Vianney football team looks to get back to postseason
Lancers return a number of skill players from last year’s 6-4 squad
With several starters returning, the St. John Vianney High School football team is looking to make a return trip to the NJSIAA Parochial Group III playoffs.
The Lancers opened the season at home in Holmdel on Friday against Monmouth Regional and came away with a convincing 20-0 win.
The Lancers got off to the kind of start that gives head coaches fits, squandering two first-and-goal situations with penalties, before finally putting some points on the board in the second quarter when Sean Andrews went into the end zone from six yards out, following a blocked Monmouth punt. Then, with five seconds left in the half, Shane Kochon made it 10-0 with a 49-yard field goal. And that would be all the Lancers would need to hold off the struggling Falcons (0-10 last season).
The Lancers added another touchdown in the third quarter when Kochon hit Andrews with a screen pass, and then watched the junior race 28 yards to the end zone. Kochon then finished the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 25-yard field goal.
The win marked a solid start for the Lancers, who are looking to improve as the season progresses, and make a run at a state playoff berth. St. John’s went 6-4 last season, including a forfeit victory when Pinelands used an ineligible player.
In the playoffs, St. John’s lost a first-round encounter with St. Joseph’s of Montvale, the eventual Parochial Group III champion.
This time around, coach Nick Metrokatsas’ club will again rely on the ground game.
Senior co-captain Kochon is expected to be the workhorse in the backfield. A year ago, Kochon scored nine touchdowns, including four on kick returns, despite starting just four games.
Another senior, quarterback Kyle Williams, provides additional firepower out of the backfield in the Lancers’ single-wing-T quarterback set. Williams showed he could run a year ago and also threw for 187 yards in one contest.
Senior wingback Mike DeLiso and junior fullback Andrews should further aid the running game, the coach said. Ted Nycz, another senior, is the split end.
Three key members of the offensive line are back to lead the way: tackles Wayne Szaro and Joe Tenpenny and guard Matt Doda.
"We should be able to run the ball," Metrokatsas said. "Shane Kochon is a powerful runner, and we have an experienced line. Everyone in our backfield will get their share of yards. Our offense is unique. Not many teams use our set, so we’re also pretty good at keeping defenses off-balance."
On the flip side, the coach will use many of the same players in the 4-4 defense — at least early in the season.
Szaro and Tenpenny are the ends, and Doda will line up at tackle, along with senior Brian Fundaro. Andrews and DeLiso are linebackers, and Nycz and Kochon will be in the secondary with Rob Corbo.
The good news is that the program is growing. It now includes more than 100 players, and a few of them may earn places in the lineup as the season moves along.
"Our goal is to get back in the playoffs, and with a pretty experienced group back, we think we have a good shot," Metrokatsas said. "But we’ll have to get the job done on the field because our opponents will have something to say about that."
The Lancers will take on Wall this Friday, where they’ll look to go 2-0, before facing Point Pleasant Boro, Red Bank Catholic, Monsignor Donovan, Manasquan, Asbury Park, Raritan and Pinelands in what equates to a pretty challenging schedule.
Wall is coming off an impressive 14-0 blanking of Red Bank Catholic, a team that had one of the Shore’s top offenses last year. Friday’s game at Wall should provide a good early-season test for the Lancers, as Vianney gets its first look at one of the Shore’s top-ranked teams.
A win on Friday could go a long way toward catapulting the Lancers to a special season.