DePaul 35, Passaic Valley 20
By Blink Kennedy, 11/24/06
Little Falls: Chaz Cervino passed for 214 yards and rushed for 198 as DePaul (8-2) completed its season with a win over Passaic Valley (7-4). Cervino ran for three touchdowns (3, 11, 37 yards)
and passed for one to Greg Gillespie (49 yards). Justin Wozney also had a rushing touchdown for the Spartans. Bryan Gambuzza caught passes for 85 yards.
"To be honest, it was hard to get up for this game," DePaul coach Kevin McKenna said. "We lost a playoff game last week (Bishop Eustace, 27-26). We were that close to playing for the championship. Then we had to come back and play a regular season game. It was a tough week of practice. We were down. But once the game started, we rose to the challenge. I'm happy with the way the season ended."
PV got rushing touchdowns from Joe Wassel (5 yards), Jim Niland (4 yards) and Mike Warnet (6 yards). Wassel finished the game with 84 yards on the ground.
Parochial Quarterfinals, Bishop Eustace 27, DePaul 26
11/10/06
Wayne - DePaul pulled within 27-26 on the last play of the game when Chaz Cervino fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Gambuzza. Instead of going for the tie, DePaul elected to go for the win on a two point conversion attempt. The attempt failed when Cervino was tackled on the one yard line.
DePaul jumped out to an early lead on a Frank Brady touchdown rush. The extra point attempt was blocked. Bishop Eustace took over from that point as they tore out to a 27-6 lead. DePaul, however, would not go quietly. The Spartans pulled within 27-13 when Cervino hit Greg Gillespie with a two yard touchdown pass. DePaul made it 27-20 when Gambuzza returned an interception for an 82 yard score.
We were one-yard away from playing for the championship," DePaul coach John McKenna said. "You have to go for it at home. We already had had an extra point blocked. And we had a few guys banged up on defense. We had to go for the win."
DePaul lost four defensive players to injury: TJ Kowal (Knee), Denny Silversey (concussion), Zach Barbieri (knee) and Chris Morretta (ankle).
Cervino led DePaul with 174 passing yards. Nick Laccona and Victor Trentacost both had double digit tackles.
10/27/06: DePaul 13, Butler 2 (Wayne): Two second half touchdowns helped DePaul (7-1) win and secure at least a share of the Northern Hills Suburban Conference. It is DePaul's first such title since 1997. First, Nick Laccona powered in for a 12-yard touchdown rush. Nick Palmieri later slammed in for a three yard score. Both TD's followed 70-plus yard drives.
Laccona had ten tackles and was involved in four sacks. Junior linebacker Victor Trenacost had eight tackles and two sacks. Greg Gillispie had seven tackles for DePaul.The Spartans took an intentional safety late in the game.
10/20/06: DePaul 31, Madison 0: Quarterback Denny Silversey, playing in relief of the injured Chaz Cervino, continues to impress. The junior threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns. First he connected with Bryan Gambuzza on an 18-yard score. Next, he hit Shaun Murray with a 20-yard scoring strike.
Cervino did suit up on special teams, on defense and as a slot back on offense. He returned the opening kickoff for a 91 yard touchdown. He also had a one yard scoring rush. Gambuzza added a 22-yard field goal for the Spartans (6-1).
Junior linebacker Victor Trentacost had eight tackles and a sack as DePaul limited Madison to 68 yards of total offense.
DePaul 18, Pequannock 12
By Skiffo Drake, 10/14/06
Pequannock - DePaul, playing without the services of Chaz Cervino for the first time in three years, beat Pequannock (0-6). Cervino, who has for passed for over 800 yards and rushed for over 600 yards in five games, broke his hand in last week’s win over Caldwell.
The senior is expected to return as a defensive back and possibly as a slot back next week. He won’t be able to play quarterback until the playoffs start next month.
In the meantime, DePaul (5-1) had to play against its biggest rival without him.
Dennis Silversey, Cervino’s replacement, wasted no time getting acclimated. The offensive line, with Chris Moretta and Jake Berkowitz leading the way, provided Silversey with ample protection. The junior quarterback threw two first half, 12-yard touchdown passes to Cervino’s favorite target, Bryan Gambuzza.
