By Matthew Rocco
The St. John Vianney High School football team has fully embraced smashmouth football, and it’s getting big results.
The Lancers maintained their perfect record by rolling to a victory over defending state champion Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School — leaning on a solid defense and hard-nose running game to take down their division rival. The 28-3 win was another check mark for a Lancers team that entered the season looking to put their own stamp on the program.
“The whole thing is going according to plan,” head coach Derek Sininsky said. “We wanted the defense to be tough and stop the run, and we wanted the offense to be exactly like our defense — very physical and run the football. We need to be able to play defense and run the football.”
And that was the recipe for success Oct. 14 at Rumson-Fair Haven. The Lancers won the battle up front on both sides of the football, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and keeping the Bulldogs outside the red zone the entire second half.
Chris Chukwuneke, St. John Vianney’s Villanova University-bound running back, amassed 130 yards on the ground. Quarterback Haaziq Daniels added 71 yards and a touchdown.
St. John Vianney’s night went much like the first possession of the game, an 83-yard drive that took 13 plays and over six minutes to complete. The Lancers ran the ball 12 times on that opening drive, which Daniels capped with a 31-yard run to the end zone.
Daniels went 7-of-10 in the passing game. He connected with Zyaire Sterling for a 64-yard touchdown.
Chukwuneke and Johnny Buchanan also scored for the Lancers. Buchanan, a junior tailback and middle linebacker, has emerged as another threat out of the backfield this season, while his 70 tackles ranks ninth in New Jersey. But Sininsky isn’t surprised by what he has seen from Buchanan and others, particularly from a veteran group of linemen. Everyone is thriving in St. John Vianney’s new style of play.
“We’re a junior-dominated team. When they were sophomores last year, they got to see the seniors play and learned a lot,” Sininsky said. “Our expectations are to get to the state championship, and our kids know nothing else right now.”
The offensive and defensive lines again stood out in the game against Rumson-Fair Haven, as junior defensive end Nick Densieski logged two sacks and 10 tackles on the night. Senior Micah Clark also made an impression. The Rutgers University commit had a sack and nine tackles.
With another shot at the playoffs this season, St. John Vianney (6-0) isn’t dwelling on what the team accomplished a year ago, when a loss to DePaul Catholic High School in the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group III championship ended the Lancers’ run. From the start, the Lancers wanted to look forward and create a new identity for themselves.
“There’s not one ounce of what our team did last year, whether it’s in practice, in the locker room or the way we hit the weight room, not one ounce is in our team this year. We told our guys to put your own stamp on it. We don’t have to follow in last year’s footsteps,” Sininsky said.
The Lancers will host Red Bank Catholic High School Oct. 21. Their final two games of the regular season are on the road against Middletown High School South Oct. 28 and at home against Monmouth Regional High School Nov. 4.