DePaul Falls to Queen of Peace in Final, 35-20
By Skiffo Drake, 12/04
North Arlington – The rumblings started around this time last year. DePaul’s football team had just finished the 2003 campaign with a 5-5 record. The win-loss mark was actually a slight improvement over the team’s performance over the previous two years, when the team finished 4-6. What was wrong with the Spartans?
Until 2001, Joe Lennon, the team’s renowned head coach, had averaged over eight wins a year in his 23 seasons on Alps Road. His teams regularly qualified for the playoffs and routinely reached the final game. They reached the final game three straight times from 1995-to-1997. They last won it all in 1992.
The DePaul faithful, meanwhile, had grown to expect steady success. Lennon is only the third coach at the school since 1963. The other two, Fred Keil and Jack Jones, had also achieved legendary status by piling up a .700 plus win average over the course of their coaching careers.
Lennon’s amazing success made the last three mediocre seasons, by comparison, all the more puzzling. Some of his harshest critics purported that the game had passed the coach by.
This season, Lennon answered those charges with a remarkable bounce-back year. After losing its first three games, DePaul recovered to win seven of its next eight games. They again reached the final game. Evidently, there was nothing wrong at DePaul. Lennon remains one of the top coaches in North Jersey.
Unfortunately, the team’s magical resurgent season ended with a 35-20 defeat to Queen of Peace in the Non-Public, Group II championship.The loss, while disappointing, did nothing to detract from the spectacular run at the State title. Lennon, typically, credited his players.
“They’re a quality bunch of kids,” he said. “I really wanted this season to be a good one for the seniors. They have put a lot of time and dedication into DePaul football.
”Early on, it appeared as if DePaul would win. The Spartans stopped Golden Griffins on their first three possessions. Corner back Mike Negast batted down two passes on the first series. DePaul, in turn, scored on its second possession.
They reached the end zone when Chaz Cervino threw a three-yard pass to Ray Blum. Cervino then ran in for the two-point conversion. The TD was set up by a Cervino to Bob Weir 13-yard throw. From that point on, it was all Queen of Peace.
The Golden Griffins were led by Mike Lamego, who rushed for 162 yards on 30 carries. He also caught three passes for 64 yards and completed both of his pass attempts. On defense, he recorded 12 tackles, including two sacks, and batted down two passes.
"We came out real strong, but they got a couple of scores and turned the momentum around on us," senior Mike Ponte said. "They made a few big plays that put us in a hole."
Queen of Peace scored 22-uananswered points on the board in the second quarter. Pat Olohan and Joe Meraglia scored on runs. Lamego caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Meragila. Lamego ran for a two-point conversion. Meraglia threw to Joe Torchia for another. Queen of Peace then scored on its first possession of the third quarter when Lamego ran in from six yards out.
DePaul managed to stay in the game with a poised, answer back drive. They marched down the field on the strength of consecutive 20-yard receptions by Ponte and Weir. They reached pay dirt on a two-yard completion from Cervino to Ponte.
The teams went on to trade touchdowns in the fourth period. Lamego scored on a one-yard plunge. DePaul’s Jason Nabba scored on a two yard pass from Cervino.Cervino, who threw for 195 yards, credited the Queen of Peace defense. The signal caller was constantly pressured and flushed from the pocket. He threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.
"They had a great defense,” Cervino said. “They blitzed us a lot and put us in a lot of bad situations. They came from the outside, from the inside and their secondary was switching coverage’s on almost every play. They threw a lot of different things at us and it was difficult to read."
DePaul’s defense was led by Blum, who had nine tackles and an interception. Nabba had eight tackles.
“DePaul has a great defense,” Lamego said. “They were hot coming into this game. We got off to a rough start and they put us into a hole. We eventually started to wear them down. We were going against a good team and we never lost our confidence. That says a lot for our team.”
DePaul Triumphs Over Passaic Valley
11/26/04 Chaz Cervino accounted for four touchdowns as DePaul (7-4) defeated Passaic Valley (5-5), 31-21. The sophomore fired off two scoring strikes to Mike Ponte (10 & 15 yards). He also ran for scores of 29 and 74.Mike Negast had an interception and three tackles for a loss.
Bryant Rodriguez was involved in all three PV scores. He threw touchdowns to Ray Puluse (13 yards) and to Mike Coral (24 yards). He also ran for a two yard score. Rodriguez and Puluse also hooked up for a two-point conversion.
This was the third straight DePaul-Passaic Valley Thanksgiving Day game. PV won in 2002. DePaul has now won two-straight.
