Kean football ends season with four wins, finishes second in conference play

By Ruben Nieves | Published by December 24, 2021

Kean’s football team ends the season at 4-5, defeating Montclair State 15-7 in their final home game and finishing second in the NJAC conference, despite there being no NJAC playoffs this year and being unable to compete for an NJAC championship.

The team did face some early adversity after starting their season on a three-game losing streak but were able to turn it around and win their next three games. Head coach Dan Garrett believes the key to the turnaround was the team stuck together.

“They were frustrated, but they didn’t lose hope, they knew that 0-3 in out-of-conference play didn’t determine what your status was in conference,” Garrett said. “I think the vision we created as a coaching staff was to let them know that everyone in our conference no matter what they did outside of the conference is 0-0 and we hang our hat on that mantra.”

Dante Capozzoli, a senior linebacker, did not anticipate a start of the season that they had but always had faith in his teammates.

“We are a special group of guys we needed to stop giving up the big plays on defense,” Capozzoli said. “We did just that which caused us to go on a three-game win streak.”

Although there were no NJAC playoffs this year for football, a champion was determined who had the best conference record, and Kean finished second. Capozzoli was disappointed that there were no playoffs.

“Of course, I was disappointed,” Capozzoli said. “Any opportunity to have another chance to play with my team, count me in.”

Although they couldn’t compete in an NJAC playoff tournament, Anthony Bassani, a senior safety, said his takeaway from the season is that the team never gave up.

“We kept fighting through the adversity, we weren’t handed any of the games we won,” said Bassani. “We had to fight until the clocks hit zero.”

Bassani was not disappointed that the team came up short in conference play because he is still proud of his team.

“I’m not so disappointed because I’m so proud of how this team came together,” Bassani said. “When everyone counted us out to finish last, we finished second in the conference despite starting 0-3.”

As the season has ended, Garrett learned so much about his team and believes with this young team the experience will help them for next season.

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“We have a bunch of great kids, I told them at the end, there’s nothing short of amazing and special,” Garrett said. “We have kids who have phenomenal resiliency that is able to persevere through ups and downs and work their tail off every day.”

Recruitment begins for Kean football and Garret has already had a meeting about recruiting.

“There’s going to be positional needs at every position, we need to fill some spots on defense and some key spots to perform better on offense,” Garrett said. “We are looking at bringing in 30 new players and getting our roster up to 115, 120 with the 89 players on the team.”

In mid-November, it was announced that Garrett was named NJAC Co-Coach of the Year. Five players were named to the All- NJAC First Team, and three players were named to All-NJAC Second team. Capozzoli was one of the players selected on the first team.

“I was definitely excited about it,” Capozzoli said. “I was more excited that guys like KT, Nicky Firth, Aaron, and Smoke got recognized for their outstanding play this year as well. Everyone on this team played a very important role in the season it is nice to see some get recognized for being atop in the extremely talented NJAC.”

It was also announced that Capozzoli was selected to participate in the FCS National Bowl.

“I’m extremely blessed,” Capozzoli said. “The first thing I did was call my parents, they helped me get to this point in my life and I had to thank them for everything they have given me and sacrificed for me to be in this spot.”

Bassani was one of the three players who was selected to the second team, he was shocked he was selected.

“I was shocked to be honest,” Bassani said. “I’m still grateful to be All-NJAC.”

Bassani, a senior, will be returning for the fifth year to Kean.

“I am coming back for the fifth year and starting my master’s degree,” Bassani said. “My time playing football at Kean was the best decision of my life. I learned so much more than just football. Our program Kulture is real. I’ll be forever grateful that I was a part of a program this special.”

Capozzoli, a senior, played his final season this year, he calls it the greatest four years of his life.

“Coach G really changed my life,” Capozzoli said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at Kean, whether it’s the school in general or just football, we were taken care of.”

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