Depew enters 2026 with proven backfield production, experienced quarterback

Overview

• Depew enters 2026 with Joe Pagano as head coach after the program finished 5-4 in 2025.
• Zach Bridenbaker returns after rushing for 1,374 yards and 14 touchdowns, adding 333 receiving yards and four touchdown catches in 2025.
• Kole Szratter brings back quarterback production after throwing for 1,116 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025, when he also ran for eight scores.
• Bridenbaker also made 70 tackles in 2025, while Luis Ayala recorded 31 tackles and an interception.
• Depew opens Sept. 4 at Dunkirk and is scheduled for home games against Olean, Iroquois, Lackawanna and Lancaster.

Depew 2026 Football Preview

Depew goes into 2026 with a clear set of returning production to build around.

Joe Pagano is the head coach for a team coming off a 5-4 season in 2025. The roster includes experienced skill production, a senior quarterback and a senior running back-linebacker who was one of Depew's central two-way pieces last fall.

The largest 2025 stat line in that group belongs to Zach Bridenbaker, a Class of 2027 RB/LB. In 2025, Bridenbaker carried 178 times for 1,374 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns, giving Depew a returning offensive player with production in both the run game and passing game.

Bridenbaker also made an impact defensively, finishing with 70 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack.

Quarterback And Skill Production

Kole Szratter, a Class of 2027 QB/S, gives Depew a returning quarterback with a full season of recent production. In 2025, Szratter completed 67 passes for 1,116 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also ran for 104 yards and eight touchdowns.

Luis Ayala gives Depew another senior with two-way production. The Class of 2027 WR/CB caught nine passes for 128 yards and a touchdown in 2025, while adding 31 tackles, one interception and two passes defended on defense.

RayJohn Vance, a Class of 2028 RB/LB, also produced as a sophomore in 2025. Vance rushed for 279 yards and one touchdown, caught seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown, and recorded 16 tackles.

Jeremy Grant, a Class of 2027 RB/S, added 29 tackles in 2025. Up front, the senior group includes Xavier Parks, Jacob Sharpe, Owen Pyc and Linkin Peace, while the roster also lists underclass linemen Xavier Bobbitt, Naseem Khalil, Myles Fryling, Josh Refermat, Jesse Paulick and Lamar Sherman.

Schedule Landmarks

Depew is scheduled to open Sept. 4 at Dunkirk, then play its home opener Sept. 11 against Olean at Depew High School's Stadium.

The September schedule continues with a Sept. 18 home game against Iroquois and a Sept. 25 trip to Cheektowaga. Depew opens October at home against Lackawanna on Oct. 1, then goes on the road for games at East Aurora/Holland on Oct. 9 and Pioneer on Oct. 16.

The regular-season schedule closes Oct. 23 at home against Lancaster.

For Depew, the preseason picture starts with the production that is already back in the building. Bridenbaker gives the offense a proven high-volume runner and receiving threat, Szratter returns with a season of passing production, and the defense brings back several players with recent varsity numbers as the schedule moves toward a late October finish against Lancaster.