Exorcising The Spirit
By Doug Scancarella, 11/19/04
ABSECON – Confidence soared as the bus carrying the DePaul football team motored down the Garden State Parkway. The Spartans, winners of five of the last six games, were on the way to take on Holy Spirit in the Non-Public Group II semi-finals.
A year ago, Holy Spirit throttled DePaul 47-0 in a playoff game. This year, the Absecon-based school appeared to be its usual dominating self. They had steamrolled to a 7-2 record and to the top-seed in the bracket. DePaul (6-4), though, was also hot. The team believed that they could avenge that disheartening loss.
During the two-hour journey south, the DePaul bus was filled with self-assured laughter and conversation. As the bus entered the Holy Spirit campus, everything changed. The team bus slowly weaved its way through the campus to Ed Byrnes Stadium. Now there was nothing but silence on the bus. The excruciating memories of last year’s loss were everywhere. They were in the same place, at the same time of year. The simmering irritation had returned. They had been humbled on these grounds a year ago. Twelve months had done little to ease the hurt
.Ever since that loss, the DePaul players vowed to return to the playoffs and, hopefully, get a chance to avenge that loss. There was one problem. DePaul’s 2003 team was filled with seniors. The 2004 team, though talented, was very inexperienced. The season, it was widely believed, would be a rebuilding year.
DePaul grew up quickly, though. After losing its first three games, the Spartans rebounded to go 6-4. They earned a second opportunity and this time they got it right. In the end, DePaul had ignored last year’s crushing defeat and stunned Holy Spirit, 27-20.
When the final gun sounded, the elated players and coaches embraced each other in bear hugs. They will now play for the championship against second-seeded Queen of Peace. DePaul last won it all in 1992. They last reached the final in 1996.
"We were really ready for the game,” sophomore quarterback Chaz Cervino said. "We had a great game plan. The coaches had us well prepared,"
From the outset, it was clear the game would not resemble to the 2003 game in the least. Holy Spirit went three-and-out on its first possession. Senior Ray Blum then exploded for 52-yard punt return-touchdown for DePaul. On its next possession, Cervino threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Blum.
"Everyone remembered that 47-0 loss,” DePaul coach Joe Lennon said. “After the game, we put the score on the chalk board in the weight room. We wanted to come back here again. Blum started things for us. We said that if we could start out with the lead we'd have a very good chance. It was an exciting start, but we knew Holy Spirit would not quit."
That became clear on the next series when Zach Luckett rumbled for a 68-yard touchdown run around right end
."Zach Luckett is not only fast, but tough,” Holy Spirit head coach Bill Walsh said. “He's a big player, and big players make big plays in big games. DePaul had the momentum at that point. If we don’t score, it might have been a blowout."
DePaul answered Luckett’s run with an impressive touchdown drive. Cervino fired his second TD pass of the game when he found senior Mike Ponte in the end zone for a nine-yard score. Cervino then rolled left and scored the two-point conversion. The half ended with DePaul up 21-7.
The second half was a back-and-forth struggle. Holy Spirit scored first when Gabe Guerrieri's threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Clayton.DePaul struck back when Cervino threw a 60-yard scoring strike to Brian Gambuzza. Luckett then scored on a 59 run for Holy Spirit.
Late in the game, Holy Spirit mounted a furious drive. They marched 94 yards from its own 3-yard line to the DePaul 3-yard line.Clayton, who led much of the drive, fumbled. Jeff Roberts recovered the ball on the one-yard line. DePaul then ran off the final three minutes with a series of runs.
"In that situation, I'd give Clayton every time,” Walsh said. “He's an awesome football player.”
“It was a big relief when they fumbled on the 1-yard line,” Lennon said. “Someone on our side must have a little rabbit's foot with them."
Cervino led the Spartans with 258 passing yards. He also ran for 57 yards. Ponte caught five passes for 90 yards. Mike Negast led the defense with an interception, a fumble recovery and three batted-down passes.
DePaul Looks To Avenge Last Year's Playoff Loss
There were times this season when DePaul Catholic’s Joe Lennon did not think that his newly implemented offense was working. Lennon’s 2004 roster was filled with speedsters at virtually all of the skill positions. The long-time Spartan coach decided to take advantage of the speed by installing the run-and-shoot offense. In his previous 18-seasons on Alps Road, Lennon had used a traditional, t-formation set. When Lennon first announced the change, he voiced a word of caution.
“It takes time to learn,” he said. “It’s not an easy change.”
That point was made clear when DePaul lost its first three games of the year.
“At 0-3, you're thinking the whole year might go down the tubes," Lennon said. "You start asking questions. Was our offense working? Making sure you don't give up on the season became a week to week thing..No one quit, though. Now look where we are."
