Despite slow start, Kean football confident to turn season around

By Ruben Nieves | Published by October 22, 2021

Football is back at Kean, and fans are back to attending games. It is the first time fans have been allowed at games since 2019. Despite a slow start to the season, the team is hopeful they can turn it around ahead of conference play.

With fans attending games, Dante Capozzoli, a fifth-year linebacker, describes having fans back as a great environment.

“There’s nothing like running out onto the field with all of the fans cheering for us,” Capozzoli said. “It really motivates the whole team.”

After missing out last season, Garrett said everyone is excited to be back playing the game.

 “It’s phenomenal,” Garrett said. “The expectations coming back were to hopefully get back to normal; there have been adjustments for coaches and players because there were eighteen months where there was nothing normal.”

While not the beginning they wanted, Coach Garrett sees some positives in the way the team has been playing.

“We got great kids, they are all really doing a great job,” Garrett said. “We have to continue getting better and we will get better.”

With the positives, Garrett still sees some ways the team can improve their play within all three

phases of the game.

“On offense we need to sustain drives and be able to move the football,” Garrett said. “Defensively we need to limit the big play and take away the big play touchdown and it will lead to more wins.”

Capozzoli, who currently has 23 tackles on the season, also would like to see the defense improve.

“We need to eliminate the big plays,” Capozzoli said. “We are a very fundamentally sound defense but the big plays have been killing us lately.”

Capozzoli still loves how the team looks to improve during practice.

“I love how the team comes to practice every day ready to work,” Capozzoli said. “Another very big positive is everyone buying into the program from the freshman and transfers, all the way up to the seniors.”

This season, the team received new uniforms and Garrett likes the new uniforms for his team.

“I think we got swag, the swag meter went up,” Garrett said. “We have three different combinations. We can use the mixing and matching. We get more creative and they are sharp.”

Their uniforms consist of Carolina tops, a white top and navy top to mix with the white pants, navy pants, and Carolina pants.

Capozzoli, like Coach Garrett, was fired up after finding out about the new uniforms.

“It was such an awesome surprise,” Capozzoli said. “I think I speak for everyone when I say how blessed we are to receive such support from the president and the AD”.

As they look forward to the rest of the season, Garrett believes his team can turn their season around.

“One game changes everything, you get this win heading into next week, you want to springboard that win into conference play” Garrett said.

Capozzoli also expects the team to turn their season around.

“I expect us to take one week at a time and get to 1-0 every week,” Capozzoli said.

Capozzoli hopes to end this season with an NJAC championship.

“An NJAC championship has been the goal since I first stepped foot on this campus,” Capozzoli said.

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