Seton Hall Prep football team features talented corps

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WEST ORANGE, NJ — The 2024 Seton Hall Prep football team will once again be facing a very formidable slate of foes this season, and will be doing it with a predominantly inexperienced group on offense with just one starter returning.

The Pirates are coming off a 5-7 season in which they overcame an 0-3 start with a solid 3-1 finish, including earning an appearance in the Non-Public “A” state semifinals.

Still, with a wealth of talent on the roster, including a crop of young players, there is definitely excitement in the air at the Kelly Athletic Complex. The Pirates will open up the season hosting Union at 1 p.m. on Friday Aug. 30, at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in a first-ever meeting between these two storied programs.

“We are all focused on Union,” said seventh-year head coach Bill Fitzgerald. “They have a tremendous program with great tradition and they have done a terrific job recently while putting players in college. They are big, physical and fast, which is everything you want in a football team, so we better be ready to go at the end of August. Tony Verducci and Lou Rettino were legends, and those two men made a lasting mark at their schools and I know that I will be thinking of them and their families when we play each other.”

The majority of their schedule will be non-public powerhouses, beginning with St. Joseph (Montvale) at home on Saturday, Sept. 7, and continuing with others, such as DePaul on Sept. 20 away, longtime rival Delbarton, Saturday, Sept. 28, at home and concluding the regular season with road contests against Don Bosco Prep on Oct. 18 and Bergen Catholic on Nov. 2.

The Pirates are members of the Super Football Conference United White Division this season, along with DePaul, Delbarton, St. Peter’s Prep, and Pope John XXIII.

Seton Hall Prep graduated 29 seniors last June, including quarterback Liam Londerga (University of New Haven), running back Michael Dunmore (Choate-Rosemary Hall Prep school in Connecticut) and wide receiver Julius Vicari (Slippery Rock).

“A quick start is really important,” said senior defensive end and Fordham commit James Dunnemann II. “Last year, we did not begin very well, then we had a strong finish. I feel if we can get off to a hot start with this group, then we can build momentum, which will definitely help us make November special.”

The strength of the Pirates could be on defense, where four veteran senior starters return. They are linebackers Justin Cook and Dylan Gilmore, who is Jack Gilmore’s twin brother, and defensive ends Tyler Amato and Dunnemann.

“We have a ton of talent on all three sides of the ball,” said Cook, who has offers from the University of Massachusetts, Central Michigan and Bucknell. “But we definitely have the most experience on defense. The four of us have molded well together and are working hard to make sure we are on the same page.”

Gilmore added, “We have a lot of new, younger guys who are going to be awesome. The seniors have to embrace the responsibility of leading the way and we know our great coaches will coach them up, making sure they are always giving 100% no matter how things might be going at the moment of the game.” Gilmore has committed to Marist College.

The Pirates have a new defensive coordinator this season in former Hudson Catholic head coach Lou Zampella, who takes over for the legendary Ed Stinson. “It is not the easiest job any time you replace a legend in Ed, and I have big shoes to fill,” said Zampella. “I know that I am taking over a defense for a team where the kids are always coached up with a great staff.”

Offensively, it all starts with the quarterback position, which has two talented players competing for the starting job in senior Jack Gilmore and sophomore Kaden Davis. Fitzgerald said, “They are two tremendous young men and I know that our players are responding well to both of them as they compete for the starting job.”

Their top receiver returning is senior Caleb Pasols. “I am looking forward to taking on more responsibilities as a wide receiver this season,” Pasols said. “I am excited to see what our offense can do and watch our talented, young guys step up and get the job done.” Pasols has offers from Ithaca college and Alvernia University.

Junior Declan Farrell returns as the Pirate kicker and punter. “Jack Catchpole was a great kicker and I learned a lot from him last year and I feel that I am prepared to step in and try to repeat his success,” said Farrell.

In addition to a first-ever football game against Union, the Pirates will travel to Mineola, N.Y., and take on Chaminade High School on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m.

Schedule