PDS closes best season in 24 years

Panthers win final five football games

By: Bob Nuse
   None of the players on the Princeton Day School football team were born yet the last time the Panthers won seven games.
   In fact, head coach Bruce Devlin was only 12 years old when the Panthers went 7-1 in 1981.
   But with Saturday’s 34-0 win at St. Joseph’s of the Palisades, Princeton Day School finished the season with a 7-1 record. It’s the first winning season in more than a decade and the best record in 24 years.
   "It feels great," said Devlin, whose team finished the season with five straight wins. "I’m proud of the kids. They really came through. We talked as a staff after the game on the way home. We came into the season and we knew we had some kids that could play. We started a lot of the younger kids last year and they got some experience. And the older kids make a big difference with their experience.
   "We’re young at quarterback, running back and receiver. So it helps to have the older guys with more experience who do the other things you need. Guys like Alex (Kowalski), Jonathan (Hofmann) Craig (Knowlton), David Blitzer, you know with those guys, they’re not the specialists. I like to call them the mudders and the power guys. They do the little things that need to be done in order to win."
   And the Panthers won with more regularity this year than they have in a long time. The team took strides last year with a 4-4 record. And this year took the next step with a winning record.
   "When I took over, one of the things I felt like we needed to do was install some confidence," said Devlin, who has been the head coach the past three years. "You can put in the Xs and Os, but you have to work hard in the off-season. We lifted and we ran. We were at the school four days a week over the summer and the kids worked hard. They put in the time. I think they realized that to be successful, they needed to put in the time and they did.
   "We wanted it to pay dividends and it showed. I think it instilled some confidence in the kids. They believed they could do it and they did it. I think the kids have confidence now."
   While sophomores like Clint O’Brien, Mike Shimkin and Andrew Ojeda excelled at the skill positions, Devlin knows the success of this season would not have been possible without his seniors. Five of the eight seniors — Kowalski, Hofmann, Knowlton, Blitzer and Jason Ferree —are captains. The other three seniors — Colin Wollack, Sal Drago and Adam Savitzky — also lent leadership to a program that they leave on solid ground.
   "We had five senior captains this year and I made them all captains because I knew what they had been through," said Devlin, whose first win as a head coach came at St. Joseph’s of the Palisades two years ago. "I knew this year would be special for them and it was. After the game, David Blitzer said to the younger kids, ‘Now it is my turn to pass the buck to you guys.’ I think all the captains had different personalities and they all got their point across. They led by example.
   "When these seniors were freshmen, I was an assistant coach and it was a tough season for us. The next year, which was my first year, we took our lumps. We were young, but I could see the kids doing football things and doing what they were told. Last year we had young kids and juniors who are seniors this year that we knew would make progress."
   As far as Devlin is concerned, this season was no fluke. It was a result of working hard to get ready for the season and then continuing to work hard throughout the season.
   "There had never really been off-season workouts before," said Devlin, whose team received three touchdown runs from Shimkin, who also threw an option pass to Rappaport for a touchdown in the win. "If you tell the kids to work out on their own, it’s never going to happen. We had guys there and they worked hard. We’ll continue to grow from this year and get better.
   "It’s been a great season. Coaches always say that when you win, the season just seems to fly by. That’s what has happened with us this year. This season went by so fast. I’m so proud of the kids. Hopefully having a season like this will get the word out that football is a serious sport at PDS and we’ll get more kids coming here who are interested in playing. Hopefully people will realize that things have changed."
   And years from now, if they have permanently changed for the better, Devlin can look at this year’s team as the reason why.
   "It’s a great mix on this team," he said. "I’ve never seen a group bond like this one has. It’s like one big happy family. They all get a long with each other so well."