St. Peter's Prep Marauders

Big dreams ahead

Savon Huggins St. Peter's Prep

Junior Savon Huggins (right) is one of the state's best running backs

Click Here for more photos from St. Peter's Prep practice.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

JERSEY CITY – After being the dominant football power in Hudson County for more than a decade, the Marauders are ready for their toughest challenge to date. With their sights set on a state championship and a possible national ranking, St. Peter’s Prep enters the season with a grueling schedule that includes Don Bosco, Bergen Catholic, St. Joseph of Montvale and St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia. It’s a challenge that Hansen relishes for his Maraduers squad that is ranked fifth in the state.

“We feel we’ve upgraded our schedule,” Hansen said. “It’s where we need to be and where we should be. Anything less would be a disservice to the program. This is what high school football is all about going in great venues and playing against great teams in great environments with a lot on the line. We’re excited about it.”

Hansen and the Marauders have plenty of reason to be excited about the upcoming season with 13 returning starters and a collection of athletes that are amongst the best in the state.

The past few years have not ended the way Hansen and the Marauders have liked as Don Bosco has ended their season in unceremonious fashion each of the past three seasons. This year, the Marauders hope to reverse this recent trend and take home their first state title since 2005.

“To do what we need to do, with this schedule, you need to have consistency and you need to have toughness,” Hansen said. “One thing these guys know, if we are successful with our schedule, we’ll be a highly ranked national team and the top team in the state.”

Offensive Overview:

Keith Lumpkin Anthony Wilkins St. Peter's Prep

Keith Lumpkins (left) and Anthony Wilkins (right) are two returning starters for Prep.

You’d be hard pressed to find a running back duo as talented as juniors Savon Huggins and Sheldon Royster. Huggins rushed for 15 touchdowns a year ago in part-time action, while Royster moves into the second spot this season. Both players are considered among the top junior prospects in the country.

We all know they can fly, but they’re also pretty physically gifted kids in terms of their size and strength,” Hansen said. “They’re running with a great physicality now. Combined with their speed, they’re going to be tremendous weapons.”

With Huggins and Royster in the backfield, senior Corey Davis moves over to a slot receiver. Hansen has made it a priority to “design five things to get the ball in (Corey’s) hands now.”

Davis’ shift to receiver is a key part of a Prep offense that will feature more downfield passing under senior QB Raphael Ortiz. Ortiz isn’t a running threat that previous Marauder quarterbacks Will Hill and Justin Perez were, but Hansen believes that Ortiz has the strongest arm of the trio.

“(Raphael’s) a terrific quarterback,” Davis said. “He puts it right in the perfect spot. You can think you have perfect coverage on us, but he always finds the open seams.”

Brendan Donalghan, Joe Vescey and sophomores Najee Glass Glass and J.R. Robinson will also play key roles at receiver. Kevin Innis is a reliable target that returns as the starting tight end.

Four starters return on the St. Peter’s offensive line including left tackle Jake Kaufman, right tackle Keith Lumpkin, right guard Anthony Wilkins and center Dillon Ormiston. With Kaufman and Lumpkin standing in at 6-foot-8 and Wilkins at 6-foot-4, 330 pounds, the Marauders line might be the biggest in the state.

Defensive Overview:

Sheldon Royster St. Peter's Prep

Junior Sheldon Royster is a big hitter with elite speed at free safety.

St. Peter’s returns three starting linebackers from last year with outside linebacker Keith Cummings along with Innis and Gianni McLaughlin manning the inside. A.J. Dobson and James Fox are in a tight battle for the fourth starting spot and should both see plenty of time.

The Marauders will have three new starters on the defensive line, but have a deep group there headlined by Chike Gomez, Dane Long, Blake Shapshinsky, Mark Rivas, Lumpkin and Wilkins.

Davis and Huggins are returning starters at cornerback along with Royster at free safety. D.J. Singelton takes over at strong safety in a secondary that will also feature Brandon Napoleon and Ducarmel Hyacinthe.

Star Spotlight: Corey Davis, WR/CB/KR

Corey Davis St. Peter's Prep

Senior Corey Davis had 800 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns last year.

At 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, Corey Davis doesn’t fit the profile of a physical cornerback. Looks are quite deceiving in Davis’ case as the diminutive corner isn’t afraid to get rough with tough receivers in order to achieve not just a physical edge, but a mental one as well.

“I like to be real physical with all receivers, whether I’m jamming (them) or not,” said Davis, a three-year starter. “I like to get in their head a little bit and after every play they flinch a little bit.”

“(Corey) plays possum a lot with receivers,” Hansen said. He knows when to break on the ball, where to break on the ball. He has terrific corner instincts and the thing that’s really important is that he’s mentally tough.”

In addition to cornerback, Davis is the Marauders top kick returner and coverage man on punts. On the offensive side of the ball, Davis shifts from running back to wide receiver. While Davis is no longer a running back, and has spent a lot of the summer working on his route running.

“He’s got an unparalleled work ethic,” Hansen said. “The kid never shuts down.”

A host of Division I programs, including Pittsburgh, Maryland, Syracuse and West Virginia have expressed an interest in Davis as a receiver or defensive back.