If the NFL Network is wondering why there was a peculiar bump in the ratings for last night's Panthers/Dolphins game in a New England city 725 miles away from Charlotte, it might come down to two words: Mackenzy Bernadeau.
Few across the country would tune into a Thursday prime-time game to watch one of the linemen, but Waltham High and Bentley University graduate Bernardeau was surely the driving force behind the interest of many around here in last night's game. Bernadeau, the 2003 Tribune Player of the Year, whom Carolina drafted with the third-to-last pick (250th overall) last April, was slated to make his first career start last night at left guard.
Wearing the same No. 73 he wore with the Hawks and Falcons during eight years of football in Waltham, Bernadeau saw significant action in last week's victory over Atlanta. His move into the starting lineup continues a remarkable rise for a local player who attended a Division II school.
``It's wonderful,'' said Waltham varsity coach Paul Mayberry, who coached, and has remained close with, Bernadeau. ``He deserves everything he gets. He was drafted, first of all. That's a lot for any football player in the country to be drafted. Now he's supposed to start.
``What's made him great is his inner desire to be the best he could be. He's really made tremendous strides.''
His former Waltham High coaches have followed Bernadeau's career closely, from his drafting, to making the team, to a season spent mostly on the sidelines. In his second season, Bernadeau had seen mostly situational spot duty until an injury opened the way for him last week.
``I am so excited for him,'' said Waltham assistant coach John Bourque, who was Bernadeau's position coach in high school and had a small gathering of teachers and assistant coaches at his house to watch the starting debut last night. ``I am so proud of him. I talked with him the other day on Facebook and told him that we all are. It's just unbelievable.''
Bourque traveled to Arizona to watch the Panthers play last season while Bernadeau was inactive. On Dec. 13, he has tickets for the Patriots game against Carolina at Gillette Stadium, and hopes to see a whole lot more of old No. 73.
``He went from just being on the team last year, to this year his role was goal-line offense and short-yardage, plus he went in at fullback and kickoff return,'' Bourque said. ``That speaks to his athleticism. He is kind of like a Mike Vrabel-type athlete.''
``He's always been able to move people,'' said Mayberry of Bernadeau, who is now up to 6-foot-4, 320 pounds and claimed to the [as]Charlotte Observer[xs] this week that that he can bench press 400 pounds. ``He's probably one of the most powerful people on that team.''
Mayberry said he didn't talk about Mayberry's impending start much to the current team this week, but that ``they all know about him.'' Bourque said he had a No. 65 Panthers jersey (which Bernadeau wore last year) made up with the name ``Big Mac'' written on the back for his daughter. Now he is hoping to get an updated No. 73.
Who knows? If he continues on this trajectory, the NFL and Panthers may even start making official Bernadeau jerseys for fans.
``There is definitely a sense of pride that goes with this,'' Bourque said. ``Obviously, that's not your intention and why you coach. But it's unbelievable when it happens.
``I remember picking him up at Plympton School back when he thought he was going to be a basketball player. Even then, we were trying to get him to lift weights and play football.
``But you can't beat the kid in terms of character. He was always going to be successful no matter what he did.''
(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.)