The Spartans never panicked. The three losses came against teams that would eventually qualify for the playoffs (Delbarton, Caldwell and Butler). They stuck to the game plan and were justly rewarded. DePaul won five-of-its next six games. The team's remarkable bounce-back season continued with an impressive win over Pingry in the Non-Public, Group II playoffs Saturday, 27-10.
“The three losses are far-behind us now,” quarterback Chaz Cervino said. “This is a new season. It’s a do or die. We’ve been progressing and it looks promising.”
“The whole offense is about timing,” senior Ray Blum said. “We started clicking after a couple games. We’re spreading the ball around now. That makes us difficult defend from sideline to sideline.”
Pingry found that out on Saturday. After a slow start, the Spartans rolled. Pingry jumped out in front 3-0 lead on a 20-yard field goal by Chris Cummings. From that point on, it was all DePaul. The Spartans bounced back with a nine-play, 58-yard drive. It culminated in an 18-yard scoring strike from Cervino to Mike Ponte. Brian Gambuzza extended the DePaul lead to 14-3 with a 33-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter. On the next series, Cervino added a six-yard touchdown run. Blum returned an interception for a 30-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Jeff Roberts converted three extra-point attempts. Cervino led the way by completing 10-passes for 148 yards. Gambuzza caught four passes for 89 yards.
Pingry was led by Sean Bruno, Somerset County’s leading score. Against DePaul, he ran for a 12-yard touchdown and 86 yards. Blum led the Spartan defense with nine tackles. DePaul will travel to Absecon tomorrow to take on Holy Spirit in the semi-finals.
Holy Spirit crushed DePaul in the 2003 playoffs, 47-0. DePaul, though, does not appear to be dwelling on that loss. The team’s recent momentum appears to have emboldened the team’s confidence.
“When we get things going, it's really a thing of beauty to watch," said senior Jason Nabba said. "We feel like no one can stop us. We don’t care if it’s Butler, Millburn, Pingry or Holy Spirit."
DePaul has indeed been near-impossible to stop. Cervino, a sophomore, has thrown for 1,604 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Ponte has 626 receiving yards. Nabba has 702 rushing yards.
“Everything is coming together,” Blum said. “The way we're playing, we're ready for the semi-finals." DePaul is now eyeing the school’s first state title since 1992. They last reached the finals in 1997.
DePaul Earns Playoff Berth
By Skiffo Drake,11/6
Chaz Cervino threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as DePaul (4-4) shutout Millburn, 44-0. The victory propels the Spartans into the Parochial State playoffs. Cervino torched Millburn for 207 passing yards. He got the Spartans on the board in the first period with a six-yard scoring sprint. He then fired off scoring-strikes to Ray Blum (11 and 17 yards). The fourth score came when Cervino found Mike Ponte for a 15-yard TD. Jason Nabba added touchdown runs of 1 and 29 yards. He had 105 rushing yards and 68 receiving yards. Playoff seeds will be announced this week. The likely scenario has DePaul getting the No. 4 spot and hosting Pingry.
Madison Edges DePaul
10/30: Chaz Cervino fired off three touchdown strikes to Mike Ponte (6, 11 and 9 yards), but it was not enough as DePaul (3-4) lost to Madison (4-3), 25-22. Cervino also completed a two-point conversion throw to Jason Nabba. Jeff Roberts drilled two extra points for the Spartans. DePaul trailed 25-7, but staged a furious rally. It fell just short.
DePaul Gets To Even Mark as Playoffs Loom
10/23: Three weeks ago, DePaul’s football playoff aspirations appeared to be fragile at best. The Spartans started the season 0-3 and appeared destined for the Northern Hills Suburban basement. But the Spartans never pushed the panic button. In less than a month, they rebounded to 3-3.
They are now very much alive in the Parochial Group II playoff picture. In order to qualify for the playoffs, teams need to be at or above the .500 mark after eight games. DePaul is at Madison this week and home against Millburn the following week. In the team’s most recent outing, they defeated their rival-Pequannock (3-4), 14-7. Sophomore quarterback Chaz Cervino threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way. DePaul scored on the first drive of the game when Cervino hit wide receiver Bobby Weir on a 25-yard touchdown toss. Jason Nabba rumbled for 27 yards on the 49-yard drive. Jeff Roberts' extra-point made it 7-0.
Later in the first quarter, DePaul's Ray Blum returned a punt 45-yards to the Pequannock 14. Two false starts pushed the ball back to the 24. Faced with a first-and-20, Cervino targeted Brian Gambuzza. They first hooked up for a 14-yard completion. Then, on the first play of the second quarter, they hooked up for an 11 yards score. Jeff Roberts again converted the point after.
