Tag: Dave DeNapoli

by Mike Pavlichko

Dave DeNapoli on retiring from football, his start in coaching, and how he developed Dunellen’s signature “offense in a phone booth”

The longtime coach, who’s been at the same school for decades, is hard to come by anymore.

Just this year, the Big Central Conference lost two football mentors who long predate the superleague.

Earlier this year, Zoran Milich stepped down at Montgomery, having started the program quarter century ago, and last week it was Dave DeNapoli at Dunellen putting away the clipboard.

Milich will still be in the building at Montgomery, and DeNapoli remains Dunellen’s athletic director, but there’s still a void that won’t easily be replaced.

Consider this: The average tenure of the 50 Big Central Coaches who were at their schools last season is 6.1 years. And of those, 30 have four or fewer years under their belt at their current school.

Be that as it may, we got a chance to talk to DeNapoli about his retirement, his playing days, his coaching mentors, and how and why he installed the double-wing “offense in a phone booth” in the middle of a season. Click below to listen.

by Mike Pavlichko

They don’t make ’em like this anymore: Marcus Borden talks about longtime football coaches Dave DeNapoli, Zoran Milich hanging them up

First, there was Zoran Milich stepping down, the only man ever to coach Montgomery High School football. That was back in Janaury, after a quarter century building and running the Cougars’ program.

This week, it was Dunellen’s Dave DeNapoli, who has been the Destroyers’ coach since 1996, stepping down after 29 years at the helm. A lifelong Dunellen resident, DeNapoli played quarterback there, graduating in 1975.

There are few left like these two. While many coaches have been around a long time – like Joe Goerge, who has had great success at places like Woodbridge last year, Franklin, South Brunswick and Dayton, where he completely restarted the program – few grow up, play and coach in the same time.

The last of their breed in our area would be Rich Marchesi, who has won well over 200 games and is the winningest coach in Rams’ history. This upcoming season will be his 29th on the sidelines.

Rich Marchesi and his players on the sideline in an August 28, 2021 game against South Plainfield. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

We sat down with Central Jersey Sports Radio football analyst Marcus Borden to talk about DeNapoli’s retirement, Zoran Milich stepping aside, and the dedication these longtime coaches have shown to their football programs, their schools, and their communities. Click below to listen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Dave DeNapoli steps down after nearly three decades as venerable Dunellen football coach

Through tough times and good, and a bevy of both wins and losses, the one constant for Dunellen football for nearly 30 years has been Dave DeNapoli.

But now, he’s putting away the clipboard.

DeNapoli announced his retirement from coaching on Twitter Thursday evening, after 29 seasons as head coach in the tiny Middlesex County town. He finishes his career with a record of 133-172-1 over that time span.

He took the reins in August 1996, at the age of 39, and followed a legend in his own right, Pio Pennisi, who brought the school a Central Jersey Group 1 championship in 1993 and had just stepped down to become vice-principal at the high school.

“This is a dream come true, something I’ve always wanted to do my whole life,” DeNapoli told Home News Tribune reporter John Haley at the time. He had joined the Destroyers as a volunteer assistant just six years prior.

He played quarterback for Dunellen, graduating in 1975, and has lived in town all his life.

DeNapoli for years ran the double-wing offense, also dubbed “offense in a phone booth.” At a school where talent could certainly be found, but often in small numbers due to its sheer size – it’s the smallest high school in the Greater Middlesex Conference – the system often helped make Dunellen competitive.

DeNapoli brought them to two sectional finals. the first came in 2010, when they lost as the third-seed in Central Jersey Group 1 to Shore Regional at Rutgers, finishing 10-2. Four years later, they were the top-seed in North 2, Group 1, but fell to Shabazz, 14-6, at Kean University in Union, and ended the season 9-3.

Check back later as we plan to update this story with audio from DeNapoli.

by Mike Pavlichko

Dunellen Destroyers named CJSR Turnaround Team of the Year for 2023

Middlesex had a nice bounce-back year in its second season under Phlip McGuane, going from 4-6 a year ago to 7-2 with a playoff berth this season. Sayreville went from 4-5 to 8-3 under first-year head coach Don Sofilkanich, and Voorhees went from 3-6 to 7-4, also a plus-four in the win column.

But Dunellen went from 2-7 in 2022 to a 6-3 season with a playoff berth, a massive success any way you slice it. And that was thanks in large part to a pair of slice-and-dice runningbacks, Aidan Sangiray and Chiekezie Ogbuewu.