Pequannock wouldn’t go quietly. Jared Smith scored on a 15-yard rush in the first half, which ended 12-6 in favor of the Spartans. The Golden Panthers tied it in the third period when John Walek caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Kevin McGovern. Neither team managed to connect on extra points.
DePaul went ahead for good when junior fullback Nick Palmieri slammed into the end zone from 2 yards out with 1:52 left. The score was set up by 44-yard punt return by Gambuzza.
“I had great blocking up front on the touchdown,” Palmieri said. “We have a very good offensive line. They make it easy for the backs. They opened things up and I just rolled into the end zone.”
Again, Pequannock would not go quietly. They drove the field in a poised manner. The drive ended when DePaul’s Greg Gillespie intercepted a McGovern pass at the goal line. Victor Trentacost, who had 15 tackles and two sacks, hurried McGovern on the play. Nick Laccona finished with 12 tackles and also managed to apply intense pass rush pressure.
“The defensive line did a great job getting in (McGovern’s) face all game,” Gillespie said. “There was a lot of pressure on him on that play. The ball came right to me.”
The win keeps DePaul on track for the top seed in the Non Public, Group II playoffs.
“I’m not happy with the way we played,” admitted DePaul coach John McKenna. “This is supposed to be a special year for us. The (Cervino) injury hurts, but there’s still plenty of talent here. We should have played better. I’ll take the win. We’re in good shape record wise. But we have to start playing better.”
“We could have played better,” Gambuzza added. “But we also realize that we’re playing without one of the best quarterbacks in the state. We’re fortunate to have a quarterback like Denny. We’re very confident in him. He showed why tonight.”
Silversey, despitehis strong performance, also claimed that the team did not play well.
“If the circumstances were different, we win this game in a blowout,” he said in reference to the Cervino injury. “We have to play with the hand we were dealt. That’s how it is. We played well enough to win. That’s what counts the most. The entire team stepped it up and got the job done. We’ll just have to keep working hard and keep improving.”
DePaul 24, Caldwell 21
By Skiffo Drake, 10/8/06
Caldwell - Caldwell struck first on a 9-yard run up the middle by Ryan Redfern. The score capped off a 60-yard, 10 play drive. DePaul rallied on its next possession, going 75 yards on six plays. Chaz Cervino finished the drive with a 21-yard TD run up the middle. Bryan Gambuzza gave DePaul a 10-7 advantage at the intermission with a 42-yard field goal.
DePaul scored on its first possession of the second half to grab a 17-6 lead. On the march, Cervino completed three passes for 48 yards. It was capped off he threw a 24-yard scoring strike to Greg Gillispie.
Caldwell bounced back when Redfern hit Derek Lawshe with a five yard TD toss. DePaul scored what proved to be the winning points when Gambuzza returned a punt for a 45 touchdown. Redfern then fired a 15-yard TD to Jamison. Lawshe leaped high for the two-point conversion pass as Caldwell pulled to 24-21 with 6:54 left in the game. DePaul ran the clock out with a 13-play, 57-yard drive that ended at the Caldwell one.
align="left">"We looked sluggish and didn't play the way we should," said Gambuzza. "When we bring our 'A' game, we're a top team. Today, we were a C-minus. We'll have to redeem ourself next week against Pequannock."
9/29/06: DePaul 35, Montville 20 (Wayne): Chaz Cervino ran for five touchdowns, including three during a 21-point fourth-quarter rally, to lead DePaul (3-1). The signal caller's first touchdown came on a 14-yard run in the second period. Montville, though, led at halftime, 14-7. They were paced by Eric Berman, who ran for a nine yard score and passed to Anthony Chierici for a 38-yard score. Anthony Todisco’s three yard touchdown run in the third put the Mustangs up 20-7.
Cervino had a 4-yard scoring run in the third period and added touchdown runs of 4, 1 and 27 yards in the fourth period. Bryan Gambuzza, in addition to kicking all five PATs, had seven catches for 150 yards.
Cervino finished the night with 17 carries for 90 yards and completed 12 of 22 passes for 205 yards.
DePaul 42, Lakeland 28
By Skiffo Drake, 9/23/06
Wanaque - Chaz Cervino showed no ill-effects from the concussion and dehydration symptoms he suffered last week against Delbarton. DePaul's senior quarterback completed nine of 19 passes for 157 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 187 yards and a score (38 yards) as DePaul (2-1) beat Lakeland (1-2).
