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Kacmarcik’s back in the game

Brendan Kacmarcik seems to be a forgotten player. When opposing Division I coaches talk about this year’s Winnacunnet High School team Kacmarcik’s name rarely comes up, but he’s one of the reasons the Warriors could be among the top teams in Division I again this season.

A year ago Kacmarcik, a senior running back/linebacker, was a key element in the Winnacunnet offense until he suffered a broken clavicle when he was tackled in the fourth quarter of a game against rival Exeter.

“I could feel the bone pressing up against my pads,” Kacmarcik explained. “After that run one of the linemen on the team last year picked me up by my shoulder pads to help me up and that didn’t feel too good either. I went right to the hospital. It was the most uncomfortable pain I’ve ever been in.”

Kacmarcik, a Hampton resident, felt another kind of pain as he watched his team go 12-0 and win the Division I championship from the sideline. He was hopeful that he would be in uniform for Winnacunnet’s 41-21 victory over Pinkerton in the Division I championship game, but he wasn’t medically cleared to play.

The first doctor Kacmarcik went to see told him that it would take him halfway through the winter to fully recover. A second doctor estimated his recovery time would be six-to-seven weeks.

“So I did have hope after that,” Kacmarcik said. “What it came down to is I got officially cleared the week after the state championship game.

“I was showing up to practices and I was trying to be a leader as much as I could for the team. The games were really hard to watch just knowing that I could have been out there. It was just really tough for me having to sit out those big games — especially Goffstown and Bedford the second time. It was tough for me, but I finished the season with a ring on my finger.”

He also has a six-inch scar from surgery, although he likes to tell people it’s from a shark bite.

Kacmarcik’s twin brother, Ryan, is expected to start at outside linebacker for the Warriors this season.

“He would have been the third back rotating in with Jordan (Fuller) and Billy (Powers) for sure,” Winnacunnet coach Ron Auffant said when asked how much Brendan would have helped the Winnacunnet offense last season. “Brendan was actually pushing Billy pretty hard in the preseason (last year). He was right there with him. He got breakaway speed, but he’s got natural instincts too. He’s a little shiftier than (Powers).

“He could rotate in at outside linebacker with his brother this year, but hopefully we’ll be able to use him just on offense. I think his shoulder is fine.”

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