Long: Crusaders D impressive in shutout
With the sweltering heat beating down on the Crusader Stadium turf on Thursday, Bergen Catholic looked as cool as can be and seemingly turned up the heat at will on the visiting Roxbury Gaels in a 49-0 victory to close out their preseason. BC took advantage of three consecutive Roxbury turnovers deep in Gaels territory, and turned the scrimmage into a rout.
Roxbury came into Oradell as a defending sectional champion, but in all honesty, a much different team personnel wise after many key contributors graduated from the program's second-ever championship football team from a season ago. They did return their star player in Angelo Mangiro, a hulking offensive guard who will play for Penn State next fall.
This scrimmage closely resembled a regular season game, except for the fact that each kickoff and punt performed allowed the kicker to strike the ball, but did not allow for returns. Roxbury started with the first possession on offense and converted a long third down pass. After that 15-yard pass completion, the Roxbury offensive drive stalled and the Gaels were forced to punt. BC got their offense on the field for the first time, but that unit quickly exited after a three-and-out. For a change this preseason, the BC defense was the unit that would dominate in the beginning of a scrimmage.
The Crusader defensive line swarmed around the Roxbury quarterback like bees protecting the hive. Routinely Zach Sparber and Anthony Davanzo burst through the line and pressured the quarterback and running backs immediately. Sparber provided a sack, and Roxbury quickly had to punt yet again. This time around, the BC offense would not only see three plays on the field and then immediately find their way to the sidelines.
Tanner McEvoy took control of the ensuing drive, and displayed his jaw dropping abilities on the field with his feet, instead of his arm. On the first quarterback designed run called in by Coach Nunzio Campanile on the afternoon, McEvoy took the snap and followed the superior blocking on his right side by right guard TC Picariello and right tackle Pat DiMase. With a huge hole up the middle of the field, the BC quarterback sprinted free to the far side of the field and broke through the grasp of a couple of would-be tacklers, before jogging in from 20 yards out into the endzone. In a blink of an eye the Crusaders saw a 52-yard rushing touchdown from their star athlete, and the BC offense was unleashed.
It seemed like the BC defensive unit was aware that its counterparts were coming to life, as the defense continued to make the Roxbury offensive line sweat on the hot day with their constant pressure. On a run sweep play to the near sideline, the Roxbury tailback fumbled the ball and was quickly met in the backfield by a host of BC defenders who fell on the ball and created the first turnover for the unit. The BC offense took advantage in Roxbury's side of the field when Spencer Kulcsar, who seemingly makes an outstanding run every game, exploded through the line of scrimmage, was thought to be stopped at the 20-yard line, only to see the senior regain his low center of gravity with his pumping legs, and cut across the field to pay dirt for a 31 yard touchdown run to give BC a 14-0 lead.
Roxbury's next possession resulted in another mistake due to the constant pressure delivered by the BC front line of Sparber, DaVanzo, James Horan, and Hunter Kiselick. With a blind lofted pass across his body, the Roxbury QB was picked off by Kulcsar at his weakside linebacking position. Kulcsar got an outstanding block from teammate Karl Bostick, and sprinted down the far side of the field for a 35-yard touchdown return.
To make matters worse for the visitors, Roxbury saw a third consecutive drive end in a turnover in the first quarter, this time an interception from senior Nick LaTesta. LaTesta's pick eventually set up Karl Bostick's 3-yard touchdown run that ended the first quarter, and left the BC sideline jubilant, and the Roxbury sideline shell-shocked. BC led by 28, and had scored their 4 touchdowns in a 4 minute stretch.
The change of sides on the field did nothing to help the Roxbury offense that had been stymied by the Crusader defense. BC sniffed out interior running plays, and stayed disciplined with their pass coverage assignments, especially against screen plays. Kulcsar, Bostick, and Dickerson were impressive as the starting linebackers, while Shane Drummond didn't miss a beat as the rotational linebacker and made several solid tackles that ended a Gaels drive with a turnover on downs.
