St. Augustine head coach Mark Reardon is 33-8 in his four seasons leading the Hermits. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

St. Augustine Prep just completed one of its best seasons in school history. The Hermits finished with a 9-1 record, the 2015 Cape-Atlantic League title and the No. 1 ranking in the Footballstories Top 20 High School Football Teams of South Jersey for 2015.

“We had a really solid year,” head coach Mark Reardon said. “I think the biggest thing from my perspective with the kids is they play hard every week, and they did that. No matter what happened, they showed up to work and to practice. When game day rolled around they played the way I hoped they would play.”

St. Augustine fell short though on the ultimate goal, losing to St. Joseph Regional in the first round of the NJSIAA Group 4 Non-Public tournament.

Reardon said he is happy with the body of work his teams have put forth during the first four years as head coach. The Hermits are 33-8 during his tenure.

“Consistency at the high school level is one of the attributes in terms of success that you hoped you would have,” Reardon said. “To me, our kids displayed that.”

Like all high school and college coaches do, Reardon reflected on contributions his seniors made this year and took a look at his players coming back.

Quarterback Jose Tabora is a key player who will be lost to graduation as will linemen Stephen Armstrong, Trevor Malaszecki and Blaine Fox. Tabora passed for 1,484 yards this season and 17 touchdowns. He rushed for 302 yards and three more TDs.

The offensive line, led by the seniors, helped the Hermits offense produce a total of 4,313 yards and 51 touchdowns.

Reardon talked about how much each player meant to his team’s success this year.
“One of the things we pinpoint offensively in particular is the ability to run the ball,” Reardon said. “That’s one of the things you can control in terms of a game. If you control the clock, you control your opponent. When you can run the ball you can do a lot of different things. And that has everything to do year-in-and-year-out with your O-line.”

The coach said he didn’t want to take anything away from his quarterback, but Reardon acknowledged, as most football coaches do, success starts up front.

“The guys up front are really what dictate our tempo offensively,” Reardon said. “Those three seniors, Blaine Fox, Trevor Malaszecki and Stephen Armstrong have been key components to our success and our ability to do the things we wanted to do offensively and they’re going to be really, sorely missed.

“In terms of Jose, he’s been a three-year starter for us at quarterback. He’s a mature kid. He’s allowed us to do a lot of different things that you can’t normally do with a high school kid because he gets it. He understands what we’re trying to do. He allows us to make the adjustments at that are necessary to get in and out of plays and to be able to be consistent offensively. Probably more important that, he’s a tremendous leader for us. He’s a great character kid and that brought a lot to the program.”

St. Augustine seniors pose one last time. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

Reardon will have some of his top players returning in 2016 as well as new players in the wing, especially in the trenches.

Sophomore running back Kyle Dobbins tops the list. In 2015 the 5-foot-10, 170 pounder rushed 169 times for 1613 and 19 touchdowns.

Junior Ezekiel Ennis, a versatile running back/receiver carried the ball 70 times for 550 yards and eight touchdowns. The 5-8, 160 pounder also caught 24 passes 564 yards and four more scores.
Freshman running back True Robinson showed promise in the six games he played with 36 carries for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

“Our backfield is very, very good,” Reardon said. “Kyle has been the feature guy this year and got the bulk of the carries. But Ezekiel has played basically everything for us from receiver to a wildcat quarterback to running back. He’s one of our best secondary players. So he is a really, really big contributor. True Robinson, the young freshman, we think has a very bright future.”

The offensive line will no doubt be a question mark for Reardon. To lose three players who helped get your program started and win a lot of games, will not be easy. The coach said he has some trench players in the wings.

“We have a group of young kids that we’re really excited about,” Reardon said. “Paul Meduri (5-11, 311 pound junior) started all 10 games for us. Also Christopher Mayo (6-3, 280 pound freshman) will be counted on next season. Then we’ve has some guys who are very good players and were behind seniors who knew what they were doing and took control of the unit. We have some guys who are right behind them who hopefully are going to step in and fill their shoes.”

Two of the biggest challenges that Reardon has to deal with going forward are how to keep the balance of new players coming in who can play at a high level and keep the winning tradition he created alive and how to get over the hump that are the powerhouse programs in North Jersey such as Don Bosco Prep, St. Peter’s Prep, Seton Hall Prep, St. Joseph Regional and Bergen Catholic.

Those programs are in the Hermits way of winning a Group 4 Non-Public State title.

“It’s a good question,” Reardon said of keeping a balance of talent coming into the program. “It’s a challenge. You’re at the high school level and you only get what shows up. For us it starts and ends with our weight room and what we do in the off season. How we win and lose games in the fall from what we do in the spring and summer. We have really focused on the development of our kids. And continuing to push them through the offseason to continue in the weight room and to do some things over the summer that maybe they’re not going to do at other places. Our development will guarantee our success in the future.”

Reardon admitted the schools up North have a distinct size advantage. How can he overcome that?

“You’re right…that’s a great question, we’re in the process of figuring that out,” Reardon said with a laugh. “A lot has to do with the population between here and up there. For us we have to hope to continue to attract some kids who are committed to football and do the things we need them to do. At the same time…our pool is our pool….we have to do as good a job as we can to develop our kids, get them strong in the weight room. When we play in those games, I think we’ve been competitive. We do need to take the next step. That is something programmatically that is very important for us. We’re going to continue to work and hopefully close the gap a little bit, but that’s the goal. It’s a challenge.

“No one rises to low expectations,” Reardon continued. If we say we want to have a winning record and be the best team in South Jersey, that’s all good. Our goal is to win the State Championship.”