Football team was led by seniors
By: Bob Nuse
For Todd Smith, it was all about his seniors buying into a new program. Once they did that, the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South football team was ready to rewrite the school record book.
The Pirates capped off the most successful season in school history on Saturday with a 31-14 win over Lawrence. With the win, South finished 10-1, setting a school record for wins in a season.
The Pirates won the school’s first playoff game in 18 years, and along the way, they also set a new standard for points in a season.
"The only thing I was nervous about was if the kids would buy into the program, and they did," said Smith, whose team bounced back nicely from their Central Jersey Group III playoff loss to Nottingham to finish as the lone unbeaten team in Colonial Valley Conference play. "I knew we would come out and play good, high school football. We weren’t going to get ahead of ourselves. We were going to run the ball and go from there.
"The wins and records are nice, but I think the biggest thing was the way this team gelled together. I know it sounds cliché, but it was like a family out there. Brian Morris did a fantastic job. He gave up a lot for this team and he’s one of the huge reasons why we were successful. That’s pretty much the role every senior took. They sacrificed personal glory for the good of the team."
The Pirates finished the season with a vintage game by their standards. The running game accounted for 295 yards, led by Ryan Lupo with 104 and E.J. Burgess with 103. Each scored a touchdown. And in the air, junior quarterback Colin Dampier threw a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore tight end J.B. Fitzgerald.
"The coaches came in with a new program, we accepted it and look what happened, 10-1," said Fitzgerald, a starter on offense and defense this season. "We had great seniors and we could not have done it without them. The seniors came in and showed us leadership. We followed them and got the job done.
"The seniors carried us so much this year, but we’ll be ready next year to get right back here."
The Pirates’ seniors were willing to make the sacrifices needed in order for the team to be successful, perhaps none more than Morris, who moved from quarterback to fullback so he could play full-time at linebacker. Morris feels like he and his classmates have started something that those who remain will carry on.
"I’ll be sad not to be here, but I’m pretty confident with Coach Smith and his coaching staff that we were able to set a tradition," Morris said. "The young kids can see what hard work can do. We’ve set the bar and if you work hard, you can do the same thing.
"Colin, who is a junior quarterback, will be back and you can’t ask for more than having your quarterback coming back. They have a lot of good players that will be able to step it up and get the job done."
Smith hopes the players who will be back can follow the example of this year’s senior class, which set the lead for what he wanted to accomplish.
"We’re only allowed to name four captains each week, but every senior we had played like a captain," Smith said. "They led the team like a captain on and off the field. We set the bar high for our program. Starting back in July, these seniors bought into it and they just kept believing. I just thought it was great the way we bounced back from that loss last week. A lot of teams would have just tucked it away, but they didn’t.
"The kids are going to have to buy into the off-season lifting program and get involved with that. They need to understand that high school football is not just a fall sport. It’s a year-round thing. Even if you are playing another sport, you still have to be preparing for next season. And I think they understand that."
This year’s seniors did understand that. The key now will be if future seniors do as well.
"We just love our seniors to death," Smith said. "We understand we’re losing a lot. You take for granted what you have with Drew Lachenmayer at one tackle and Adrien Schriefer at the other tackle. They’re dominant on the offensive line. Even the game we lost, we came out and dominated on the line of scrimmage. They set the bar and there are some big shoes to fill."
That bar was set at a 10-win season and a trip to the CJ III semifinals. Not bad for a team that came into the season having won five games the past two years and with a new coaching staff to get used to.
"It just goes by week to week so fast, you never really take time to realize what’s going on," Smith said. "We just worried about what was coming next and how we needed to prepare. I’m sure we’ll sit back when it’s all said and done and just think, wow."
In addition to the team record for wins in a season and most points scored, the Pirates set some individual records as well. Lupo finished with 17 touchdowns, breaking the mark previously held by Rob Archie. Kicker Tom McKeever set a pair of school records with his 32 extra point kicks and 44 total kicking points.
It was that kind of season for the Pirates.
"We started off optimistically, so I can say yes, I thought we could do this, this year," Fitzgerald said. "Myself, I didn’t care about playing time or anything like that. I just wanted to come in and do what I could for the team. I wanted to be able to help bring South back to the glory years."
This team appears to have done that, with a special season to prove it.

