Group Effort: 2025 St. John Vianney Football Preview

St. John Vianney finished the 2024 season strong winning 6 consecutive games before falling to Pope John in the Non-Public B Semifinals. Gone are many of the faces that made that run so memorable including last year’s Head Coach Bobby Acosta and New Jersey’s leading rusher, Abdul Turay, who earned Shore Sports Insider’s 2024 Shore Conference Football MVP honor after a season in which he rushed for a state-leading 2,517 yards and 37 touchdowns as a sophomore. The Lancers cannot rely on one person to pick up the slack after Turay transferred to St. Peter’s Prep. It will take a collective effort for the team to match or surpass last season’s results.

Greg Penta slides in as the newest head coach of the Lancers after a lengthy run as an assistant coach in the Shore Conference thirteen of which were under legendary Long Branch Head Coach Dan George.

“My 15th year in the Shore Conference and it’s an amazing conference with great coaches and great programs. This is my first year as a head coach and it’s been great. It really comes down to the players. They are easy to work with, are very coachable, and they want to be great. As far as being a first-year coach, it’s really been about inputting the systems I feel comfortable with. That’s what we started with right in June. We did not put a big emphasis on 7-on-7, we wanted to get our defense in, get our special teams in, get our offense in. We’re running a lot of 11-on-11, and even though it’s on air and you’re using bags and with no equipment on, that was the biggest hurdle, getting the terminology down. I think once the players realized that football is football, that things they did last year they’re doing this year, we just may call it something else, we’re over that hurdle now. Really impressed with the effort.”

The cupboard is far from bare at St. John Vianney where they return 7 starters on offense and 4 starters on defense in addition to a handful of talented transfers that will see the field.

 

Offense

Zach LaBarca (Sr., 6’1″, 190) returns as the starting quarterback after earning 2nd Team All-Shore honors during a season in which he threw for 1,903 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 750 yards and 5 touchdowns. LaBarca is one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the Shore Conference and will be become the focal point that defenses will attempt to slow down after Turay’s departure.

“He’s [LaBarca] super talented. I’m really excited to see how he plays once he’s able to run because in the scrimmages we didn’t do that. His accuracy has gotten better and better and he’s getting more comfortable with the offense. He looked really good in the scrimmages,” said Penta.

The Lancers will lean on Danny Breen (Sr., 5’11, 205) and Jackson Liberty transfer Corleii Thomas (Jr., 6’1″, 235) to replace some of Turay’s production out of the backfield. They will also use Manuel Rodriguez (Sr., 5’11”, 215) and junior Lucas Farah.

Adam Urs (Sr., 6’1″, 180) returns at wide receiver where he registered 26 catches for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns a year ago. Sophomores Noah Fitzpatrick and Khalyd Goodman-Ware will also start on the outside. DJ Carter (Sr., 5’10”, 165) will also see time in the receiving rotation. The tight end will be a huge target in Thomas Foley (Sr., 6’5″, 225) who started on defense last year.

The offensive line returns four starters from a year ago and looks to be a very promising unit with a significant amount of size. Rob Yakovchuk (Sr., 6’5″ 305), a Long Island commit and 3rd Team All-Shore selection a year ago, returns at left tackle. Jaizair Still (Sr., 5’10”, 270) returns at left guard. Jordan Malloy (Jr., 6’0″, 230) will return at center. At right guard, the Lancers return Francisco Rodriguez (Sr., 5’11”, 260). The only new starter on the line will be at right tackle where Myles Buszko (So., 6’0″, 230) will step in.

Freshman Justin Campesi will handle the placekicking duties.

 

Defense

Head Coach Greg Penta is very high on the defense particularly in the front seven.

“The front seven I think is our strength and there is some good size in there, Foley is 6-5, Rob is 6-4, Breen was All-Shore last year,” said Penta.

Foley returns on the edge where he registered 46 tackles including 15 for a loss a year ago. His counterpart at the other defensive end position will be Zeccariah Oladimeji (Sr., 6’0″, 190). The starting defensive tackles will be Still and Yakovchuk. Both Jordan Malloy and his younger brother Aaron, a sophomore, will also see snaps in the tackle rotation.

Breen, who was a 3rd Team All-Shore selection in 2024 when he registered 122 tackles, and Rodriguez return as starters at linebacker. The third starter will be senior Dom Bufano who saw time last year. Lakewood transfer Isaiah Shade, a junior, will also be in the mix.

Carter returns at one cornerback spot with Farah, Brayden Delavega (Jr., 5’11”, 165), and Goodman-Ware in the mix at the other cornerback spot. Urs will take over at one safety spot where he saw time a year ago in addition to being a starter on offense. The other safety will be sophomore Zach Silverman.

Urs will be the punter.

 

 

St. John Vianney at a glance 

Head coach: Greg Penta, 1st season

Career record: 0-0

2024 record: N/A

Offense: Multiple

Defense: Even Front

 

Coaching Staff

Defensive Coordinator: Mike Alberque

OL: Tyrell Smith

DL: Jay Graham

DL: John Kinzel

LB: Eddie Hernandez

WR: Danny Fierro

DB: Devron Clark

Athletic Trainers: Gabrielle Tantillo, Cheyenne Bennett

Circle the Date: Oct. 3 vs. Red Bank Catholic

All eyes will be on the rematch from last year’s state quarterfinal match-up won by the Lancers. Both teams return much of their talent from the past year so it will be many of the same players going at it between the lines once again. This game could have a major effect on seeding and potentially home field advantage in the Non-Public B state tournament.

Newcomer to Watch: Khalyd Goodman-Ware, So, WR

The sophomore could emerge as a weapon at wide receiver and a reliable cover corner on defense. Early reviews are that he is a very cerebral player with great football instincts.

Schedule 

Date      Opponent

08-29     @ Seton Hall Prep0

09-05    Raritan

09-12     Freehold Township

09-19     @ Point Boro

09-26     @ Manalapan

10-03      Red Bank Catholic

10-10       Howell

10-17      @ Jackson

10-24      Wall