Like many teams, the Paul VI High School ice hockey team calls itself a family. But the Eagles actually have the bloodlines to prove it.
Four sets of brothers currently skate for the Haddonfield school, including team captain Antonio Marchiano, who is one of three from his immediate family to lace up for the Eagles. That includes his older brother, Victor, who graduated last year, and his younger sibling, Jadon, who is a freshman playing varsity minutes.
“It’s fun playing with siblings,” Antonio Marchiano said. “It makes it a little extra special.”
None of the pairs of brothers play the same position. Freshman Ryan Cullen is a forward, while his brother Jack is a junior defenseman. Brendan Dugan is a freshman defenseman who passes up ice to his sophomore sibling Sean, who is a forward. Johnny Lenox is a senior forward, and his brother Jake is the team’s starting sophomore goalie. Jadon Marchiano is a forward, while Antonio is on defense. Antonio’s offensive skills do shine from the blue line when he joins the play, as he has already recorded a goal and five assists, leading the team in helpers through its first five games.
“I’ve always been like that,” Antonio Marchiano said. “I like to play offensively from defense and get up in the play. I’ve been playing for a while now, and that’s been my game.”
Paul VI started off its season with two dominant victories over Pennington and Lawrence, outscoring the opponent by a combined 19-3 margin. But the Eagles want to compete with tougher programs and are willing to take a few lumps to build a stronger program, even if it means their overall record suffers. Tight losses to Notre Dame and Saint John Vianney prove the Eagles are getting close. A nice 5-1 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on Dec. 10 is an even better sign.
“We came out strong this season,” Marchiano said. “[Against Notre Dame], we got our feet in the water against a better team … and I think we handled it pretty well. These games are a lot of fun. The energy out there is 100 times higher than the first two games that we won. Even though it’s a loss, it’s really a win for us.”
Paul VI coach Chalie Hall, a former player and 2011 PVI graduate, agreed. “We’re trying to get there. This year, we want to compete for a [Colonial Valley Conference] title. Long term, I would love to take this to the next level and compete with teams like Gloucester Catholic and Saint Augustine. It’s going to take a while, but we are starting to up our competition a bit, and with that, there are more eyes on the team.”
Among those making strides is senior Santino Varano, who leads the Eagles with seven goals and three assists through the first five games. He’s enjoying every minute of the season – which included a natural hat trick against West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
“It’s really great here. It’s just a lot of fun to play on this team,” said Varano, who is skating his final year at Paul VI this winter.
Paul VI went 4-2-1 in a shortened 2020-21 campaign. They’ve had three winning seasons in their last four tries, and they continue to trend up. A family-like locker room has made more players want to go out for the team. Sometimes they are brothers – but they are always a family.
“We’ve always been a very close-knit group, year after year,” Hall said. “The seniors always carry on that tradition and pass it down to the next group. It’s been that way since I graduated, [and] when I played here.”
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