"I couldn’t say enough about our guys,” Cervino said. “Everyone is coming to play, practicing hard and doing the work. The running game was working good too. The line was great. The game planning was great."
"Chaz was on another planet," Parmenter said. "We put people in the right spots, but we couldn't chase him down."
Said DePaul coach John McKenna: "Chaz was sick during the week. He only returned to practice on Wednesday. But he’s a great player.Some of his runs were amazing. I don’t know how he gets out of some of those jams."
In the first half last night, he threw TD passes to Greg Gillispie (30 and 22 yards), Zack Dandrea (23 yards) and Frank Brady (8 yards).
“They were bracketing Bryan (Gambuzza, DePaul's leading receiver),” McKenna said, “and they were leaving Greg 1 on 1. We took advantage of it. Their game plan was to stop Bryan and Greg stepped up.”
Cervino hit Gambuzza with a two-yard bullet in the third period. Gambuzza connected on all six point-after attempts.
"This game means a lot to forget about the heartbreak of last week [a 43-40 loss to Delbarton] and get back on the winning track," McKenna said. "And now we've got a big game against Montville, with still a chance to maybe win the conference. It's a huge game next week."
“This was a big win for us,” Gillispie said. “We bounced back from last week, and it’s just going to push us forward.”
Lakeland’s Rob Casanovas scored on a 97 yard kickoff return and a 31 yard rush. Dave Loftus scored on a one-yard burst. Ryan Burke received a 67 yard touchdown pass from Lou Montegari. Sam Rose was true on four point-after attempts.
9/15/06: Delbarton 43, DePaul 40 (Wayne): DePaul (1-1) raced to a 26-6 lead, but could not hold on. Chaz Cervino, the team's heralded quarterback, suffered a concussion just before the half. DePaul led 26-24 at the time.
Cervino returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and then rushed for a two yard touchdown. He also threw to Bryan Gambuzza for a four yard touchdown. Frank Brady also scored on a first quarter run of nine yards.
Junior Steve Silversey played well in relief and led the Spartans on two scoring drives. He scored on runs of two and one. DePaul failed to recover an onside kick with 31 second left. The Green Wave was able to run out the clock.
9/9/06, DePaul 43, Orange 15 (Wayne): The key for DePaul this year was to somehow avoid a slow start. They started off 2004 by going 0-3. They started off 2005 by going 1-3. They rebounded nicely on both occasions. Still, the loss streaks hurt the team’s playoff seeding.
The Spartans made sure that it didn’t happen again with a 43-13 demolition on Orange. Chaz Cervino fired off five touchdown passes and ran for another. He finished the game with 225 passing yards. Bryan Gambuzza hauled in three of those strikes (14, 25 and 23 yards). Shaun Murray had a 29 yard touchdown reception. Greg Gillispie added a seven yard touchdown reception.
PREVIEW
By Skiffo Drake, 9/7/06
Four years ago, the sky appeared to be the limit for DePaul. It’s incoming freshmen class was loaded with talent. Most of them starred as 8th graders on the Wayne Boys Club team in 2002. During that banner season, the players voiced their desire to remain together in high school. Since most lived on the Valley side of town and since some lived on the Hills side, DePaul was the only reasonable option.
As freshmen, they went undefeated. As sophomores, they made the varsity and helped the team reach the Parochial B finals, where they lost to Queen of Peace. But as juniors, they stumbled to 5-5. They still reached the playoffs, but lost in the first round to bishop Eustace. Now, as seniors, this class has one final chance to live up to the hype?
“Most of these guys have played together since they were in grade school,” coach John McKenna said. “Now they’re seniors. This is the year they’ve been waiting for. They’re older and wiser than they were last year. I expect them to win some big games this year.”
Chaz Cervino, who has cracked the 2,000-yard mark each of the past two seasons, is back. For the third straight year he will be throwing in the direction of Bryan Gambuzza. The wide out eclipsed 60 catches and 1,000 yards as a junior. Another senior, Frank Brady, should be DePaul’s lead rusher.Upfront, DePaul returns experienced linemen that include seniors Chris Moretta, Jason Smith, Jake Berkowitz and Sean Brophy.
Defensively, the Spartans will be led senior Nick Laccona, who led the team in tackles last season. Zack Barbieri will team with Cervino to lead the defensive backfield.
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