BC's next offensive series showcased McEvoy's arm strength and his receiver's innate ability and route-running skills. Pinned deep in their own end, the Crusaders connected on a simple bubble screen pass to Chucky Wingate to the far sideline, but Wingate used his incredible ankle-breaking prowess to fake one defender completely out of the play and onto the turf, and allowed the BC junior to scamper an additional 20 yards down the field. Later in the drive McEvoy found Ryan Kelly on the near side of the field, and the junior ran 28 yards into Roxbury territory. BC finally capped off the drive with an easy 12-yard screen pass to Bostick, who planted his first move to the outside, made a defender freeze for a second, and then cut to the inside of the hash marks and ran untouched into the endzone for a score. It was essentially over at that point.
The second half saw the Bergen Catholic reserves continue the inspired play of the starters, with backup quarterback Anthony LiGregni lofting a beautiful 22-yard touchdown pass to the back corner of the endzone to a wide open Jack Gallagher, and in the closing moments of the scrimmage John Feaster found the endzone as well with a touchdown run after Anthony LoVecchio led an impressive drive down the field with primarily a sophomore unit.
The final score was 49-0 in favor of the Crusaders, and I believe that is more a statement on the Crusaders then on the play of the Roxbury Gaels. BC was the faster, more physical, and better conditioned squad on the day. The Crusaders took advantage of every Roxbury mistake, and the offense will be one of the best units throughout the entire state. It was encouraging to say the least to see the defense consistently turn an opponent over, and then cash those turnovers into points. The stars of the day were the offensive and defensive lines. Pat DiMase, TC Picariello, Martin Scheuring, Ryan Rebasch, and Zach Sparber gave their quarterbacks all day to operate and never allowed a sack and never seemed affected by the hot conditions. Even backups in Michael Radespiel and Al Bruno delivered pancake blocks on their defenders and imposed their will in the second half. The defensive line won the trenches and allowed the linebackers to roam in front of would-be receiving targets.
Sure, Roxbury is not on the same level of opponent as LaSalle, or certainly Bosco or St. Peter's Prep, but as everyone at BC will tell you, they are more concerned with how BC plays and not about others. Coach Campanile challenged his team to perform better than they did last weekend, and to bring an intensity and love of football to the field every time they play. This intensity was on display Thursday, and the coaching staff expects to see the same focus and drive on opening day next Saturday.
NOTES
-This season Bergen Catholic's sideline will be located on the far side of the field, opposite the stands at Crusader Stadium.
-In what has become a head-scratching tradition of sorts, Coach Nunzio Campanile continued to wear his coaching jacket and a long sleeve shirt despite the 90 degree weather on the BC field turf. I guess he just likes showing his team how cool a customer he really can be on the sideline.
-There seemed to be 30 seconds left on the clock in the 2nd quarter when BC had the ball and was deep in Roxbury's end, but was called for a motion penalty. Just as BC was about to call their next play, the entire Roxbury sideline began running towards Oradell Avenue, and forced an end to the half. It had to be a weird reminder to BC fans of the Southington game from two years ago, when their Connecticut opponents ran into the Giants Stadium locker room ending the first half with BC driving and plenty of time left on the clock.
ABOUT DAN LONG
Dan Long graduated from Bergen Catholic in 2003 where he was the Sports Director of BCTV and coined the immortal phrase Crusader Crazies for the raucous BC student section. He is currently the radio voice of the Bergen Catholic football and soccer teams, the founder of DL Sports Media, and a weekly contributor to BergenCatholicFootball.com.
Long: BC marvels in Montvale
This had been the day that all the Crusader players had been waiting for, the first time they got to line up against another opponent and crack their pads, signaling the true beginning to a new season. For this upcoming season it is not just about a fresh start in turns of turning the page on the calendar, but a fresh start to a new era of Crusader football. A season that many around the program believe can end in a state championship. But that just amounts to talk, words and nothing more, and Bergen Catholic will be judged based on their play on the field. BC certainly debuted this swagger on a drizzly morning in Montvale against one of their arch rivals in St. Joe's. When both the starting varsity offenses and defenses were in the scrimmage, BC "won" 4-1 and was impressive on both sides of the ball.
