September
9, 2005
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| Kee-Ayre Griffin will be St. Peter's featured back this season. |
JERSEY CITY – With five straight HCIAA titles, 11 consecutive victories last season, and a host of talent returning, it would be easy for the St. Peter’s Prep football team to be overconfident. But this is a program that knows the highs of success and the lows of having its season end one game too soon. With budding rival Hudson Catholic as its’ season-opening opponent, the Marauders are pumped up and looking no further than winning game number one.
“We have three main goals heading into the season, but we will not look past any team, especially Hudson Catholic,” said St. Peter’s Prep head coach Rich Hansen. “We want to get better game by game, win the HCIAA, and win a state championship. We’re all excited to get going and see what kind of team we have when the pressure is on.”
The Marauders had one of the state’s best two-pronged running attacks with Mike Brown (now playing at the University of Virginia), and Kee-Ayre Griffin. As the season wore on, Griffin emerged as a player who could also thrive as a feature back. This season, he will get that chance as the top offensive threat for the Marauders. His ability to juke a defender, break a tackle, or simply outrun the defense makes him as dangerous as any back in North Jersey.
“Kee-Ayre (Griffin) knows that his workload is going to intensify this season,” added Hansen. “Other teams know that as well and the bulls eye is going to be on his back. But he has prepared himself for that and I’m confident in our offensive line to make a big push off the ball to open up the holes for him.”
While the Marauders will miss Brown in the backfield, the biggest loss offensively will be behind center where sophomore Will Hill will look to replace the ever-consistent Ryan Boysen. Hill is a dual threat with his arm and pure athleticism. Ryan’s younger brother, Sean, will also see some snaps under center.
The top receiving threat will be junior transfer Sharif Harris. After a stellar sophomore season at Marist, where he finished among the top ten scorers in the state, he will add another dimension to the Prep offense with his blazing breakaway speed.
Rich Brennan, Rich Hussey, and Kevin Scherba have all impressed in camp and will anchor an offensive line. Along with 230-pound fullback Will Thompson, their continuity and cohesiveness will be paramount to the Marauders putting points on the board.
The secondary will be the strength of the defense with Griffin and Hill manning the cornerback and free safety spots, respectively. Frank Saile, Henry DeFrance, and Noel Borgess will also see plenty of time.
“Our secondary has really impressed our coaching staff so far,” stated Hansen. “We are relatively experienced and very deep.”
Matt Roselle and Tony Andreadis will bring even more experience to the defensive line. The wild card of the group is 6-3, 235-pound defensive end Ravi Pradahang, who made his mark with a good preseason.
Thompson and Harris will bring brawn and speed to the outside linebacking corps. Steve Pankowitz and Brandon O’Keefe have also worked hard and will see lots of action at middle linebacker.
While the Marauders lost of a slew of key skill position players, they are not rebuilding but reloading.
“Everyone loses kids to graduation every year, but other kids come in and have to step up,” said Hansen. “We lost a lot, but we still have 17 seniors and a very talented junior class. We’re proud of the fact that we’ve won five county titles in a row and we want to defend that title. Hudson Catholic had us on the ropes in the first round of the states and they are well coached, so we know they’ll be prepared. We want to achieve our three goals, but it all starts with game number one and we know better than to look ahead. But as many players as we lost to graduation, we feel we’re even better this year and that says a lot. But the bottom line is that you have to go out on the field and get the job done and we’re confident that we’re ready.”
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