HOLMDEL – Expectations are always high on the gridiron at Saint John Vianney.
After going an undefeated 10-0 in the regular season, the Lancers fell to top-seeded and eventual state champion DePaul Catholic in the Non-Public, Group 3 semifinal.
This year, the Lancers will be led by first year head coach Joe Martucci, who comes to Holmdel after serving on the coaching staff at Kean University for the last six years. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Matawan for 28 years from 1984-2011.
The Lancers graduated 18 seniors off its roster from last season, and will have just nine this year. This will give some younger kids opportunity early on in the season to get some game experience.
One of the returning seniors is CJ Hanson, who is committed to Rutgers as an offensive lineman. But he plays both sides of the ball at SJV.
“CJ has been a real good leader for us,” Martucci said. “He’s taken on a leadership role and the kids rally around him. We expect him to be an outstanding player for us this year on both sides of the ball.”
In addition to Hanson, Paul Liseno returns to the Lancers’ offensive line. He was a First Team All-Shore player last season as a right guard. He also plays nose guard on defense.
Junior CJ Duell, who transferred from St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia, will be the quarterback for the Lancers this season.
“CJ has done a great job so far,” Martucci said. “He’s worked extremely hard to learn all the terminology and try to pick up the offense. You can see his development since the day we started as to where he is right now. He understands all the things we’re asking him to do at this point.”
Kavon Chambers is another junior transfer, and will be the top running back this season for Saint John Vianney. He transferred from Central Regional.
“We were extremely fortunate to be able to have a kid of Kavon’s caliber transfer to Saint John Vianney,” Martucci said. “He’s been working hard and is a very nice kid just getting to know him and the type of person that he is has been a pleasure. He’s done everything we’ve asked him and you can see him improving each days as far as learning the plays and the footwork when it comes to blocking in our pass game. He’s also a threat to catch a pass, so he’s a triple threat on offense in terms of he can run, block and catch.”
A key freshman to watch this season for the Lancers is wide receiver Jaden Bellamy, who is the son of Jay Bellamy. Jay played for Martucci at Matawan, went on to play at Rutgers and had a 14-year NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints as a safety. He is also the team’s defensive coordinator.
“Jaden is an outstanding athlete who is only going to get better and better as time goes on,” Martucci said.
Another transfer, Damon Washington, will be one of the Lancers top defensive backs this season. He transferred from Don Bosco and is entering his senior year.
“Damon is an outstanding one-on-one cover guy and is a very hard worker,” Martucci said. “He already has some college offers and with Jay’s tutelage, he’ll have more opportunities pop up and he’ll have a big year.”
Andrew McGimpsey returns at tight end and defensive end, and Martucci expects him to be more involved in the passing game this season.
With just nine seniors, it is going to be important to keep those guys healthy throughout the season if Saint John Vianney wants to live up to their lofty expectations. Martucci hopes to find some younger guys they can use to rotate those guys into game situations and give their seniors breaks when they need them.
“We need to find some young guys early on in the season that can give some of these veteran players some rest,” Martucci said. “I think that’s going to be important in keeping these guys healthy throughout the entire season.”
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