How turnaround king Weston Schartz has done it again with Kapaun football
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Losing and Kapaun Mount Carmel football just do not go together.
The Crusaders have had more state championships (9) than losing seasons (8) in the last half-century, which is what made last season’s two-win campaign so troubling. It tied for the fewest wins in a season since the school started playing football in 1956.
When the head coach position became available, Kapaun defensive coordinator immediately reached out to Weston Schartz, whom he’s known since childhood before Schartz climbed to second on the City League career wins list following three decades of coaching at West and Northwest.
“Winning is what he does,” Stevens said. “He knows how to turn a program around and he knows how to get kids to play for him. It was a perfect fit for what we were trying to do at Kapaun.”
Two times at West — his first stint was from 1987-01 and the second was from 2012-19 — Schartz turned a losing program into a winning one and at Northwest, where he coached from 2002-11, he elevated the Grizzlies into a consistent playoff team.
Now in his first season at Kapaun, Schartz has the Crusaders — largely the same players from the two-win team last season — rolling into the Class 5A quarterfinals with an 8-1 record and confident they can challenge No. 1-ranked Northwest in Friday’s game at Northwest.
“I always believed the sky is the limit at Kapaun,” Schartz said. “We had to get those kids to believe they’re capable of beating people. Our goal was to bring back some pride that Kapaun once had and get it back to the old days. They’ve had some great coaches before me and I’m just trying to build on what they did.”
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Kapaun averaged 10.7 points per game and was shut out three times last season, including once by Schartz’s West squad. This season, after changing to Schartz’s old-school, Power I formation, the Crusaders are averaging 45.9 points per game and 288 rushing yards per game.
It hasn’t mattered if it’s at West, Northwest or Kapaun, Schartz’s system has worked. In 34 years as head coach, Schartz has maintained the same four principals for success.
“The first thing we do is we want those kids knowing we care about them off and on the field,” Schartz said. “We want the guys to have our back and know we’ve got their back. Kids will do a lot for you if they know that you care. Second, we instill a toughness. Number three, we always have a good weights program and number four, we have a system set up and we haven’t deviated from it.
“But it all starts with that first step. I believe kids will run through a brick wall for you if they know you care about them.”
What Schartz found when he came to Kapaun was a group of kids who were ready to work hard to make last season’s two-win campaign a distant memory.
“It’s a different school, there’s no doubt about that,” Schartz said. “Things are definitely a little different here than they were at West. But kids are kids and they want to be coached hard and they want to win and they want to be taught the right and wrong ways to do things. This success has been all about the kids. You can’t win if you don’t have good players, I don’t care who you are.”
Kapaun’s dominant ground game has been split between three running backs in Cale Curtis, Austin Ruda and Doug Bates who have combined for 1,298 yards and 29 touchdowns, while quarterback Andrew Gimino has 512 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The defensive turnaround has been anchored by a senior-laden squad, led by linebackers Tiger Jones and Jaxon Powers and safeties Ethan Stuhlsatz and Brandon Burr.
The group came 15 yards away from potentially beating Bishop Carroll for the first time since 1999 and has outscored their other seven opponents 339-34.
“The kids at Kapaun aren’t as athletic as he’s used to, but they give you more effort than any kids that I’ve been around,” said Stevens, who has been Kapaun’s defensive coordinator for the last four seasons. “When you parlay that with a little bit of ability and the will to win, it’s an easy thing for (Schartz). He’s amazed at how easy it is to coach these kids.”
Schartz will be looking for his 200th win in the City League on Friday against Northwest, but his successor, Steve Martin, who has taken the Grizzlies to back-to-back state championship games, says that won’t be the most impactful part of Schartz’s legacy.
“I think the first thing people are going to think about with Weston’s legacy is how he handles kids,” Martin said. “If you look at his tenure in the City League, all of his former players always have something positive to say about Weston. Whether he’s been at Northwest or West, he cares about kids and he’s there to make a positive impact on kids. Weston has a ton of wins, but I think his legacy will be what he has done for the kids in this community.”
Many of those relationships were built in his decade at Northwest and Schartz said he’s received plenty of texts this week from his former Northwest players who wish him luck, but say they will be rooting for the Grizzlies on Friday.
Win or lose on Friday, Schartz said text messages like those are what keeps him going at the age of 59.
“It keeps me coming back, there’s no doubt about it,” Schartz said. “The greatest joy we get as coaches is when the next football player comes back to visit or texts you or calls you. Those are the best. Those are better than the wins. Just to see a kid smile after a game with their parents. It’s never been about me. It’s truly about them.”
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