, “We knew what was going on. Sure, those are disappointing losses, but the biggest disappointment is the amount of injuries we had.”
Hansen’s team has already lost versatile running back/linebacker/kick returner Johnny Yorey to a season-ending knee injury that required ACL surgery. Two-way lineman Freddie Recio is trying to recover from a PCL to his knee that won’t require an operation, but needs time to heal. Talented sophomore Jayson Ademilola also missed some time along the line, forcing Hansen to use a freshman Chris Stultz at nose guard.
“We’ve never had a freshman play at that position before,” Hansen said. “He’s doing a nice job.”
Needless to say, Hansen is trying to mix and match with a roster that was already in a state of flux due to graduation.
“We have guys stepping up,” Hansen said. “Because of the injuries, it has impeded our progress. But the attitudes of the kids are great. We’re getting people back now that were injured.”
Hansen said that it’s next to impossible to equate last year’s dream season to this year’s almost nightmarish situation.
“It’s a whole different coaching approach,” Hansen said. “Last year, we had to make sure that the tempo was good. Now, we’re trying to find the right pieces to the puzzle. It’s taking different management skills from me. Every day is part of a struggle doing things we just took for granted the last couple of years. We just have to keep the kids believing in themselves.”
This will mark the last year that Prep will play a Hudson County football schedule. They will join the new and unnamed Super Conference for football next fall, so regular showdowns with rivals like Bayonne, Union City, and remarkably North Bergen will be a part of ancient history in just a few weeks. The Marauders face Bayonne for the final time this weekend.
The opposing teams won’t miss the Marauders, considering that they have not lost a league game since 1999 and a game to a Hudson County school since 2000, a winning streak that has now surpassed an astounding 100 games.
“The streak is at 105 games and we have a chance to end it at 108,” Hansen said. “It’s a big responsibility. Maybe it’s more sentimental to me, because I played in Hudson County [at the now defunct St. Joseph of the Palisades in West New York] and I grew up in Hudson County. Those last few Hudson County games will mean something to me and it will hit home that it’s over.”
Hansen likes the way his junior quarterback Johnathan Lewis is developing. Maasai Maynor is Lewis’ understudy who has also received some playing time.
“Johnathan has made some nice progress, but we’ve changed our philosophy a little and adapted to what has gone on,” Hansen said. “Maynor is going to be a good quarterback as well. He’s pushing John and making John better.”
The Marauders defeated Ferris last weekend, 56-0, with an incredible 12 different players getting a chance to carry the football in the game. One would have to search far and wide to find another game where 12 different kids ran with the ball.
“I took that away from the game,” Hansen said. “Every one of our kids ran hard. The kids up front blocked really well. We got freshmen in there. If it was last year, it wouldn’t have happened. We’re getting more out of these games, giving everyone a taste. I don’t remember that ever being the case.”
So Hansen is not overly concerned about the Marauders’ 3-2 record. The bad losses are behind them for now – until they may have to face Bergen Catholic again in the state playoffs.
“You look around and every team in our section (Non-Public Group 4) has two or more losses already,” Hansen said. “I know it’s a little weird to see that, but we all are in the same boat. It’s just a matter of controlling what we can and jockeying for position. It’s about surviving and advancing. We worked hard to set the standards and we don’t want to lower the bar just because we lost a couple of times. It’s just a matter of focus for us and not worrying about what the record is.”
Hansen isn’t pleased that his team lost those two games.
“We didn’t plan on losing,” Hansen said. “I’m not happy about it. But we all have to keep a level head. We all have to be very patient. If we can remain healthy, we can be a good team by the middle of November when it really counts. We just have to stay the course. We have a lot of games still ahead of us. Each game has to be a building block. As long as we do that, we will be fine. It’s about getting healthy and getting better as a team and putting it all together when it matters most.”
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com
You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.