The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • S12

S-12 THE RECORD NORTH JERSEY SPORTS MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 GIRLS TENNIS ALL-PASSAIC DePaul 35, Holy Spirit 16 DePaul stands tall Spartans take place among best KASJA SISOJEVIC Passaic Valley, junior CAROLYN ZHANG Pompton Lakes, junior EMILY CHAZEN Wayne Hills, senior PISCATAWAY DePaul got the last word on the 2013 football season, and it's probably not the last time the Spartans will get the last word on a season. Led by a stiff defense and the dangerous running back tandem of senior Markey Clark and sophomore Kareem Walker, the Spar jj VANESSA HERRERA Wayne Hills, junior SABRINA KOROPCHAK West Milford, senior AMANDA PRA SISTO Pompton Lakes, senior tans claimed the Non-Public Group 2 state title Sunday with a 35-16 defeat of previously undefeated Holy Spirit at Rutgers. The Spartans' title, their first since 1992, gives North Jersey teams three of the four Non-Public DARREN COOPER LOCAL SPORTS COLUMNIST CHRIS PEDOTASTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Justin Nelson of DePaul leading the celebration after the Spartans won the Non-Public Group 2 final Sunday afternoon for their first state title since 1992. CHRISTINA LOKAI West Milford, senior TESS KORINKO West Milford, sophomore Coach of Year: BRUCE KEOGH Wayne Hills titles, and another North Jersey program, St. Mary of Rutherford, was in the Non-Public Group 1 final.

If there aren't going to be public school state Group champions in New Jersey, the best barometer to see where the best football is played would have to be the Non-Public brackets, and that shows it's no contest. For DePaul, however, this is kind of new. Their rise in 2013 became one of the biggest stories in North Jersey football this season. They have given credence to the idea that North Jersey football is more than a Big Four; dare we say a Big Five? "It's been amazing," said De-Paul fullback Stephen Speidel. "My four years here, every year we got better and better.

As a freshman, I remember my head coach telling me that senior year we would win a state championship. I believed him, and look at us now." With Don Bosco and St. Joseph gobbling up state titles like candy the last decade, Bergen Catholic having a grand tradition and Paramus Catholic making its big leap two years ago, it's been easy to overlook the school in Wayne. Last season the Spartans didn't qualify for the Group 3 playoffs, even though they were clearly one of the better teams in North Jersey. But that's the perils of playing in the Big North United Division, like DePaul does.

What the Spartans have learned, and what the rest of New Jersey would find out if some schools would step up, is that playing against St. Joe's and Paramus Catholic consistently only makes you better. This season, DePaul clearly benefitted from dropping down to Group 2. The school has the largest enrollment in the group, but the team still had to play against the rest of the United Division in the regular season. The Spartans ended up splitting, beating Bergen and Bosco, and losing to St.

Joe's and Paramus Catholic. "When you beat one of them, it's awesome," said DePaul senior quarterback Zach Bednarczyk. "I remember before I was in high school going to see Bosco play when they were national champi McKenna. "And to finish it off with a state championship I am just so proud of the school and the program." How much fun would it have been to see (in a dream world) De-Paul play St. Joe's andor Paramus Catholic again this year? St.

Joe's beat DePaul, 38-14, in the regular season. The Green Knights just beat Pope John by twice as much in the Group 3 title game. Admittedly, the Paramus Catholic game was a blowout early, but ended up 35-21 once DePaul got its footing. Now that the 2013 high school football season is in the books, it's fun to start thinking about 2014, and one of the biggest questions is: How good can DePaul be? "They can definitely keep this going," said Speidel. "I guarantee this team will be working again in a month to get ready for next year." "We will worry about that starting Tuesday," said McKenna.

"I will give myself a day to enjoy this, but it's just awesome." ons. It definitely motivates us to be as good as them." DePaul had serious talent with Walker and Clark in the backfield. Both were dynamic, do-everything backs. Walker is already picking up Division I college offers, and he's just scratching the surface of his talent. "Our teams weren't as talented in the past," said Bednarczyk.