Once both sides finished practicing with their special team units, the scrimmage got under way with the white-clad Crusaders on offense, starting from their own 30-yard line. Tanner McEvoy did not waste any time as the BC quarterback dazzled on a terrific run up the near sideline for over 45 yards before being tackled in SJR territory. McEvoy would add another 10-yard run before he began to sit back in the pocket and work on his passing form. A 10-yard pass to Spencer Kulcsar quickly moved the Crusaders inside the Green Knights' red zone, and the efficient drive was capped off with a simple 2-yard run into the endzone by McEvoy. It was a brutal, take-no-prisoners attitude that the BC offense operated with during that initial drive, pushing the pace and looking to make a statement to their green clad rivals. A belief that this is a new Bergen Catholic, and this is our year.
While the BC sideline was buzzing after their opening drive, the sound of laughter quickly was silenced by a mental miscue in the rain that led to a BC fumbled handoff and a turnover. But what would crushed this team's spirit in the past, was quickly forgotten by the first team offense, as the players looked to make amends for a mistake that might prove costly during the regular season. McEvoy again engineered a scoring drive behind his 50 yard pass to Chucky Wingate, a key 3rd down conversion again to Kulcsar across the middle, and finally a perfectly thrown touch pass to Cam Dickerson in the back of the endzone. Their new-found mental toughness propelled them to get past the fumble. They had to get past it, because Coach Campanile demands that from them.
So as the BC offense scored twice on their first three possessions with the ball, the Crusader defense marched on to the field with something to prove, not only to the fans in attendance but also to themselves. Are they going to be the team's Achilles heel or will they be a unit that rises to the challenge of competing against some of the best offenses on the East Coast? Well, in starting off against St. Joe's, the defense looked tentative and sloppy in giving up a couple 10+ yard runs because of poor tackling or over-pursuit on some Green Knight running plays. SJR's running backs were able to reverse fields and bounce what should have been some runs for losses into sizable gains in front of the SJR sideline. Despite stopping SJR on their first offensive possession, the Green Knights finally found the endzone on a beautifully orchestrated crossing pattern where the wide receiver hauled in the pass, and broke away from several BC defenders and raced down the sideline before diving into the endzone.
The Crusader defense finally began to hunker down after that score, like a boxer who seemingly wakes up only after they receive their first punch to the face in a fight. The defense began to win the battle at the line of scrimmage as Zach Sparber blew into the backfield and made a couple tackles for losses. TC Piccariello also began to assert himself inside while the BC linebacking group of Kulcsar, Karl Bostick, and Cam Dickerson began to harass the SJR quarterback while also delivering powerful hits on his receivers and backs. The Green Knights stalled out on their next two offensive drives, as BC's defensive line continually collapsed the pocket, shut down the inside running game, and limited further crossing patterns through the air.
BC's first team offense eventually connected on the longest play from scrimmage for either team as McEvoy bombed a pass over 50 yards in the air to a waiting Cam Dickerson, who jogged into the endzone. McEvoy would later make his only real mistake on the day by throwing an ill-advised pass off his back foot to the far side of the field which was intercepted by a Green Knight linebacker. The BC defense would make up for their signal caller's mistake by immediately intercepting the first SJR pass on a terrific diving interception by Shutang Mungwa. That enabled BC to again have the ball on offense, and allowed the biggest Green Knight killer around in Spencer Kulcsar to make his usual amount of big-time plays against the Montvale hosts.
Kulcsar rumbled up the middle of the field for a 15-yard gain, before making a highlight reel run against St. Joe's, just as he did last preseason and in the regular season meeting last November. Kulcsar broke free down the SJR sideline and rumbled 50 yards for a touchdown. That signaled the end of the day for the first-team Crusader offense, a unit that found the endzone on 4 of its 7 possessions on the day. The three failed BC drives were results of 2 turnovers and one series that lasted past the 10-play limit. The BC defense only allowed one score in 6 SJR first-team possessions, and really began to assert their dominance in the trenches as the scrimmage wore on. While the Green Knights dominated the scrimmage when the younger reserve units began to play, it was encouraging to say the least to see the much-ballyhooed BC varsity side perfom well against a defending state champion team in St. Joe's.
