Noah Suszckiewicz and the Berkeley Yellowjackets started off the 2013 campaign in great shape.
Expectations were high for the Jackets under first-year coach James Barnes and a veteran returning squad.
Suszckiewicz led Berkeley to a 2-1 record, passing for seven touchdowns, 612 yards and zero interceptions when it all came crashing down.
Suszckiewicz, who transferred from Oakland Tech, suffered a broken foot that ended a promising season.
The injury happened in practice before the third game and Suszckiewicz, playing hurt, threw three touchdowns in a 42-6 win over San Mateo.
“The injury was extremely difficult for me, and a little depressing,” Suszckiewicz said.
The Yellowjackets ended the season 3-7, despite a talent-laden roster, including Fresno State signee linebacker Michael Lazarus.
A long rehab was helped by the Berkeley training staff and many hours working in a pool.
Now fully healed, Susczckiewcz, a senior, has high expectations for this year’s Berkeley team.
“We are a young team with just a few seniors but we are coming together more as a team,” the signal-caller said. “We are bonding and have good chemistry.”
The Yellowjackets, an NCS Division I slotted team, have done well in summer passing leagues Suszckiewicz said.
Berkeley will employ a more pro-style offense, mixing in spread and shotgun looks in 2014.
Suszckiewicz, who played centerfield for the Yellowjackets baseball team, had a busy summer, traveling coast to coast for high school camps and clinics.
Humdboldt State, Washington, Nevada, and Boston were just a few of the sites the 6-foot-1, 175-pound signal caller attended.
His final summer destination was the New England Elite camp sponsored by Under Armour.
It was a three-day affair that gave the West Coast QB a look at some East Coast competition.
“It was hot, with high humidity,” Suszckiewicz said of his Boston visit. “The competition was very comparable to California.”
Missing his junior season has put the QB a year behind on the recruiting trail, and while several schools are showing interest there are no offers.
“I just want to go where I fit in the best and where I have the best opportunity,” Suszckiewicz said.
The senior, who was born in Kyoto, Japan and moved to Oakland when he was four years old, has high hopes for the Berkeley program.
“I want this team to make the playoffs and win at least one game,” he said. ‘We have been under the radar and that would be a great accomplishment.”