"This year, we have such a talented squad, and today we came out and played awesome football." Holy Spirit entered the game averaging 36 points a game, but its Wing-T, hybrid-style offense was only effective between the 20s against the Spartans. Once Holy Spirit got into the red zone, the field got crowded and DePaul's athleticism made it tough. Holy Spirit also only completed one pass. Against a talented North Jersey Non-Public team, that type of attack just isn't going to be enough. "This whole season has been a dream," said Spartans coach John Singles: Mona Patel, Passaic, junior Singles: Daysy Castro, Eastside, junior Singles: Natasha Mendoza, Clifton, senior Doubles: Abbey Tremonte, Wayne Hills, junior Doubles: Emily Biunno, Wayne Hills, junior Doubles: Tara Kim, Wayne Hills, junior Doubles: Jessica Goldman, Wayne Hills, freshman HONORABLE MENTION Maggie Kurnyta, Kiara Casado, Clifton; Grace Hawruk, Meghan Malagiere, DePaul; Teshawana Joaquin, Ahliea Fredericks, East-side; AlyssaShurminsky, Blair Bo-huny, Eastern Christian; Jenna Dyksen, Paige Stroh, Hawthorne; Mara Kettle, Forida Raja, Kennedy; Mary Agrusti.Serina Grande, Lakeland; Alexandra Domaradsky, Carina McDermott, Mary Help; Salini Jariwala, Bhavini Shah, Passaic; Maylah Hinton, Jazmine Bandala, Passaic Tech; Pauline Porucznik, Zofia Gal legos, Passaic Valley; Caroline King, Kristen Miragliotta, Pompton Lakes; Rebecca Wong, Wayne Valley; Ashley Donder-shine, Ashley Caldaro, West Milford.

Teams selected by the Passaic County Coaches Association FIRST TEAM Singles: Kasja Sisojevic, Passaic Valley, junior Singles: Carolyn Zhang, Pompton Lakes, junior Singles: Emily Chazen, Wayne Hills, senior Singles: Vanessa Herrera, Wayne Hills, junior Singles: Amanda Pra Sisto, Pompton Lakes, senior Singles: Sabrina Koropchak, West Milford, senior Doubles: Christina Lokai, West Milford, senior Doubles: Tess Korinko, West Milford sophomore Doubles: Jen Harrison, Wayne Valley, junior Doubles: Abby Schwartz, Wayne Valley, sophomore Coach of the year: Bruce Keogh, Wayne Hills SECOND TEAM Singles: Sabrina Freifeld, Wayne Hills, senior Singles: Amy Cai, Wayne Valley, senior Singles: Caterina Scolamiero, De-Paul, senior Singles: Kiana Byrd, Kennedy, senior Singles: Nida Hussain, Lakeland, senior Singles: Kathleen Hopkins, Wayne Valley, senior Singles: Bridget Bertone, Mary Help, senior Singles: Priscilla Winston-Laryea, Eastern Christian, senior Singles: Yassm in Rosario, Passaic Tech, senior Singles: Stephanie Doot, Hawthorne, senior HOCKEY Joyful Spartans leave no doubt cia34. PARAMUS CATHOLIC 3, CLIFTON 0 Paramus Catholic 2 0 1-3 Clifton 0 0 0-0 Goals (PC) Derek Sabato 2, Brian Derario. Assists (PC) Brian Derario 2, Christian Brunelle, Derek Sabato, Marc Tietjen, Kyle Wolf. Saves (PC) John Pitera (C) Tyler Gibson 36. LOCAL SCHEDULE ICE HOCKEY TODAY Don Bosco vs.

