BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYANftpcontent.worldnow.com/njh/specialsections/090811...20 Mark Smolen So....

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Sept. 9Chatham at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.Parsippany Hills at High Point, 7 p.m.Hopatcong at Kinnelon, 7 p.m. Jefferson at Randolph, 7 p.m.Warren Hills at North Warren, 7 p.m.Roxbury at Vernon, 7 p.m.

Sept. 10Lenape Valley at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.Hanover Park at Newton, 1 p.m.Delbarton at Pope John, 1 p.m.North Bergen at Sparta, 1 p.m.St. Joseph (Met.) at Sussex Tech, 1 p.m.Parsippany at Wallkill Valley, 1 p.m.

Sept. 16Jefferson at High Point, 7 p.m.Mountain Lakes at Hopatcong, 7 p.m.Kittatinny at Parsippany, 7 p.m.North Warren at Bernards, 7 p.m.Montville at Vernon, 7 p.m.Newton at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Sept. 17Hackettstown at Madison, 1 p.m.Pope John at Morris Hills, 1 p.m.Mount Olive at Sparta, 1 p.m.Sussex Tech at Marist, 1 p.m.Wallkill Valley at Chatham, 1 p.m.

Sept. 23Lenape Valley at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.

Mount Olive at Jefferson, 7 p.m.Governor Livingston at North Warren, 7 p.m.

Sept. 24High Point at Pope John, 1 p.m.Hopatcong at Morris Catholic, 1 p.m.Newton at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.Vernon at Sparta, 1 p.m.Dwight-Englewood at Sussex Tech, 1 p.m.Hanover Park at Wallkill Valley, 1 p.m.

Sept. 30Hackettstown at Parsippany, 7 p.m.Whippany Park at Hopatcong, 7 p.m.Sparta at Jefferson, 7 p.m.Kittatinny at Hanover Park, 7 p.m.Pope John at Vernon, 7 p.m.Wallkill Valley at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Oct. 1Morris Hills at High Point, 1 p.m.Sussex Tech at Newton, 2 p.m. North Warren at Pingry, 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 6Newton at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.Sparta at High Point, 7 p.m.Hopatcong at Pequannock, 7 p.m.Jefferson at Montville, 7 p.m.North Warren at Manville, 7 p.m.Pope John at Mount Olive, 7 p.m.Sussex Tech at Morristown-Beard, 4 p.m.Vernon at Morris Hills, 3 p.m.

Oct. 7Lenape Valley at Chatham, 2 p.m.

Oct. 8Kittatinny at Wallkill Valley, 1 p.m.

Oct. 14Hackettstown at Hanover Park, 7 p.m.High Point at Montville, 7 p.m.Kittatinny at Hopatcong, 7 p.m.Morris Hills at Jefferson, 7 p.m.New Providence at North Warren, 7 p.m.Mount Olive at Vernon, 7 p.m.Madison at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15Wallkill Valley at Newton, 1 p.m.Sparta at Pope John, 2 p.m.Moore Catholic at Sussex Tech, 1 p.m.

Oct. 21Wallkill Valley at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.High Point at Vernon, 7 p.m.Hopatcong at Dover, 7 pm.Kittatinny at Madison, 7 p.m.Dayton at North Warren, 7 p.m.

Oct. 22Jefferson at Pope John, 2 p.m.Newton at Chatham, 1 p.m. Montville at Sparta, 1 p.m.Immaculate at Sussex Tech, 1 p.m.

Oct. 28High Point at Mount Olive, 7 p.m.Boonton at Hopatcong, 7 p.m.Vernon at Jefferson, 7 p.m. North Warren at South Hunterdon, 7 p.m.Pope John at Montville, 7 p.m.Parsippany at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Oct. 29Hackettstown at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.Madison at Newton, 1 p.m.Sparta at Morris Hills, 1 p.m.Manville at Sussex Tech, 1 p.m.Wallkill Valley at Lawrenceville, 2 p.m.

Nov. 3Hopatcong at Butler, 7 p.m.

Nov. 4Hackettstown at Warren Hills, 7 p.m.Morristown at High Point, 7 p.m.Lenape Valley at Hanover Park, 7 p.m.

Nov. 5Jefferson at Parsippany Hills, 2:30 p.m.Chatham at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.Parsippany at Newton, 1 p.m.East Orange Campus at Pope John, 1 p.m.West Morris at Sparta, 1 p.m.Sussex Tech at Snyder, 1 p.m.Vernon at Morris Knolls, 1 p.m.Madison at Wallkill Valley, 1 p.m.

