Team at a glance

Nickname Chargers
Colors Red, black and white
Stadium St. Joseph Field, 10900 W. Cermak Road, Westchester
Enrollment 813
Class 5A
Coach Mark Zavagnin (2nd year, 0-9)
2007 record 0-9
Conference 0-7

Top returners
Tim Kelly sr. RB/LB
T.J. Lee sr. RB/LB
Sean McCoy sr. OL/DL
Joe Stella sr. OL/DL
Ron Moore sr. WR/LB
Cam Meredith jr. QB
Anthony Boddy jr. WR/LB
Dan Quintana jr. WR/S
Sterling Jackson jr. WR/CB
Will Brennan sr. OL

Promising newcomers
Pat Murray jr. OL
Ladell Nance jr. CB
Donovan Rush sr. CB
Lee Agdohlah jr. DL
Des Robins sr. DL

2008 schedule
Aug. 29 at Ridgewood, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 6 Argo, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 12 at Benet, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 Marian Catholic, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 3 at St. Patrick, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 Carmel, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 at Nazareth, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 25 St. Viator, 1 p.m.

Games to watch
Aug. 29 at Ridgewood Chargers open with back-to-back winnable games before heading into the conference season
Sept. 6 vs. Argo Second of the Chargers nonconference games
Oct. 18 at Nazareth Crosstown rivalry game always brings out the best in both teams

Five-year record
overall conference playoffs
‘07 0-9 0-7
‘06 0-9 0-7
‘05 0-9 0-9
‘04 0-9 0-9
‘03 0-9 0-9
Win wanted
Unfortunately for St. Joseph, the biggest story heading into a season seems to be that the Chargers are looking to break their winless streak. Though the Chargers showed marked improvement in 2007, they still couldn’t dent the ‘W’ column.
The team’s current losing streak is at 45 as the last win came in Week 9 of the 2002 season against Champaign Ursuline. The Chargers have had several close calls in the past few years. The had a second-quarter lead on Marist in last year’s finale, and the fell 26-20 to CICS in Week 2 of the 2006 season. Also, in 2005, the Chargers had another epic battle with Marist, which was taken of the schedule this season, falling 35-24 after holding a second-half lead.

Roster rejoice
St. Joseph finally has numbers in its favor. After years of barely 25 players on the varsity roster, the Chargers will carry 33 this season. Most importantly, they have 54 freshmen in the program this year. Though it will still take a few years for those players to be varsity ready, it’s obvious St. Joseph is getting the players in who can help.
“The key thing is about half of those 54 have played organized football before,” Zavagnin said. “The year before, only about four of 38 had played organized football. For them to be familiar with the game is key because before it seemed like they came out for the team just because it was a hobby. We’ve made ourselves visible in the community and have let them know that St. Joseph is an option.”

Meridith’s mission
Last year, the Chargers had a two-man rotation at quarterback in Meredith and James DeSanto. DeSanto graduated and the reins now belong to Meredith exclusively. The junior was solid in the games he appeared in as a sophomore and he should provide the Chargers with solid leadership for the next two seasons.
“Last year was a huge help for him because it got him accustomed to the speed of playing the varsity game,” Zavagnin said. “His maturation has been fun to watch.”
The key for Meredith has been his mental preparation. For St. Joseph to turn around its program, its going to need a leader and some stability at the quarterback position. Zavagnin said Meredith is willing to seek out criticism in order to improve.

On the run
St. Joseph, in the past, has been weak at both running the ball and stopping the run. With just 15-20 players on varsity, it relied on many two-way players. The Chargers’ recent surge in numbers means added depth. Zavagnin feels that depth — as well as talent — will help revitalize the Chargers’ run-game and run-stop.
“It’s still hard to say because we’ve only been scrimmaging with ourselves, but I really hope that teams try to run on us this year,” he said. “I think that Tim Kelly has as much ability as any back in our conference.”
The Chargers have both Kelly and Lee in the backfield and have a solid front six on defense who are big and quick with good football instincts.

SENIOR SAYS
Joe Stella
Coming off another 0-9 season, what’s the mindset of the team?
“Last year, we had a new coach, but he’s been able to work with us now for a year and he had the whole offseason to put in the offensive system. Seeing this is our second year under this system, I think we’re going to be successful this year. Coach Z has us a lot more competitive and a lot more confident.”

Do you feel like you’re closing the gap in the ESCC?
Definitely. We’ve gotten much more competitive against some of the teams and I look forward to playing some of those big teams. We’re building up to be able to battle them every year and give them a game.

Is there one thing that you guys really improved on in the offseason?
“Our weight-lifting program. In the past, we never really had a set program and we really worked out in the offseason. Our team has gotten a lot stronger and a lot faster.”

How do you look offensively and defensively?
“Offensively, we’re going to be good. We have a lot of backs returning with experience and that’s going to help us. We have a good offensive line, too. Our D-Line and linebackers are all solid, too. We have a lot of guys back from last year, which is going to help us tremendously.”

How much does it help having the same coaching staff and system back?
“That familiarity does help. Until this year, I’ve had a different coach every year here. It’s nice to have the same coach back because then you’re not forced to learn an entirely different system, we can just concentrate on football. Now, we can just go out there and play.”