DePaul senior quarterback Zach Bednarczyk, shown running the ball in the Spartans’ 62-14 loss to Don Bosco last season, and his teammates believe they’re more prepared to compete with Don Bosco and other Bergen County parochial powers this season.
WAYNE — After playing only St. Joseph in each of its first two seasons as a member of the Big North’s United Division, DePaul played all four of the Bergen County parochial powers last year for the first time in the same season.
The Spartans went 0-4 against Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco, Paramus Catholic and St. Joseph. They were out-scored a combined 200-73 by those top teams, each of those games was decided by 21 points or more and failing to beat one of those four teams contributed to the Spartans not qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in John McKenna’s eight seasons as DePaul’s head coach.
Those four defeats definitely motivated the Spartans to work harder in the off-season, a commitment the team’s senior leaders are certain will help provide different results this season. Kiy Hester, DePaul’s senior safety/wide receiver, is confident DePaul “can beat every single one of those four teams.â€
“This year is going to be a totally different year,†Hester said before DePaul’s practice this afternoon. “I just hope everyone is as excited to see us play as we are excited to play. We’re going to be the sleeper team to watch this year.
“Everyone’s thinking because we had a bad year last year [5-5], everyone’s overlooking us. Once we play them, they’re going to see that when they come out there and overlook us and aren’t ready to play, we’re going to be ready and we’re going to punch them in the mouth.â€
Hester’s transfer back to DePaul from St. Joseph has made this one of the strongest DePaul squads in recent memory. Hester, a consensus top 250 senior nationally who has committed to Rutgers, is one of four scholarship players that have Spartans players and coaches very optimistic as their Sept. 12 opener against Paramus approaches.
In addition to Hester, the Spartans will feature play-making defensive end/tight end Justin Nelson, who also has committed to Rutgers, versatile quarterback Zach Bednarczyk, who has committed to Villanova, and St. Anthony transfer Courtel Jenkins, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive tackle/defensive tackle who has committed to Miami.
“The main thing is experience,†said Bednarczyk, who threw for 1,330 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 816 yards and nine scores last season. “Last year we were a very young team and we went into the season blind. We never played teams like [Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco, Paramus Catholic and St. Joseph]. So this season we know what to expect, we know how to prepare and we’ve been preparing all off-season for this, too. I think we’re going to have a really good year.â€
“We’re senior-heavy,†added Riley Clark, a senior receiver/cornerback/kicker who caught 38 passes for 575 yards and five touchdowns during his junior season. “I think we’ve got 23 seniors. We only start two people that aren’t seniors. We returned a lot of experience and that helps when you play against some of the top competition in the country. Last year we really didn’t know what to expect. This year we definitely know what’s coming at us and we’re ready for it.â€
After opening the season at home against Paramus, one of North Jersey’s top public-school programs, DePaul will play at Paramus Catholic on Sept. 21, at Don Bosco on Sept. 27, home against Bergen Catholic on Oct. 11 and home against St. Joseph on Nov. 1.
“We want every single one of those games,†said Nelson, who recorded 62 tackles and 10 sacks in the 2012 season. “We have to have them, not just to make the playoffs, but for morale.â€
DePaul senior offensive tackle Mike Kelly cannot wait to play in what some might perceive to be daunting games.
“Playing against the best competition in the country,†Kelly said, “there’s nothing better than that excitement, that buzz in the air, getting a lot of people at your games because they want to come see you play.â€