Gloucester Catholic, 4 TUESDAY Kinnelon vs. Sparta, 3:50 Glen Rock at Paramus, 4 Fair Lawn vs. RobbinsvilleAllentown, 5:30 FOOTBALL NON-PUBLIC, GROUP 2 FINAL DEPAUL 35, HOLY SPIRIT 16 DePaul 6 13 3 13-35 Holy Spirit 0 0 0 16-16 First quarter Steve Speidel 4 run (kick failed) Second quarter Speidel 3 run (Riley Clark kick) Hasise DuBois 16 pass from Zach Bednar- czyk (kick blocked) Third quarter Clark 28 FG Fourth quarter Franco Rifici 8 run (Joe DiBuonaventura pass from Jeff Steeb) Kareem Walker 7 run (kick failed) Bednarczyk 15 run (Clark kick) Angelo Dawson 1 run (Taalib Gerald run) carries for DePaul (10-2). Senior tailback Markey Clark added 100 yards on 11 carries, including a 51 -yard run that set up DePaul's second touchdown, the second of senior fullback Steve Speidel's two scoring runs. Sophomore tailback Kareem Walker also ran for 98 yards on 19 carries, including a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"We knew we would win the game in the trenches," said Kiy Hester, DePaul's senior receiversafety. "We sensed it off the first drive. Us being able to run the ball the way we did, it was incredible." Bednarczyk was effective when DePaul threw, too. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, and wasn't intercepted. Bednarczyk's 16-yard touchdown throw to sophomore receiver Hasise DuBois gave DePaul a 19-0 lead with 50 seconds left in the first half.

DePaul extended its lead to 22-0 on senior kicker Riley Clark's 28-yard field goal at the 1:46 mark of the third quarter. The Spartans from Atlantic County scored for the first time with 1 1 :04 left in the game on senior tailback Franco Ri-fici's 8-yard run, but DePaul responded with a Walker's 7-yard run to expand its lead to 28-8 with 6:51 to go. "For me to go out like this in my senior year, it's like a dream come true," Speidel said. "We did what we wanted to do since January. We've been working for this state championship, and we got it." Before Sunday, DePaul had lost in each of four state final appearances since it won in 1992.

"It's amazing," Kelly said. "We've got such a senior-strong group. We said since freshman year, if there's going to be a group that can do it and break the streak, it's going to be us. It's a great way to go out." Email: idecnorthjersey.com By KEITH IDEC STAFF WRITER PISCATAWAY An overjoyed John McKenna was so happy Sunday, DePaul's football coach choked up as he tried to find the right words. That's how much it meant to DePaul's coaches, players, students and fans for the Wayne parochial school to win its first football state championship since 1992.

The second-seeded Spartans concluded one of the most successful seasons in program history by soundly defeating top-seeded and previously unbeaten Holy Spirit, 35-16, in the Non-Public Group 2 championship at Rutgers. "It's awesome," McKenna said. "We have 21 seniors. I'm so proud of them. The whole team, we worked hard for this.

It's been a great season for us." Sunday was a great day for De-Paul on both sides of the ball against a formidable team that had won three straight state championships. The Spartans rushed for 309 yards on 45 carries and scored 35 points against a Holy Spirit defense that had allowed just 60 points this season entering the game. DePaul's defense also limited a Holy Spirit offense that was averaging 36 points per game to 16 -none in the first three quarters. Holy Spirit (11-1), which runs a triple-option offense, rushed for 171 yards, but passed for just 8 yards and DePaul intercepted two passes. "They talked about how their front seven couldn't be stopped, that their defense was so powerful," said Mike Kelly, a senior two-way tackle who recorded two sacks for DePaul.

"Our O-line needed to take over and control the line of scrimmage, and that's exactly what we did." Villanova-bound senior quarterback Zach Bednarczyk rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 10 BIG NORTH SILVER PASCACK REGIONAL 3, OLD TAPPANHASBROUCK HEIGHTS 2 SATURDAY Old TappanHasbrouck Hgts. 1 0 1-2 Pascack Regional 1 0 2-3 Goals: (PR) Kris Giordano, Chris Zariello, Erik Sullivan; (OTHH) Dillon Feulner 2. Assists (PR) Sullivan, Freddy Brignola, MattTruglio, Giordano; (OTHH) Scott Oberhelman, Griffin Privitera. Saves: (PR) Jonathan Chin 24; (OTHH) Anthony D'Ercole 16. GLEN ROCK 4, ST.