As Coach Campanile made sure to point out all the mistakes his team made on the day, he had to have been pleased at how his team performed in their first real action against another program. The offensive line gave their quaterback all the time in the world to pass the ball, and made the SJR defensive line completely invisible during the scrimmage. McEvoy's quarterbacking play proved to be outstanding, and the defense played with a mean streak, a perfect winning combination for this upcoming season. It was a solid start for BC in this preseason, and they have plenty of room to improve for their next scrimmage this upcoming Saturday down the shore as BC will scrimmage Toms River South and Red Bank Catholic this weekend.
NOTES
- Unofficially Tanner McEvoy finished his day 10/14 passing for 200 yards 2 TDs and 1 INT. He also had 5 carries for 65 yards and 1 TD. He continues to have an excellent preseason, and is starting to improve his decision-making when rolling outside of the pocket. McEvoy also saw time as BC's punter during the special teams portion of the scrimmage.
-Spencer Kulcsar loves to play against the Green Knights. Kulcsar was electric in his BC debut in the 2009 preseason matchup against SJR, scoring a 36-yard TD run in Montvale in the 2009 regular season, and had an identical TD run down the SJR sideline during Tuesday's scrimmage.
-Cam Dickerson continues to show why he's the top receiving threat on BC with his 3 receptions for 70 yards and 2 TDs. But for me, it is interesting to watch him play linebacker, a position I never thought he would play, but seems to excel at. Expect Dickerson to rotate with Kulcsar, Karl Bostick, Jack Gallagher and Shane Drummond at the linebacking position this season so no one player is burnt out playing full-time on both sides of the ball.
-The Bergen Catholic defense needs to improve in their pass defense across the middle of the field, as there were plenty of openings for SJR's wide receivers and tight ends. BC was fortunate as there were several drops by SJR during the scrimmage, but you have to factor in the wet conditions for some of those drops as well.
-St. Joe's will have another strong team this year, but they wll struggle not having Kai Dominguez as their playmaker. Other areas of concern for the Green Knights involve their line play, as their offensive line was out-muscled later on in the scrimmage with the first team units and their defensive line was seemingly non-existent throughout the scrimmage in terms of a pass rush against McEvoy and company.
ABOUT DAN LONG
Dan Long graduated from Bergen Catholic in 2003 where he was the Sports Director of BCTV and coined the immortal phrase Crusader Crazies for the raucous BC student section. He is currently the radio voice of the Bergen Catholic football and soccer teams, the founder of DL Sports Media, and a weekly contributor to BergenCatholicFootball.com.
Long: Loaded Crusader offense owns day
Bergen Catholic fans could not have asked for a better day weather-wise to be outside Saturday morning to take in the annual Red & White Intra-Squad scrimmage. With the enjoyable weather, music pumping through Crusader Stadium, and with the smell and sight of smoke emanating from various grills, one would think it was already the September 11th season opener against LaSalle High School. But despite this being only the first preseason scrimmage, the excitement and anticipation for a new era of Crusader football was evident with a large contingent of fans catching their first glimpse of the Nunzio Campanile era.
Coach Campanile, standing out from the rest of his coaching staff on the field as he wore his red Under Armour BC coaching jacket despite the 80 degree weather, presided over the contest between his offense in white and his defensive unit in red. He saw a big play nearly go the distance on the first play from scrimmage as new quarterback Tanner McEvoy found running back Mike Gerst with a simple drop off pass that the speedy junior nearly took down the near sideline before getting tripped up at the last second by a member of the secondary. Like his older brother and former BC speedster Nick Gerst, Mike will be a serious speed threat on outside runs for the Crusader offense this season.
Obviously the focal point of the offense and for the entire Bergen Catholic squad will be the play of their senior signal caller Tanner McEvoy. McEvoy impressed with his decision making abilites in the spread attack. While the senior QB did not necessarily connect on any long throws during the scrimmage, he dazzled with his mobility in and outside the pocket, and was devastating on his designed QB draws and option runs. This was certainly a key for Mike Halligan's exceptional play last season under center, and McEvoy showed his athleticism by breaking several tackles and just showing his keen field vision that he used to become an elite receiver the past two seasons.
