Bernard Shivers makes no bones about what he sees himself as.
“I’m a baseball player,” said Shivers, the St. Anthony High School junior who pitched the Friars to victory over Hudson Catholic in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public B state tournament last spring. “I love baseball. I love hitting. I love the pace of the game. It moves just fine for me. It’s not boring.”But lately, Shivers is making a name for himself as a football player. He’s a standout running back and linebacker for the Friars who enjoyed his breakout game last week when the Friars defeated Ferris.
In that game, Shivers had 17 carries for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Also on defense at linebacker, Shivers collected a team-high 14 tackles and two sacks. Not a bad performance at all for a baseball player.
“I’m a baseball player who plays football,” Shivers responded to a question about how he would describe himself.
And that’s just fine to St. Anthony head football coach Matt Gallo.
“He joined us in the middle of the summer last year,” Gallo said. “And it took him a long time to get acclimated with our offense. He became more of a role player for us. He didn’t jump right in and play, but we knew we had something special as soon as he learned the offense.”
To Shivers’ defense, learning the Delaware Wing-T approach takes a lot of studying and repetition.
“I didn’t know the system,” said Shivers, who attended Marist for his freshman year, but did not play football there, and then transferred to St. Anthony for his sophomore year. “I didn’t know the plays. I didn’t know what I was doing. It was kind of tough getting used to everything. I had been playing football since I was seven [with the Jersey City Recreation program], but I had to learn everything.”
When training camp for the 2016 season began, Shivers knew that he would have a bigger role.
“I was a little more confident,” Shivers said. “I felt like I was going to have a better year.”
Gallo agreed.
“He had a good mix of power, strength and explosiveness,” Gallo said. “He’s a very strong kid. His strength shows even more this year. That’s his biggest asset. But he can also run away from the opponent’s defense. He’s been lowering his shoulder and getting the extra yard. So we’re going to give the ball to someone that the opposing team has a tough time tackling.”
Gallo even went as far to recite the script for the success of the Delaware Wing-T.
“When the Wing-T is operating at its maximum capacity, there’s an equal distribution of the football,” Gallo spewed like he was reading from the textbook he learned when he was a player at Hoboken High and playing for the legendary Ed Stinson, whom he replaced as the head coach of the Friars.
Gallo said the Wing-T prophecy word for word, like he was brainwashed. When reached about Gallo’s response, Stinson, who has sent several of his former players into the coaching ranks, was proud and flattered at the same time. Another of Stinson’s disciples, Wilber Valdez of Union City, won a big game recently against state-ranked Montclair with Stinson in attendance.
Gallo said that Shivers has “good football size” at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds.
“He plays bigger than he is, because of his strength,” Gallo said. “He plays like a 220-pound back. In terms of the power he’s displaying, he plays bigger.”
Shivers said that he worked hard on his physicality over the offseason.
“I did a lot of calisthenics and I lifted some weights,” Shivers said. “I also ran a lot. But I always ran hard. I think a lot of it is natural as well.”
So Shivers was ready for his breakout performance, although he was surprised with his final outcome that enabled him to earn Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
“I am a little surprised,” Shivers said. “I didn’t think I had that much [yardage].”
Collecting 100 yards is an accomplishment, but 200 is a crowning achievement.
“It’s definitely going to boost my confidence,” Shivers said. “I also like having the responsibility of running the offense.”
The coach is not so shocked.
“I knew that it was just a matter of time,” Gallo said. “The chances of having this happen increase with his knowledge of the offense. It’s always comforting to have someone back there who has the ability and knows what he’s doing. And that the defense has trouble tackling. He’s a good athlete. He’s a very strong kid. I’m not surprised at all. I figured it would just take some time.”
Shivers said that he had a sense that he would enjoy his breakout game last weekend.
“I had a dream that I’d make a name for myself,” Shivers said. “I had more confidence in myself. I felt comfortable on defense, too. The defense is more important, because it sets up what we do on offense. I had a good feeling before we played this game.”
Sure thing, Shivers had the 220 yards and three touchdowns that makes him stand out above the rest.
But if you ask Shivers, he’ll tell you flat out.
“I guess I can play baseball a little as well if needed,” Shivers laughed. “I’m a baseball player first. I think I showed that I can play both football and baseball at a high level.”
And maybe if legendary St. Anthony Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley needs a basketball player in the future, he needs to look no further than Bernard Shivers.
“I don’t know about that one,” Shivers laughed.
You never know. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com