JOSEPH (MONT.) 1 Glen Rock 0 3 1-4 St Joseph 0 0 1-1 Goals: (GR) Peter Tatigian 2, Griffin Meyers, Matt Roy; (SJ) Matthew McNamara. Assists: (GR) Brendan Murray 2, Tom LaMacchia, Matt Jorgensen, Peter Bolt; (SJ) Ed Klein, Nick An-dresini. Saves: (GR) Matt Rosario 18; (SJ) Phil Babb 25 BIG NORTH GREEN LAKELAND 3, INDIAN HILLS 2 SATURDAY Lakeland 0 1 2-3 Indian Hills 1 0 1-2 Goals: (L) Shane Davison 1, Cam Bradley 1, Nick Brown (IH) Alex Linquito 1, Jon Hoe-gendorn 1. Assists: (L) Sean Mullin 2, Regis Mahoney 1, Luke Broderick (IH) Matt Paict-ti 1, Matt Dooley 1, Mike Mauer 1. Saves: (L) Sean Komjian 36, (IH) Darren Gentilbmen 15.

MAHWAH 4, DEPAUL 1 SATURDAY DePaul 0 1 0-1 Mahwah 1 2 1-4 Goals: (D) Kyle Scancarella; (M) Zac Orton 2, Nick Raia, Mike Matos. Assists (D) Zach Finkle, Stephen Turtle; (M) Steven Krzyszton, Sean Noonan, Tyler Gutierrez, Mike Matos. Saves (D) Marty Mclver 27; (M) John Kapoian 20. BIG NORTH GOLD HACKENSACK 4, DUMONTDEMARESTNEW MILFORD 1 SATURDAY Hackensack 1 2 1-4 DumontDemarestN. Milford 0 10-1 Goals: (H) Robbie Marut 2, Evan Calendrillo, Dylan Trawinski; (D) Sebastian Ayanian.

Assists: (H) Ben Scarpulla, Ian Baker, Robbie Marut; (D) Andrew Lignos. Saves: (H) Steven Geerlof 23; (D) Matt Garcia 37. HACKENSACK 7, DUMONTDEMARESTNEW MILFORD 1 Hackensack 1 4 2-7 DumontDemarestN. Milford 0 10-1 Goals: (H) Robbie Marut 3, Evan Calendrillo, Alex Wickersheim, Ian Baker, Tommy Foschi-ni; (D) Jonathan Zeiri. Assists: (H) Robbie Marut 2, Dylan Trawinski 2, Ian Baker, Alex Wickersheim; (D) Skylar Marino.

Saves: (H) Steven Geerlof 12; (D) Matt Gar- Records: Holy Spirit 11-1; DePaul 10-2 HS 12 37-171 8 1- 6-2 2- 16 6-183 0 0- 0 1- 5 17:54 First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Passing Sacked-yards lost Kick return yardage Punts-average Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards 20 45-309 118 8-11-0 0- 0 1- 35 38.0 1-0 7-69 30:06 Time of possession Rushing: (D): Zach Bednarczyk 10-105-TD, Markey Clark 11-100, Kareem Walker 19-98-TD, Steve Speidel 4-12-2 TD, Kwadir Brown l-(-l). (HS): Taalib Gerald 8-65, Angelo Dawson 9-51-TD, T.J. Anderson 15-37, Dandre Dennis 4-10, Franco Rifici 1-8-TD. Passing: (D): Bednarczyk 8-11-118-1 TD-0 INT; (HS): Anderson 1-6-8-0 TD-2 INT. Receiving: (D): Hasise DuBois 2-38-TD, Terrel Vassel 2-36, Matt Greff 1-17, Justin Nelson 1-12, Walker 1-9, Riley Clark 1-6.

(HS): Jordan Taylor 1-8. CHRIS PEDOTASTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Steven Speidel of DePaul celebrating one of his two touchdowns Sunday in the Non-Public Group 2 final at Rutgers..