By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

Until his doctors — and, more specifically, his kidneys — told him he could no longer be a high school football coach, Warren JFK coach Tony Napolet had a very clear idea of when he was going to stop roaming the sidelines.

“When they plant me,” he said.

After 22 years as Kennedy’s head coach — and another 17 as either or a JFK assistant or Niles head coach — Napolet stepped down this week due to ailing kidneys.

David Pappada, an assistant under Napolet the past 20 years, will take his place.

“I sure do miss it already,” Napolet said by phone Thursday night. “I want to be out in the midst of it, teaching and coaching, hollering and screaming, trying to make them better.

“A lot of players have called me, kids and coaches I worked with before and it’s been very gratifying, very nice. But I miss it a lot, I can tell you that.”

Napolet began kidney dialysis 16 months ago, getting treatment three days a week that hampered his balance and equilibrium.

“I just couldn’t go anymore,” he said.

He leaves behind a legacy that includes a 179-80-2 record at Kennedy, including 12 playoff appearances, a Division V state title in 1991 and state runner-up finishes in 1992 and 2006.

“We were all anticipating that he’d return to coaching this year,” said Pappada, one of six members of last year’s veteran staff returning. “We were all aware of the problems he was having but it was still a big shock.

“Obviously, he just loves the game of high school football and especially at Kennedy.”

Pappada is confident in his coaching staff — one of his returning coaches is Dennis Zolciak, who was Kennedy’s head coach for 14 years — but has concerns about the program’s numbers. He said there are 160 boys at Kennedy from seventh through 12th grade, and more than 80 are out for football. This year’s team has 48 from 9-12.

“We have half the male population at Kennedy playing football, but we used to be a high Division IV team and now we’re a tiny Division VI,” Pappada said. “But we don’t use it as an excuse. We have quality kids that are used to winning.”

Aside from some tweaks based on personnel, Pappada plans to keep the same sets on offense (spread, pistol, I) and defense (3-4 front), figuring if it was good enough to get the team to the 2006 Division VI state final, it’s plenty good enough now.

“Our kids believe in what we do,” he said. “We’re going to do the same things we’ve done for the last 20 years.

“The only difference for me is, now I’m accountable for everything that happens in the program. Usually when the phone rings now, it’s for me.”

Napolet, meanwhile, still plans to attend practices and games, when his health allows. (Pappada said he’s even welcome to call a few plays.)

He also wants to spend more time watching his six grandkids.

“Now my life has switched to them,” Napolet said. “I want to make the boys better football players and the girls better cheerleaders.”

(When asked if he might start calling his grandkids’ coaches to complain about their playing time, he chuckled and said, “I’ll probably do that, too, when the time comes.”)

More than anything, Napolet is grateful for his time at Kennedy. He praised everyone from the booster club to principal Brian Sinchak to athletic director John Gillen.

“It’s a great place to be,” he said. “Brian and John made my job so much easier and I just want to say thanks to them for giving me the opportunity to coach there.”

And who knows? Maybe they’ll have that chance again.

“I’m going to try and get a kidney in the near future,” Napolet said. “If I do that, maybe I can rehab and get back to normalcy.

“Maybe not as a head coach, but at least an assistant. Just so I’m out there kicking somebody in the [butt] trying to make him better.”