Generation Next

Campolindo’s 8-0 start has been fueled by the efforts of players following their siblings’ footsteps

  SportStars Staff

  Most high school football teams point to the notion of brotherhood as one of the central tenets on which success is built.

  At Campolindo High, a more literal application of that theory is helping to lead the Cougars throughout an era of impressive results.

  The run of success enjoyed by the Cougars in recent seasons has largely been fueled by brotherly love and this year’s group is no different. An offense led by quarterback Jack Stephens and running back Nick Fadelli — both of whom are the third in a trio of brothers to come through the school — has sparked Campolindo to an 8-0 start after a 38-28 come-from-behind win against Las Lomas-Walnut Creek on Oct. 17. And the town of Moraga is again thinking big when it comes to postseason goals.

  When it comes to those bloodlines, Fadelli and Stephens certainly stand out in the lineage of Campo greats. Fadelli’s older brothers Anthony and Dan were standouts, and Stephens’ brothers Tommy and Brett are both among the best quarterbacks in school history.

  But, for all the chances to watch their brothers over the years, Nick and Jack are each using their senior season to carve their own identities. 

  Whereas Fadelli’s older brothers were All-DFAL selections on defense, Nick is making his biggest mark as a game-breaking running back and return man. In the Cougars’ 55-21 win over Alhambra, Fadelli broke loose for three rushing touchdowns, a 73-yard screen pass turned score and an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that got the game started.

  “Fadelli just keeps going beyond each week. He’s been solid all year but he keeps taking it to a different level,” Campolindo coach Kevin Macy said. “We’ve never had a kid like that in the backfield where you can hand it to him in the backfield and at any time it could break. We’ve been a team that’s always had to spread the ball around with the passing game and use the pass to set up the run but he’s really changed things for us this year.”

  While Fadelli has carved his niche in the offensive backfield, Stephens was actually set to eschew the family trade of directing the offense from under center. Having watched his older siblings earn accolade upon accolade as quarterbacks, Jack instead thought of making his own mark at a position other than signal-caller.

  “Growing up, I really fought the idea,” Stephens said. “I didn’t want to play quarterback at all. I just didn’t want to be like my brothers, for whatever reason. There was a little third-guy defiance there. I had some success the first game last year against Heritage and ever since then it was just kind of what I was going to do. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

  But, when it became apparent that the one piece of the puzzle Macy was missing existed at the game’s premier position, the longtime coach knew where to turn for help. The result has been another standout season of aerial statistics from a player with a familiar name and, in that same win over the Bulldogs, Stephens was an efficient 12 for 18 for 258 yards and two touchdowns

  “Jack’s a phenomenal quarterback,” Fadelli said. “We had (Andrew) Zolintakis last year who was really, really good and for Jack to come up, take that lead and produce has been amazing for us.”

  Fadelli and Stephens aren’t the only brothers making an impact for this year’s Cougars. Safety Michael Samaniego and fullback/linebacker Adam Remotto both have had brothers in the program over the past three seasons. But even if the names on the jerseys weren’t the same, the feeling of brotherhood might still remain. 

  With much of the team having grown up in and around the Campolindo community, the common threads sewn together by Macy and his coaching staff keep expanding year after year.

  “Both Nick and I have been in the program since 2006. We’ve been to every single game, home and away, since 2006,” Stephens said. “Then you have a youth camp every summer and I bet you 15 of our teammates have gone to that youth camp from third grade all the way up. We’ve been playing together for years and it’s just a great legacy that coach Macy has built here at Campo and I think we all like to play for that on the field.”

  As for the rest of this season, both Fadelli and Stephens continue to eye a prize that they’ve seen a sibling capture — a North Coast Section title and trip to a California Interscholastic Federation bowl game. With three games left in the regular season, as well as the looming challenge of a strong Division III playoff field, much work still remains to be done. 

  Having seen their brothers go through the process though, this year’s group likely won’t need much reminding when it comes to taking each week at a time.

  “The brother chain is going to be drying up,” Macy said. “The families aren’t the same, the demographics in the town have changed. It’s a lot of one boy, one girl families and that’s the future. This is probably the last stretch of brothers and (their success) is nice to see.”

  However literal or figurative one chooses to take it, brotherhood really has spelled success at Campolindo.