By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
The St. James, Red Bank, football team got the maximum award from the minimum number of players it could legally have on its roster.
Heading to the Pop Warner national playoffs in Orlando, Fla., with just 16 players – the lowest amount a team was allowed to have – the Royals 14U team won the Pop Warner national championship in just its first season of existence.
As an added bonus, the 11U Royals won the state championship.
Composed mainly of St. James Elementary School students and St. James parishioners, the 14U Royals finished 12-2 and won the Jersey Shore and New Jersey State Pop Warner titles before entering the playoffs. They defeated the Darby, Pa., Monarchs, 33-6, to win the Eastern Region crown. Due to injuries and the loss of several other players for various reasons, the Royals entered the nationals short-handed, but not short on desire.
St. James student coaches and Red Bank Catholic players Frankie Williams (left) and Frankie Sinatra proudly show off the national championship plaque after St. James defeated Coyote Creek, Cal., 19-6, in the championship game. Courtesy photo
“We had 16 healthy kids, and by rules that is the minimum amount of kids you can start a game with,” coach Tom Egan said. “It was a total gamble the entire week to keep everyone healthy and maintain the minimum amount of players.
“Thankfully everybody held it together and was conditioned well enough to be able to pull through the whole week,” he continued. “I love walking in as the underdog, I don’t think anybody expected much. We’re a first-year program. They probably didn’t do any research on us. They were saying ‘You’re gonna roll in here with 16 kids and think that’s enough?’”
It was, indeed, enough. St. James beat the Churchland, Va., Tigers 26-0 and Santa Margarita, Calif., 19-0, in the semifinals.
That set up another bi-coastal match-up and the Royals topped Coyote Creek, Cal., 19-6, in the Dec. 13 championship game. Xavier “Bam” Pelzer scored two touchdowns, one on a pass from Joe McQuillan. Gabe Kemp ran for a TD and McQuillan hit Chase Ellis for an extra point.
“They were 13-0 coming into the game,” Ellis said. “We scouted them a little and they had a lot of good athletes. But my kids were fit. The other team looked a little tired after the first quarter.”
St. James’ defense did not allow a point in the playoffs, as the opponents scores came on special teams or off turnovers.
Fitness was key for St. James. Even with a full roster they had just 21 players.
“Our first day of practice we did more fitness than other teams,” Egan said. “I looked at it as ‘You’re not coming off the field, you need to go a full 40 minutes.’”
The Royals linemen were Gavin Barber, Matt Cmielewski (also a linebacker), Ben Dykstra (also an LB), center Luciano Introna (also punter/ kicker), Trevor Evans, who Egan said is “a beast, he can start in high school now,” and Keyshawn Jackson, who’s “a beast as well, he has so much potential.”
Jake Cipot was a tight end/linebacker. Playing receiver and defensive back were Teddy Dodds, Chase Ellis, Liam Boyle and Mason Koch, who also played quarterback and running back. Chase Kane was a receiver, Gabe Kemp was a running back/safety and Jah Zyii Johnson, who’s known as “Warrior,” was a backup running back/starting linebacker. Bam Pelzer was a running back/linebacker/defensive back.
Joe McQuillan was one of two quarterbacks, along with Chris Gourley. But when Gourley was injured McQuillan became the main man.
“Joey’s very smart, very composed,” Egan said. “His confidence grew as the season went on. He was the glue of the entire program. He’s got a lot of potential, and he has another year of eligibility at this level.”
Also on the team who did not make play in the nationals were Charlie Eibeler, Gourley, Eddie Magenheimer, Evan Theosmy and Joe Williams.
“Our motto was to ‘hold the rope,’” Egan said. “When things get tough, we hold the rope together. When everyone works together, we are stronger. We pick each other up and keep each other focused and mentally strong to overcome and succeed.”
The St. James Royals 14U football team shows off its banner after winning the New Jersey State Pop Warner championship, but there was much more to come as the Royals went on to win the national title in their first year of existence. Courtesy photo
The Royals coaching staff included Red Bank Catholic High School freshman team coaches Matt Mosquera (offensive coordinator) and Ambrose Richards (defensive coordinator), RBC varsity assistant John Cipot (tight ends) and Robert Koch, Ryan Schoer and Frank Sinatra Jr. Current RBC players Frankie Sinatra, Johnny Williams and Frankie Williams were student coaches, and Beth Cipot was team manager.
The success of the Royals pleased RBC varsity coach Mike Lange, who stands to inherit several of the players. The Royals share the Lou Montanaro Field as a practice facility with RBC and usually take the field when the Caseys are coming off.
“I don’t think anybody could have foreseen that success of 13- and 14-year-old kids playing teams from Philadelphia, Florida, Virginia, California,” Lange said. “What an experience for those kids as they go into high school.”
Adding to the excitement was the 11U team winning the Shore Conference and New Jersey state titles and reaching the regional finals.
The 11s roster featured Henry Artherholt, Tyler Ballard, Nicholas Basso, Christian Cali, Christopher Castonuova, Luke Cipot, Chris Cueter, Shawn Hickey, Robert Horvath, Parker Jackson, Travis Ketchie, Jaxon Manzo, Dante Mott, Carson Neff, Brody Nielsen, Patrick O’Connell, Chase Perkins, Joseph Pollio, Ronald Werner and Jon Mark Wright.
Valentine Barnaby was the head coach. Assistants were John Cahill, Anthony Cali, Chris Castonuova, Matt Cimini, John Cipot and Ronald Werner. Student coaches were RBC players Blake Caruso, Luke Lonczak and Matthew Lonczak. Team manager was Laura Pollio.
“It’s remarkable,” Lange said of the success. “The idea was to have a program that parallelled what we do at RBC and just get some kids to buy into the way we do things. Ultimately, I think the experience was really good for them. They all had a blast. It worked out really nicely.”
Next Friday, The Monitor will examine how the St. James Pop Warner program came into existence, and what needed to be done to get things established.