Football player of the year changed positions before taking Mater Dei to the quarterfinals
Zach Napovanice didn’t know what to think when he heard the rumors last summer.
One of the top wide receivers in southern Illinois with 60 receptions and over 700 receiving yards during the past two seasons, the Mater Dei senior heard from a former Knights quarterback that coach Jim Stiebel was considering moving him to running back for his senior season.
At first, it wasn’t an idea the 5-11, 185-pound Napovanice relished.
“I was working out with the team this summer and former teammate Travis (Jasper) told me that coach (Stiebel) was considering moving me to running back and said that maybe I should consider giving it a try,” he said. “At first I’m like ‘I’ve been doing well at wide receiver, why would coach want to change that up.’
“But the more I thought about it, we had what we needed at the wide receiver spot and with Logan (Ratermann) gone we needed someone to step in to be a leader at running back and fill that role. I think I did that well.’’
Stiebel said he saw Napovanice work out in the backfield early last summer and liked what he saw from the outset.
“He was smooth. For someone who hadn’t really played running back, (Zach) was really smooth running between the tackles,” Stiebel said. “He’s very quick too and was able to hit the holes and just did an excellent job for this football program.
“He’s also matured the last couple of years. He was a little wild his sophomore year, but really became one of our leaders.”
Napovanice did far more than fill a role for the Knights during the 2019 season as he became one of the most versatile backs in the state for a team which finished 10-2 and reached the Class 3A playoff quarterfinals.
Maintaining his ability to catch the football, Napovanice had 57 receptions for 639 yards and six touchdowns as junior quarterback Reed Braundmeier’s top receiver. But as a running back, he was off the charts.
Playing the position like a seasoned veteran, Napovanice ran the football 213 times for 1,531 yards and 19 touchdowns. His combined total of 25 touchdowns and 154 points ranked him in the top seven in the entire St. Louis area in scoring.
With those impressive numbers as a leader both on and off the football field, Napovanice was the clear choice of area coaches as the Belleville News-Democrat Small School (Class 1A-4A) Offensive Player of the Year.
Napovanice’s emergence as a star in the backfield hasn’t gone unnoticed by the college scouts, either.
Quincy University and Augustana College have inquired about possibly having him join their programs beginning later this summer. That’s if the three-sport standout decides to play college football.
“If I had to decide right now? I would probably play college baseball. I went and visited Quincy last week and I liked it. Coach (Stiebel) is also looking into a couple of schools,” he said.
“Honestly I wasn’t even going to play football when I came in here (Mater Dei) as a freshman. I was just going to concentrate on basketball and baseball, but I had some friends who talked me into it. The success I had as a running back this season is a little surprising, but I know all the hard work that I have put in.”
With Braundmeier directing the offense and Napovanice terrorizing the opposition from all over the field, the Knights featured one of the top offenses in Southern Illinois, averaging 36 points per game and scoring 40 or more points four times.
“We had everything necessary to make up a good offense. Reed (Braundmeier) came in and had an excellent season at quarterback, we had a good running game and we had the wide receivers. Our offensive line was very good too,” Napovanice said.
“Honestly the transition from wide receiver to running back wasn’t that difficult because I think I have a pretty good understanding of the game. I had also run a couple of plays out of the backfield the year before, so I knew the plays and where I needed to go.”
Mater Dei lost its season opener to Effingham (32-28) in a game suspended by lightning then continued the following day.
The Knights then ran off a 10-game winning streak before falling to Quincy Notre Dame (21-1 9) in the Class 3A quarterfinals. The Knights defeated Notre Dame 42-20 in week six of the regular season.
“It just wasn’t our day. We made some mistakes and they, as a good team does, took advantage of those mistakes,” Napovaince said. “It was disappointing, but Notre Dame has a tremendous program.”
2019 BELLEVILLE NEWS-DEMOCRAT SMALL SCHOOL ALL-AREA FOOTBALL TEAM
COACHES OF THE YEAR
Stephen Kozuszek, Nashville, and Jim Stiebel, Mater Dei
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
RB: Zach Napovanice, Mater Dei, sr. (213 rushing attempts, 1,531 yards, 19 TD; 57 receptions, 637 yards, 6 TD)
FIRST TEAM
QB: Cole Malawy, Nashville, jr. (215 for 335, 3,106 yards, 34 TD, 13 INT)
RB: Donavan Bieber, Columbia, sr. (114 attempts, 1,071 yards, 17 TD’s )
RB: Zach Napovanice, Mater Dei, sr. ((213 rushing attempts, 1,531 yards, 19 TD; 57 receptions, 637 yards, 6TD)
WR-TE: Isaac Turner, Nashville, soph. (58 recep. 958 yards, 9 TD)
WR-TE: Mitchell Haake, Mater Dei, jr. (46 recep 919 yards, 9 TD)
WR-TE: Sam Horner, Columbia, sr. (25 recep. 447 yards, 11 TD)
OL: Ryan Hornbostel, Columbia, sr.
OL: Braden Rensing, Central, soph.
OL: Bennet Krebs, Mater Dei, sr.
OL: Neil Kabat, Nashville, sr.
OL Rhyker Rees, Nasshville, jr.
(Tie) OL: Chase Napier, Columbia, sr.
PK: Grant Cox, Mater Dei, jr. (1 FG, 45 PAT, 48 points)
SECOND TEAM
QB: Nic Horner, Columbia, sr. (90-for-132, 1,606 yards, 24 TD’s, 3 interceptions; 52 rushing attempts, 512 yards, 8 TD)
(Tie) QB: Reed Braundmeier, Mater Dei, jr. (166-for-277, 2,527 yards, 24 TD, 5 interceptions)
RB: Tyler Huegen, Central, sr. (202 attempts, 1,171 yards, 14 TD)
RB: Julian Metcalf, Nashville, sr. (195 attempts, 1,100 yards, 29 TD)
WR:TE: Shane Becker, Central, jr. (35 receptions, 703 yards, 6TD)
WR-TE: Londyn Little, Columbia, sr. (35 catches, 624 yards, 7 TD)
WR-TE: Ben Kassen, Mater Dei, sr. (38 receptions, 658 yards, 5 TD)
OL: Jacob Blasdel, Freeburg, sr.
OL: Mack Harris, Althoff, sr.
OL: Kade Ridgeway, Nashville, soph.
OL: Tyler Timmermann, Mater Dei, sr.
OL: Matt Wiegard, Red Bud, sr.
PK: Sam Horner, Columbia, sr. (39 PAT)
HONORABLE MENTION
Quarterback: Kyle Athmer, Central
Running back: Ronnie Hunsaker, Columbia; Curtis Sharp, Althoff; D’Shawn Williams, Althoff; Frank Ford, Red Bud; Chase Ward, Red Bud; Lucas Stone, Freeburg
Wide Receiver: Nick Alberico, Althoff; Gavin Baldwin, Nashville; Jaxon Goforth, Nashville; Nick Miller, Nashville; Jake Taylor, Dupo; Parker VanDorn, Red Bud
Lineman: Drew Lange, Carlyle; Brad Mertz, Red Bud; Jackson VonBokel, Mater Dei; Blaize Schellenger, Mater Dei; Camden Snow, Mater Dei; Nick Greenwood, Althoff
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