And for those who still believe that McEvoy should have been left at wideout, well Coach Campanile did feature McEvoy at his old position in several different formations during the scrimmage, and included a nice reception of 20+ yards on a perfect pass from back up Anthony LiGregni.
Again while the white team did not challenge the defense down field all that much, the offense looked adept at connecting with corner routes and seam patterns that eventually led to scores. The option is still alive on offense, but McEvoy looked a little shaky with some of his pitches to his tail backs. The offense has a ton of playmakers this season, and the one to keep an eye on is certainly junior wide receiver Chucky Wingate. The sidelines were buzzing whenever he made a circus-like catch, and he reminds me a lot of Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham with his ankle-breaking moves right after he hauls in a reception. With Wingate as a slot receiver and getting plenty of attention in the middle of the field, things will be sure to open up for star wide receiver Cam Dickerson who hauled in a nice pass across the middle and finished off his run an additional 30 yards down the sideline.
The standout player in the scrimmage was tailback/tight end Spencer Kulcsar who broke free from a host of tacklers down the far sideline and reversed field to the near side for an 80 yard TD run. Kulscar is a workhorse running back who can break off a jaw-dropping run any time he touches the ball. The newest Crusader weapon on offense will be running back James Dawson, a transfer from Don Bosco, who also broke off a 70+ yard touchdown run in the second half of the scrimmage. The running back stable of starter Karl Bostick, who had some power runs in the first half, Kulscar, Gerst, and Dawson might prove to be the best collection of speed in North Jersey.
They had plenty of holes opened up by an offensive line that looked to be in tremendous physcial shape, as all the lineman looked tall, thin, and were not hunched over at all during the scrimmage. Zach Sparber looks to anchor the line at left tackle this season, and TC Picariello delivered some devastating trap blocks.
The BC defense was interesting to watch because they were content with giving up the underneath passing routes, but were solid in not giving up any long passing plays. Chucky Wingate added an interception for a TD in the second half off of McEvoy, and Shutang Mungwa is certainly an intimidating presence in the secondary and on run support. Kulcsar looked good at linebacker, but the thing that caught my eye was seeing Cam Dickerson lined up on occassion at linebacker and defensive back where he made one shoestring tackle and an excellent pass deflection. Nick LaTesta will be the number one corner and the defensive line is young but fast and frequently made McEvoy scramble out of the pocket. The defense is fast, they just need to add the physcial component to their arsenal. BC's defense was good today, but the day belonged to Coach Campanile's offense loaded with playmakers at several positions.
NOTES:
-Ryan Finkel, a junior who has played quarterback during his Crusader career, looked solid today as a wide receiver playing alongside the first team wide outs in Dickerson and Wingate.
-McEvoy showed off his arm strength several times by just chucking the ball 50 yards down the field by scrambling sideways out of the pocket. He still is working on his accuracy, but looked good with his sideline passes near the first down markers in several drives.
-Coach Campanile was heard screaming to his offensive unit during the 4th quarter portion of the scrimmage to pick up the pace on the field, "Unless you want to finish 8-3 again for the season."
ABOUT DAN LONG
Dan Long graduated from Bergen Catholic in 2003 where he was the Sports Director of BCTV and coined the immortal phrase Crusader Crazies for the raucous BC student section. He is currently the radio voice of the Bergen Catholic football and soccer teams, the founder of DL Sports Media, and a weekly contributor to BergenCatholicFootball.com.
Well football fans could not have asked for a better day weather-wise to be outside this morning to take in the annual Red & White Intra-Squad scrimmage held at Bergen Catholic. With the enjoyable weather, music pumping through Crusader Stadium, and with the smell and sight of smoke emanating from various grills, one would think it was already the September 11th season opener against LaSalle High School. But despite this being only the first preseason scrimmage, the excitement and anticipation for a new era of Crusader football was evident with a large contingent of fans catching their first glimpse of the Nunzio Campanile era.