"My defender jammed me at the line,” Gambuzza said. “Then I went inside. Chaz put the ball right in my hands. It was a great pass."
DePaul was forced to play without Mike Ponte, the team’s leading wide receiver. Ponte sprained his ankle during his three-touchdown performance against Montville last week.
"Mike wasn’t able to practice all week,” Gambuzza said. “We knew that we had to step it up. He’s a very good player.”
Pequannock closed the gap in the second half when Joe Barnicle raced in from four yards out. Will Garcia kicked the extra point. The score was set up when DePaul's long snapper heaved the ball over the punter's head. The Golden Panthers recovered the pigskin at the DePaul 19. A Doug Jennings-to-Dan Meyers completion brought the ball to the four-yard line to set up Barnicle’s touchdown scamper. Pequannock’s last possession was halted when Blum intercepted a Jennings throw with only 1:04 left in the game. Anthony Marciano had two interceptions for the Golden Panthers.
DePaul's Complex Offense Starting to Click on All Cylindars
10/21/04 DePaul’s Joe Lennon couldn’t get the run-and-shoot offense out of his head. After the 2003 high school football season came to end, the longtime Spartan coach began to review his returning roster. Everywhere he looked there was speed. The team’s projected quarterback was fast. The running backs and the wide outs were also fast.
Lennon started to think about tinkering with the offense. Eventually, he decided that the team would spread things out and shift to a the run-and-shoot attack. For the team’s long-time fans, it was a hard sell. Lennon’s DePaul teams had always gone with the traditional, T-formation alignment. Now, after all of those years of success, the coach was planning to introduce a major change.
When DePaul lost its first three games, it began to appear as if the new strategy was not working. Those first three games were against Delbarton, Caldwell and Butler. All three appear destined for the playoffs this season. DePaul has consistently improved since then.
Against powerful Butler in Week 3, DePaul scored four-second half touchdowns. While they lost the game, they were able to move the ball on Butler’s powerful defense. Last week, they scored four touchdowns in the win over Johnson Regional, a strong Mountain Conference team. Last weekend, they destroyed Montville, 33-0.
“Our early-season schedule was quite difficult this year,” Lennon said. “It’s the toughest we’ve ever had here. Opening against Delbarton was tough.“We’ve introduced a new system. It’s a good system. But it’s not an easy change to make.”
Now, after three wins, it appears that the Spartans (2-3) may be mastering the intricacies of the new offense. After two straight wins, they have clawed themselves back into the playoff race. Queen of Peace (4-0) and Holy Spirit (4-1) appear to be in command for the top two spots in the Parochial Group II playoffs. The Spartans, though, are now in the mix for some of the lower seeding slots. On Saturday, Chaz Cervino and Mike Ponte led the scoring onslaught.
Cervino, the team’s sophomore quarterback, fired three touchdown passes and ran for another. Ponte accounted for three scores. DePaul got on the board when Ponte ran in from 13-yards out. Cervino then threw a seven-yard strike to Jason Nabba. Cervino then ran in form six yards out. The signal caller then fired two TD passes (20 and 25 yards) to Ponte.
Montville, meanwhile, could not get anything going offensively. The Mutangs went undefeated in 2003 and won a State Sectional Crown. This year, following the graduation of 20 seniors, they remain winless (0-6).
“We’re rebuilding,” Montville coach Gerry Gallagher said. “We have so many young guys and we’ve been making mistakes. And it doesn’t help to play a tough team like DePaul. They didn’t start out particularly well either. But they’re playing very well now. Things seem to be clicking for them. The run-and-shoot is difficult to defend.”
DePaul's Late Surge Too Little Too Late
10/7/04 Butler – The news become public over the summer. It was announced in numerous high school football previews. The DePaul Spartans were going to implement the run-and-shoot offense. To the team’s long-time fans, the news came as a complete shock. In head coach Joe Lennon’s 23 years with DePaul, the team has gone with a traditional, pro-style formation. Since the Spartans routinely qualified for the Parochial State Playoffs, there was no need to change. DePaul again qualified for the playoffs in 2003. Still, Lennon felt that a change was needed.
Matt Fullam, DePaul’s starting quarterback for three years (2001-2003), was typical pocket-passer. Sophomore Chaz Cervino, Fullam’s heir-apparent, has a completely different style. Cervino has a very strong arm, but is equally dangerous with his quick feet and his speed.
The team’s running backs and wide outs are also extremely quick. In order to caplitize on the team’s exceptional speed, Lennon implemented the run-and-shoot. To help bring about a smooth-transition, Lennon hired Mike Campanile as the offensive coordinator. Campanile, the former Paramus Catholic head coach, had enjoyed years of success with the run-and-shoot attack.
