KJ Duff of St. Anthony's returns the opening kick 95...

KJ Duff of St. Anthony's returns the opening kick 95 yards for a touchdown during a non-league football game against Delbarton (N.J.) at St. Anthony's on Saturday. Credit: James Escher

The first day of St. Anthony’s football season couldn’t have started much better and couldn’t have ended much worse.

The defending CHSFL and state Catholic champion still has one of the area’s best players in Korey Duff Jr. and the 6-5 Rutgers commit greeted the season by returning the opening kickoff from Delbarton (N.J.) 90 yards for a touchdown.

The excitement in that moment stood in stark contrast to the disappointment engulfing the Friars after the 34-13 non-conference trouncing by the powerhouse Green Wave at St. Anthony’s Cy Donnelly Field. There was a recognition that the 2022 team was special and that graduation has left big shoes to fill all over the starting lineup.

“We’re a really young team,” senior linebacker Dante Vardaro said. “We’ve got a lot of new players, especially at quarterback, o-line and even receiver . . . And for them, this was our first game on the big stage. Progressing throughout the season, we're going to have a lot to work on, but it's a stepping stone, a good lesson. There's a lot we're going to learn . . . . and from here we can only go up."

Delbarton responded to the open salvo by scoring the next five touchdowns to take a 34-7 lead. Junior quarterback Gary Merrill – who shared the job about equally with sophomore starter Peyton Robinson – provided the Friars’ most impressive play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter, shaking off a would-be tackler in the backfield and going 26 yards for a touchdown.

Merrill and Robinson are seeking to fill perhaps the biggest hole on the Friars after Dante Torres, the Gregg Sarra Trophy winner as Long Island top offensive player, moved on to Harvard. Robinson was 6-for-11 passing for 77 yards; he rushed for 22 yards but his fumble opened the door for Philip Folmar’s 2-yard touchdown run right before the teams went to half with St. Anthony's trailing 20-6. Merrill completed one short pass and rushed for 39 yards including the score.

“It’s a lot of replacements,” Duff said. “We could take a lot of downfield shots last year [with Torres] and these guys definitely have big shoes to fill. But I believe they will fill them.”

Asked if stepping into the starting role came with nerves, Robinson said “I’m really not like that. . . . there’s better games coming.”

Delbarton, a New Jersey state semifinalist last season, had physical line play that opened holes on offense and made eight tackles for a loss.

Asked about the line play, Friars coach Joe Minucci replied “it's definitely something that needs to improve – without a doubt.”

Ryan Trafford rushed 14 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns, Brock Dandridge rushed 17 times for 108 yards and Christian Zebrowski was 14-for-18 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns for Delbarton. The Wave had 387 yards from the line of scrimmage, compared with St. Anthony’s 154.

“We know who we are,” Minucci said. “We know we got some young guys playing. They're going to keep working and getting better.

“We can do things on film and on the field. But really, at the end of the day, [getting better] just comes from inside of every player.”

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