Coach Campanile, standing out from the rest of his coaching staff on the field as he wore his red Under Armour BC coaching jacket despite the 80 degree weather, presided over the contest between his offense in white and his defensive unit in red. He saw a big play nearly go the distance on the first play from scrimmage as new quarterback Tanner McEvoy found running back Mike Gerst with a simple drop off pass that the speedy junior nearly took down the near sideline before getting tripped up at the last second by a member of the secondary. Like his older brother and former BC speedster Nick Gerst, Mike will be a serious speed threat on outside runs for the Crusader offense this season.
Obviously the focal point of the offense and for the entire Bergen Catholic squad will be the play of their senior signal caller Tanner McEvoy. McEvoy impressed with his decision making abilites in the spread attack. While the senior QB did not necessarily connect on any long throws during the scrimmage, he dazzled with his mobility in and outside the pocket, and was devastating on his designed QB draws and option runs. This was certainly a key for Mike Halligan's exceptional play last season under center, and McEvoy showed his athleticism by breaking several tackles and just showing his keen field vision that he used to become an elite receiver the past two seasons.
And for those who still believe that McEvoy should have been left at wideout, well Coach Campanile did feature McEvoy at his old position in several different formations during the scrimmage, and included a nice reception of 20+ yards on a perfect pass from back up Anthony LiGregni.
Again while the white team did not challenge the defense down field all that much, the offense looked adept at connecting with corner routes and seam patterns that eventually led to scores. The option is still alive on offense, but McEvoy looked a little shaky with some of his pitches to his tail backs. The offense has a ton of playmakers this season, and the one to keep an eye on is certainly junior wide receiver Chucky Wingate. The sidelines were buzzing whenever he made a circus-like catch, and he reminds me a lot of Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham with his ankle-breaking moves right after he hauls in a reception. With Wingate as a slot receiver and getting plenty of attention in the middle of the field, things will be sure to open up for star wide receiver Cam Dickerson who hauled in a nice pass across the middle and finished off his run an additional 30 yards down the sideline.
The standout player in the scrimmage was tailback/tight end Spencer Kulcsar who broke free from a host of tacklers down the far sideline and reversed field to the near side for an 80 yard TD run. Kulscar is a workhorse running back who can break off a jaw-dropping run any time he touches the ball. The newest Crusader weapon on offense will be running back James Dawson, a transfer from Don Bosco, who also broke off a 70+ yard touchdown run in the second half of the scrimmage. The running back stable of starter Karl Bostick, who had some power runs in the first half, Kulscar, Gerst, and Dawson might prove to be the best collection of speed in North Jersey.
They had plenty of holes opened up by an offensive line that looked to be in tremendous physcial shape, as all the lineman looked tall, thin, and were not hunched over at all during the scrimmage. Zach Sparber looks to anchor the line at left tackle this season, and TC Picariello delivered some devastating trap blocks.
The BC defense was interesting to watch because they were content with giving up the underneath passing routes, but were solid in not giving up any long passing plays. Chucky Wingate added an interception for a TD in the second half off of McEvoy, and Shutang Mungwa is certainly an intimidating presence in the secondary and on run support. Kulcsar looked good at linebacker, but the thing that caught my eye was seeing Cam Dickerson lined up on occassion at linebacker and defensive back where he made one shoestring tackle and an excellent pass deflection. Nick LaTesta will be the number one corner and the defensive line is young but fast and frequently made McEvoy scramble out of the pocket. The defense is fast, they just need to add the physcial component to their arsenal. BC's defense was good today, but the day belonged to Coach Campanile's offense loaded with playmakers at several positions.
NOTES:
-Ryan Finkel, a junior who has played quarterback during his Crusader career, looked solid today as a wide receiver playing alongside the first team wide outs in Dickerson and Wingate.
-McEvoy showed off his arm strength several times by just chucking the ball 50 yards down the field by scrambling sideways out of the pocket. He still is working on his accuracy, but looked good with his sideline passes near the first down markers in several drives.
-Coach Campanile was heard screaming to his offensive unit during the 4th quarter portion of the scrimmage to pick up the pace on the field, "Unless you want to finish 8-3 again for the season."
School is in session for Nunzio’s Crusaders
It is August, the first week of double-sessions. An outside run is called resulting in a nominal gain. As players return to their respective huddles, a young Crusader linebacker performs a series of up-downs under the watchful eye of his position coach. Proper technique is first shown, then reinforced with a number of quick repetitions. A pat on the helmet and the player resumes his place on defense, all before the huddles break for the next play.
Watch any summer practice under Bergen Catholic head coach Nunzio Campanile and his coaching staff and the scene above will play out dozens of times over. The intensity never wanes. The tempo never stops. The details never go unnoticed.
Everywhere you look -- teaching, teaching, and more teaching.
"So far I believe that the transition of our staff has been relatively seamless," Campanile said. "We have worked hard to merge into a cohesive unit. I believe we have a lot of like-minded individuals on our staff. With that said, I believe that each coach has their own personality, and they all relate to our players in a different way."
"The installation of our system has gone pretty smoothly. I have been really impressed with our players' ability to comprehend football. We have installed a lot more than I anticipated at this point. That will allow us to continue to work on fundamentals throughout camp."
Watch any summer practice under Campanile and you will also see his Crusaders running. And running, and running, and running some more.
"Over the past five months the players have been working extremely hard in the weight room, in the classroom, and running on the field. We firmly believe that our conditioning will have a great impact on the culture of our program. While laying that foundation we feel that toughness is a critical aspect to our culture and our conditioning."
"Our off-season training has laid the groundwork for our summer lifting and conditioning. That running not only allows us to be able to compete for four quarters, but will give us a start in developing the mental toughness to fight through tough circumstances throughout the year," Campanile continued.
"We want our players to take on all challenges and be able to handle adversity. One way to prepare for that is create adversity and challenges in practice everyday. If anyone has had the opportunity to see us practice, they know we have provided many challenges to our boys."
And his boys have responded.
"I am very proud of the way our players have taken on those challenges. We have made significant strides in this area. I believe that our players have welcomed those challenges. Our next goal is to make sure the efforts we've made in conditioning translate to the field."
Crusaders invade South Carolina
While much of North Jersey sought shelter from a record-setting heat wave this week, Nunzio Campanile's Bergen Catholic Crusaders put in work. Strength and conditioning training, meetings, and a 2-hour practice closed out the holiday weekend Monday evening; Tuesday brought a 7 on 7 vs. Ridgewood as the temperatures rose to 103°.
Then "Nunz" turned up the heat.
"As a program we are always looking to find ways to challenge ourselves. One of the major steps in building the culture we are looking for is to develop a competitive attitude. The 7 on 7 tournament in South Carolina is definitely one of those opportunities."
Sixty-three players, coaches, and family members made the 11-hour drive to Duncan, SC, where Bergen Catholic will compete in the 3rd Annual Palmetto State Showdown beginning Thursday. A tournament victory "signifies a team as one to take notice of nationally," according to event coordinator Tony McAbee.
"We will introduce our kids to some of the finest football programs in the South and we will be faced with tremendous competition," said Campanile. "To have an opportunity to compete with these teams on the field will be a great learning experience. They will see that competitively & athletically we belong there, while also learning that there is a long way for us to go before we reach our potential. At the same time, I believe our players will have a tremendous bonding experience that will help forge the family atmosphere we are looking for."
"We have competed in numerous 7 on 7 events to this point in the summer. They have all had a different purpose. Events like Boston College, Quad scrimmages at Ramapo & St. Joe's, head-to-head scrimmages at Delbarton & Ridgewood, are all more instructional than competitive," Campanile explained.
"Of course we intend to compete at all times, but they are mainly teaching events. The Schiano Shoot-Out is a little more competitive; while we are always learning, we get an opportunity to see our guys in a truly competitive environment."
"The Byrnes trip will take that to another level."
Finding competition won't be a problem in South Carolina -- Byrnes ranked 9th, and Hoover 29th, in MaxPreps Top 50.
"We intend to compete with the best, because that is the only way you can raise your level. We have very high expectations for this season. What we do this summer will seriously impact our performance in the fall. Hopefully this tournament will be a good barometer for us."
Bergen Catholic High School is a Catholic community which prepares young men to become leaders by deepening religious faith, developing academic excellence, and strengthening social consciousness and responsibility in accordance with the Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education.
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2010 Archive
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