"Even though we made the playoffs, there was a feeling of, 'We weren't as good as we could be,' " senior back Ray Blum said. “Teams always knew what we were running and when we were running it. We had to do things differently this year. We had to keep teams guessing.”
The 2004 season is only a month old. It’s definitely too early to tell if the new approach will ultimately work. After three games, however, it is clear that the transition has been anything but smooth. DePaul has limped out to an 0-3 start.
On Friday they were beaten by Butler, 35-26. Butler raced out to a 21-0 lead and never relinquished the lead. DePaul mounted a spirited comeback in the second half, but ultimately fell short. Walter Ratushny got Butler started with two early touchdown passes. First he zipped a 35-yard scoring pass to Doug Hertz. Then he fired a 58-yard TD completion to Nate Hennig. Jared Greenberg added a 14-yard touchdown sprint.
“We were moving the ball,” Butler head coach Dan Hoeflinger said. “We’re tough to stop when we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to eliminate all of our mistakes.”
Hoeflinger was referring to his team’s four-second half turnovers and eight penalties. DePaul took advantage and stormed back into the game. They pulled within a touchdown late in the game. Cervino had rushing touchdowns of 35 and 2 yards.
Blum and Jason Nabba both scored on two yards runs. Cervino’s second score came with 45 seconds remaining. DePaul then attempted its second onside kick of the game. The first one succeeded. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Hertz was able to recover DePaul’s final attempt.
“We needed to recover that onside kick,” Hertz said. “I didn’t care if I got killed. I was going to recover that ball.” Greenberg led Butler with 226 rushing yards. He added two more touchdowns in the second half. Ratushny passed for 162 yards.
Cervino threw for 275 passing yards, but also turned the ball over four times (two fumbles and two interceptions). "I'm really trying to make plays out there," he said. "Sometimes I do things I'm not supposed to, things that are not the best technique. I'm trying to absorb as much as I can from Coach Camp's offense. "I've still got stuff to learn."
DePaul drops opener to Delbarton
By Rich Stamboulian, 9/16/04
The DePaul Spartans eagerly looked forward to their opening game of the 2004 football season last Friday. With a host of players returning with varsity experience and a promising sophomore quarterback, there is reason for excitement. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they were pitted against a strong Delbarton squad that moved down from the larger Skyline division to DePaul’s Suburban division of the Northern Hills Conference.
The Spartans were no match for Delbarton and fell to the Green Wave, 38-8. Things looked promising initially for DePaul when Mike Ponte, a senior, returned the opening kickoff to the Green Wave 41. The Spartans came up empty when they could not convert a fourth down attempt inside the ten yard line. Delbarton’s junior tailback Max Dorne then concluded a nine play, ninety yard drive with a one yard run for the game’s first score.
Senior quarterback Tom Fleming’s 31 yard connection with tight end Tim McVeigh doubled the lead to 14-0 before halftime. Meanwhile, the DePaul offense could not muster another serious threat as the Delbarton defense bottled up the efforts of senior running backs Jay Nabba and Ray Blum and quarterback Chaz Cervino was constantly harassed. Through three quarters the passing game was held to 6 of 17 for only 52 yards.
The Green Wave quickly blew the game open in the third quarter. Dorne scored his second touchdown of the game on a 17 yard dash to cap the opening drive and an immediate interception of Cervino set up Sheldon Clarke’s 37 yard field goal. Delbarton then stopped the Spartans next two possessions without a first down and quickly added two more touchdowns to complete a 24 point blitz in the first eight minutes of the quarter.
Peter Grom scored from ten yards out before Dorne took Fleming’s hand off on a counter play and dashed 45 yards for his third score of the night. Cervino directed the Spartans on an eight play, 61 yard drive to break through on their first possession of the final quarter.
Mixing the pass and run in DePaul’s new spread offense, he connected with Nabba, the fullback, on a 22 yard touchdown play with 5:34 remaining. Though it had no real bearing on the final outcome, it gave the DePaul team some confidence as well as giving their fans a taste of what is expected from the new offense this season.
“We were finally able to get something going”, DePaul coach Joe Lennon said. “I thought we needed to score on them after the opening kickoff. It hurt us when we didn’t and they came right back at us. They have two good backs, their quarterback played real well; they’re a real good football team.”
Lennon, who said before the season that this team faces the toughest schedule he has had in his 23 years at DePaul, will prepare his squad for their next game, tonight at 7 pm when the Spartans host Caldwell. The Spartans lost to the Chiefs last year, 27-19, in a game that ended DePaul’s season-opening three game wining streak.
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