There wasn’t a single person alive who could have predicted the outcome of last weekend’s showdown between the state’s No. 1 high school football team, Don Bosco Prep, and the No. 2 team at the time, St. Peter’s Prep.
The Marauders headed into the game with a 10-0 record, with a ton of confidence, and a sense that perhaps history was about to be made with a huge victory.
They returned home from the contest saddled with a 42-6 lopsided loss and their once-brilliant season suddenly over with a resounding thud.
"I think they were a much different team than what we thought," St. Peter’s Prep veteran head Coach Rich Hansen said. "When you watch a team play, see them from the stands or watch them on film, you get a different perspective. It varies from team to team. The better the team is, the better the plan is on game day. A lot of the attention goes to the Don Bosco skilled players and rightfully so, because they’re talented. But what separates them from the rest of the teams that run the spread [formation] is their ability to run the ball well.
Added Hansen, "It prevents you from doing other things. When you don’t get pressure on the quarterback, it really puts strain on your coverage. We needed to pressure the quarterback [Mike Teel] and we weren’t able to do that. He was then able to do his thing."
Teel was able to complete 10 of 14 passes for 263 yards, most of which was compiled in a first-half blitzkrieg when the awesome Ironmen scored on each of their first seven possessions. Simply put, the Ironmen were made of steel, totally unstoppable.
"The secret to that team is their offensive line," Hansen said after the game. "I watched some very good teams not touch the quarterback. Bergen Catholic didn’t touch him. St. Joseph [Montvale] didn’t touch him. We didn’t either. The offensive line play is what makes the whole thing happen. You have to find a way to pressure him and we just couldn’t."
A few days after the horrific defeat, Hansen was trying to put words to what his team was feeling. There were cries from outsiders, claiming that the Marauders were perhaps overrated. No team wins 10 straight games being overrated. It’s just a case of perhaps Don Bosco Prep being just as good and as powerful as advertised.
"Losing stinks, no matter how you slice it," Hansen said. "It’s hard to accept. I think we were a very good football team who ran into a team playing on another planet."
Hansen tried to come to grips with losing their final game of the season.
"When we lost in the state playoffs the last couple of years, we at least had another game to look forward to, as a way of coming back and ending it on a positive note," Hansen said. "But this was, boom, reality. It’s over. So many things you go through, so many highs and lows, and it’s over like that, so abruptly.
Added Hansen, "I think my son [Richie] said it best. It wasn’t so much the loss that hurt. But it was the end of our team. The experience of being together. I think that’s what bothers us all more than the loss. We’re not going to be together anymore."
Hansen said that he will miss the special relationships he built with the graduating seniors, in particular Joe Dailey, the talented quarterback who will now move on to play at Syracuse University.
But the loss to DBP also meant an end to the father-son football relationship that bonded Hansen and his son.
"It was like a dream come true," Hansen said. "Before Richie came here, I spoke with some coaches and asked them about coaching their sons. Some had bad experiences. That didn’t happen here. Richie wasn’t the most talented kid, but he busted his tail and worked hard. It couldn’t have been easy on him, having to come here and listen to everything that comes with being a coach’s son. But he was great about it all. We got to be together for four years and he won four county championships.
Added Hansen, "Prep football has been Richie’s life. I mean, he grew up with it his entire life. And now, it’s over."
Richie Hansen now faces another battle. Sometime soon, he will undergo massive knee reconstructive surgery, after playing most of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Hansen didn’t want to reveal the extent of his son’s injury, for fear of retribution from others.
"He’s a tough kid and he’ll be able to handle it," Hansen said of his son.
Whether Dad can handle the emotional part of letting his son go onto college is another story altogether. – Jim Hague