With a roster of barely two dozen, not all of whom start, Dunellen suffered two shutouts last year, had to forfeit a game with not enough players to suit up against Brearley, and had a heartbreaking overtime loss.

This year, they won their first three games, scored 50 in a win over Highland Park, shutout Manville, and beat Brearley by six, while qualifying for the postseason.

That’s why Dunellen is Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Turnaround Team of the Year for 2023.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Dunellen head coach Dave DeNapoli:

by Mike Pavlichko

Dunellen tops Brearley, 34-28, to inch closer to top 16 in playoff chase

Dunellen star Chiekezie Ogbuewo scored all five Destroyer touchdowns in a 34-28 victory over visiting Brearley Thursday night, to help keep his team alive in the playoff chase.

This one wasn’t a win-and-you’re-in scenario for either team, it was a lose-and-go-home.

The Destroyers (5-3) didn’t move up in the standings from 17th in North Group 1, just out of the top 16, but they did inch closer in UPR. They were 3.8 points behind 16th-seed Pennsville entering the evening, but now are just one UPR point behind, at 16.2, compared to 15.2 for Pennsville (4-3) which visits Pitman (2-4) tomorrow.

A Pennsville loss would help the Destroyers, and move them into 16th not counting any other results. They might still need help to get in. A Pennsville win, and Dunellen still could make it, but they may need several losses to play their way.

Brearley (3-5) fell to 21st in the North 1 standings and is out of playoff contention.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first half and went into the locker room tied 14-14.

In the second half, Dunellen went ahead by two scores for the first time all night on a pair of touchdowns – two and 40 yards – by Ogbuewu.

When Brearley got within another score at 28-20, Ogbuewu scored what looked like insurance, but turned out to be the winning points with 2:51 to play, recovering a bad snap by his team and turning a lemon into lemonade, going 60 yards for a touchdown to make it 34-20.

That would keep the Bears at bay as they scored once more with 1:33 left to make the final 34-28.

Click below for postgame reaction with Marcus Borden presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Career night for Sangiray, big TD run by Duplesis give Dunellen 18-7 win over Dayton in season opener

The Dunellen football team was without Chiekezie Ogbuewu for its season opener Friday night against Dayton. With just 24 players available, it was certainly likely to be a detriment to the Destroyers’ chances against the Bulldogs.

Well, his teammates did just fine without him, thanks very much.

After holding Dayton to a three-and-out on its first possession, Dunellen got an 81-yard touchdown run by Elijah Duplesis on its first play from scrimmage to take a 6-0 lead (they failed on the two-point run) that they would never relinquish.

Aidan Sangiray is all smiles after a career-high rushing performance in Dunellen’s season opening win over Dayton, 18-7 at home on September 1, 2023. (Photo: Dylan Allen)

While Dunellen (1-0) held Dayton to 87 yards of total offense in the first half – and just one first down – the Destroyers added another score late in the first quarter on a 10-yard run by Aidan Sangiray.

Dayton (0-1) cut it to 12-8 on a 51-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter by quarterback John John DeSarno, but that was all they’d get.

While Sangiray was rushing toward a career high 153 yards on 22 carries, he added a one-yard TD run in the third to give his team an 18-7 lead that would hold until the final horn.

Click below for postgame recation from Dunellen head coach Dave DeNapoli and senior Aidan Sangiray:

Dunellen senior Aidan Sangiray
Dunellen head coach Dave DeNapoli
by Mike Pavlichko

Dunellen looks for revenge against Dayton to open Destroyers’ ’23 campaign

Last year’s 3-7 Dunellen team almost got off on the right foot.

The Destroyers were up in Springfield to play Dayton and held the Bulldogs scoreless in the first half. The problem was Dunellen couldn’t score either.

Dayton got the first two touchdowns, and Dunellen answered with a kick return to the house by Chiekezie Ogbuewu to make it 14-8, but that was as close as they could get.

This year, Dunellen – with a 25-man roster, now 24 with Ogbuewu unavailable Friday – will try and flip the script when Dayton comes down to Middlesex County to open the season.

You can hear it all on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen on the call. Kickoff is at 7:00 from Columbia Park, with pregame set for 6:45. Click here to listen.

Dunellen runs the tough-to-defend double-wing offense, with some single-wing mixed in. It’s been dubbed the “offense in a phone booth,” and though head coach Dave DeNapoli says the goal is “two-and-a-half yards a carry” – they rarely throw the ball, if ever – it has been known to break some big runs.

They’ll need that in order to have a successful season in 2023.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko preview the Dunellen-Dayton game with Destroyers’ head coach Dave DeNapoli: