Will their ship come in?

This is the last year for the St. John Neumann football team — at least in its current form. It’ll be back in some incarnation, but its nickname and colors will change once the school merges with St. Maria Goretti.

The players and coaches want to give the Pirates faithful something special to remember the program by — a Catholic League title.

"It’s having a real effect on us," senior Joe Sandefur said of the impending change. "We are going to be the last class to graduate from Neumann, and we want to go out with a championship."

Coach Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo, who attended Neumann as a student and returned as an athletic director and coach, said the school’s closing is heartbreaking, but he’s still staying focused on his team’s goals.

"We want to leave a mark on the league," he said. "We’ve been to the semifinals three times in a row. Now it’s time to take it one more step."

The Pirates just missed advancing to last year’s championship game when they lost 55-48 to regular-season champ West Catholic in the semifinals. The game shattered all sorts of Catholic League and city records, including most points scored by two city teams (92), two Catholic League teams (91) and two teams in a Catholic League playoff game (76). The returning players still feel the sting of being on the losing end of the playoff thriller, but that’ll be just another motivating factor this season.

"We are always going to keep in mind that 55-48 loss to West Catholic," said Sandefur, who will get his chance at revenge Oct. 4. "After we saw the tape of the game for the first time, it stuck with us."

On Saturday, the Pirates opened the 2003 season with a 30-6 win over North Catholic in their annual Beach Bowl in Wildwood, N.J.

Senior Billy Canady led the way with 58 total yards and two rushing touchdowns, while he recorded one of two Neumann interceptions on defense. Junior defensive end Michael Evans returned an interception for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Jon Brady tallied 119 passing yards, while senior running back Richard McMickens added 75 rushing yards.

The yearly Labor Day weekend event dates back to the 1990 season, but this is the first year that the win counts in the division standings. That’s because North Catholic has moved down to the lower-enrollment Blue Division, in which Neumann also plays.

As a result, Neumann and its division mates will now play eight regular-season games. On Saturday, the Pirates will have another early test at McDevitt, who also finished 4-3 last season. McDevitt won last year’s regular-season meeting, but the Pirates avenged the loss with an opening-round playoff win. In past seasons, Neumann had three weeks of exhibition games before starting the regular season, but the players don’t seem concerned about the change.

"It doesn’t make a difference," McMickens said. "We’ll be ready to play."

On offense, the Pirates will again rely on Brady, who passed for 1,042 yards last season. Neumann’s offense led the division with 91.4 passing yards per game. Brady’s two favorite targets, Jack Hatty and Al Meacham, who combined for 698 yards and four touchdowns, have moved to the college ranks. Senior Chris Meccariello, who played junior varsity last season, is ready to be the new top receiver. He dedicated several days of his summer vacation to working on timing with his good friend Brady. It showed in last week’s scrimmage against Penn Wood, where Meccariello caught two passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

"I am definitely mentally and physically ready to step into the starting role," he said. "I would be disappointed if I didn’t do as good as those guys did last year."

Junior Antoine Stout and senior Mike Matteo also are expected to figure into the receiving mix.

The biggest void on offense was left by record-breaking running back Jimmy Porreca, who broke the Pirates’ single-season mark of 1,667 yards and led the offense with 162 points. Canady and McMickens, who combined for more than 1,000 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season, are ready to carry the rushing load. Their contributions helped the Pirates average more than 223 rushing yards a game, which ranked third best in the division.

"I am not worried about any records," McMickens said. "I just want to win."

The quarterback and running backs will get plenty of help up front from returning starters Sandefur, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, and junior Marques Slocum, 6-foot-5, 315 pounds.

DiCamillo expects senior linebackers Frank Baldino, John Grimes and Darryl Gillard to be key to the defense.

The Neumann players face many formidable challenges, including an Oct. 25 home game against three-time defending champion Archbishop Carroll. On Oct. 4, the Pirates will visit West Catholic, home of Curtis "Boonah" Brinkley, who needs fewer than 1,000 yards to become the city’s all-time rushing leader.

The strategy is to take each game as it comes in what could be a tight race. The first- and second-place teams earn a first-round playoff bye, and get an extra week to prepare for that big semifinal game the Pirates have every intention of winning.

"They think they can do it," DiCamillo said. "The young kids have really been a plus filling in the backup positions."

2003 Schedule

All Neumann home games are played at 12th and Bigler streets.

*Non-league game

2002 Blue Division Standings

West Catholic 6-1

Carroll 6-1

Conwell-Egan 5-2

McDevitt 4-3

Neumann 4-3

Kennedy-Kenrick 2-5

Wood 1-6

Dougherty 0-7

At press time, the Catholic school teachers’ strike was not expected to affect the Catholic League football schedule.