Roommates together at the University of Massachusetts, Kyle Harrington and Chris Zardas will be travelling with their Minutemen football teammates this weekend - and hope they'll be able to do so again next weekend.
Harrington, a Salem native and Zardas, a former St. John's Prep star, both helped the Minutemen knock off Fordham this past Saturday, 49-35, in the first round of the Division 1 NCAA playoffs in Amherst. Harrington, a sophomore, had a strong game at nose tackle while Zardas, another sophomore who plays fullback, caught a 33-yard touchdown pass for his second score of the season.
UMass (10-2) now hits the road to face Southern Illinois (11-1) in Carbondale, Ill. this Saturday (3:30 p.m. EST). This marks the fifth straight season that the Salukis are in the playoffs.
Beverly's Armando Cuko, a junior kicker for the Minutemen, is the third local player on the roster.
"It's all pretty exciting," said Harrington, a former Salem High standout. "We hoped to play Eastern Illinois (which lost to Southern Illinos) to get another home game, but that didn't happen.
"Our coaches will have us ready. All season long they've been telling us to take it one game at a time because if you try to look ahead you're in trouble. We all know what is at stake."
UMass, whose only two losses came against Division 1 Boston College and the University of Rhode Island, took an early lead against Fordham, but the Rams battled back to tie the game before Zardas caught a pass in the flat, found some room to run and scampered up the right sideline for his touchdown.
"It was good that I finally got the ball," said Zardas, who gained 53 yards on three carries, including a 47-yard breakout late in the game before twisting his knee. "It was the first time I've carried it all year, although I have caught some passes (6 catches for 53 yards and 2 TDs).
"There's no time to dwell on (Saturday's) victory because the way the playoffs are set up, you have to get ready for the next opponent right away. You lose once and you're gone, so we have to be prepared and execute. Right now we don't know much about Southern Illinois except they are ranked higher than us and have the home field advantage."
Zardas said the UMass coaches broke down film on the Salukis at Sunday's practice and have begun implenting a game plan for Saturday. They'll be looking for their team to get in several strong days of practice before leaving for Illinois.
Harrington, a Salem native and Zardas, a former St. John's Prep star, both helped the Minutemen knock off Fordham this past Saturday, 49-35, in the first round of the Division 1 NCAA playoffs in Amherst. Harrington, a sophomore, had a strong game at nose tackle while Zardas, another sophomore who plays fullback, caught a 33-yard touchdown pass for his second score of the season.
UMass (10-2) now hits the road to face Southern Illinois (11-1) in Carbondale, Ill. this Saturday (3:30 p.m. EST). This marks the fifth straight season that the Salukis are in the playoffs.
Beverly's Armando Cuko, a junior kicker for the Minutemen, is the third local player on the roster.
"It's all pretty exciting," said Harrington, a former Salem High standout. "We hoped to play Eastern Illinois (which lost to Southern Illinos) to get another home game, but that didn't happen.
"Our coaches will have us ready. All season long they've been telling us to take it one game at a time because if you try to look ahead you're in trouble. We all know what is at stake."
UMass, whose only two losses came against Division 1 Boston College and the University of Rhode Island, took an early lead against Fordham, but the Rams battled back to tie the game before Zardas caught a pass in the flat, found some room to run and scampered up the right sideline for his touchdown.
"It was good that I finally got the ball," said Zardas, who gained 53 yards on three carries, including a 47-yard breakout late in the game before twisting his knee. "It was the first time I've carried it all year, although I have caught some passes (6 catches for 53 yards and 2 TDs).
"There's no time to dwell on (Saturday's) victory because the way the playoffs are set up, you have to get ready for the next opponent right away. You lose once and you're gone, so we have to be prepared and execute. Right now we don't know much about Southern Illinois except they are ranked higher than us and have the home field advantage."
Zardas said the UMass coaches broke down film on the Salukis at Sunday's practice and have begun implenting a game plan for Saturday. They'll be looking for their team to get in several strong days of practice before leaving for Illinois.
"All season long our goal has been to take each game one at a time, but we feel we have unfinished business from last year and want to avenge that loss (28-17 to Appalachian State for National Championship game)," said Zardas.
One of the biggest plays Zardas made against Fordham came after UMass quarterback Liam Coen was intercepted by James Crockett in the end zone, who started to run it back but was grabbed around the ankle by Zardas at the 2-yard line.
"He was right in front of me, and if I didn't get him I'm pretty sure (UMass teammate) Matt Lawrence would have," said Zardas. "When we watched the tape, it did look like he had clear sailing if somebody didn't get him - and we were only up by a touchdown then."
As the season wore on, Zardas has worked his way into a good situation at fullback, splitting duties 50/50 with Breyone Evans, who has been pretty banged up lately. The two switch up every series.
"It's a nice feeling to know the coaches have confidence that I can get the job done," said Zardas, a 6-foot-1, 230 pounder. "I really feel good now and am back to where I was before the injuries hit, with speed and athleticism again. My family, good friends, and our coaching staff supported me all through the injuries. They helped me stay positive, and I never doubted myself."
Zardas was hurt in both his freshman and sophomore years. While he has two more years remaining after this one, there is the possibility of obtaining a waiver for another year - something he doesn't plan to worry about now.
The 6-foot-3, 256-pound Harrington made the switch from defensive end to nose tackle for the Minutemen this season without much problem. He has played in all 12 games, with 16 solo tackles and 26 assists. His best game came in the loss to Rhode Island earlier this month when he registered 10 tackles, a sack and a safety.
"It didn't mean much to me because we lost that game," said Harrington. "It was pretty easy to make the switch because our line coach (Sean) Spencer helped me a lot.
"We had our ups and downs against Fordham, but came up with some great defensive stands in short yardage situations, especially near the end of the game."
UMass has a strong fan base (including parents of the players), and a large number of them are expected to make the trip to Illinois this weekend.
"It's not that far for our fans to go," said Harrington, a junior academically who is majoring in sociaology/criminal justice. "All season long, there's been a lot of excitement on campus about our team. We're going to need some support on Saturday because they'll have a big noisy crowd."