Nov. 23North Warren at Belvidere, 7 p.m.

2011 SCHEDULE

PRESEASON ALL-HERALD TEAM

OffenseQB Zac Little

NewtonRB Steve Strumolo

JeffersonRB Ethan Ivey

North WarrenWR Johnny Holden

Pope JohnWR Zack Samiljan

Lenape ValleyTE Anthony DePalma

SpartaOL Eric Cucinella

HopatcongOL Josh Mankin

Lenape ValleyOL Kevin McGill

Pope JohnOL Steven Strowbridge

North WarrenOL Jeremy Toney

Lenape Valley

DefenseDL Willie Chepauskas

High PointDL Chad Mavety

SpartaDL Malachi Moore

Pope JohnLB Austin Brown

HopatcongLB Matthew Iuliani

Pope JohnLB Bobby Russel

Wallkill ValleyLB Malvin Santa

Pope JohnDB Donny Gunderman

Wallkill ValleyDB Tom Light

HackettstownDB Anthony Smith

Pope JohnDB Nick Vandertulip

Sparta

Special TeamsP Bobby Pregno

Lenape ValleyK Evan Costello

Sparta

1. Pope John2. Lenape Valley3. Wallkill Valley4. North Warren

5. High Point

PRESEASON TOP FIVE

Sports Editor: Jim Dente ([email protected]) Sportswriters: Peter Stein ([email protected]), Anthony Spaulding ([email protected]) Copy Editor/Page Designer: Scott Fontana ([email protected]) Cover Designer: Daniel Freel ([email protected])

Wallkill Valley’s Mike Buvis, now a junior, jukes away from Hackettstown’s defense as he makes his way downfield during a 2010 matchup.

New Jersey Herald File Photo

INSIDE...13 Hackettstown3 High Point8 Hopatcong15 Jefferson4 Kittatinny5 Lenape Valley9 Newton18 North Warren6 Pope John16 Sparta12 Sussex Tech19 Vernon17 Wallkill Valley

10 New CropFresh faces are ready to take the next step on teams throughout the area.

7 MooreAthletic talent runs in the family for Boston College-bound Pope John defensive lineman Malachi Moore.

14 StrumoloJefferson running back Steve Strumolo has come a long way from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2009 season.

On the cover (from left): Connor Collins (Wallkill Valley), Tommy Keller (Sparta) and Willie Chepauskas (High Point).

Special thanks to Lentini Produce in Newton

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RosterNo. Name Yr. Ht./Wt. Pos. 2 Zach Mathes Sr. 6-0/190 QB/S3 Brett Dyer Sr. 5-10/185 WR/CB 4 Tim Lindner Jr. 5-10/190 QB/S5 Jesse Walsh So. 5-11/150 RB/CB8 Sean Anglin Sr. 6-0/200 FB/S16 Brandon Carr So. 5-10/150 QB/CB19 Belal Bilto Sr. 6-2/185 WR/S20 Mark Smolen So. 5-9/170 WR/CB21 JJ Moore Jr. 5-10/180 RB/CB22 Tyler Mathes Sr. 6-1/195 RB/LB24 Austin Flores So. 5-10/185 FB/LB25 Anthony Danielson So. 5-10/185 FB/LB26 Luke Loughery Sr. 5-9/180 QB/CB31 Kyle Barry Sr. 5-10/170 WR/CB32 Matt Musilli So. 5-10/180 RB/S33 Tommy Hooker So. 6-1/175 WR/CB34 E.J. Kucinski Sr. 5-9/190 FB/LB35 Sean Barry So. 5-10/185 WR/CB37 Manny Hanson Sr. 5-7/200 WR/CB 52 Paul Stapel Jr. 6-0/200 OT/LB52 John Stone So. 6-0/185 FB/LB54 Kevin Pettenger Sr. 5-9/190 C/DE55 Bayley Hickey So. 6-0/220 OT/DT56 P.J. Mindo Sr. 6-2/210 OG/LB57 Alec Nucci So. 6-1/200 OT/DE58 Don Carrollo So. 5-9/210 OT/DT59 Gunther Wassong So. 6-1/220 OT/LB60 Brien Alvino So. 5-8/185 OT/LB61 Antonio Porraspita So. 5-9/190 C/LB61 Bobby McDowell So. 6-2/220 OT/DE63 John Leszkowicz Sr. 5-9/210 OG/DT64 Tim Osborn Jr. 6-0/210 OT/DE65 A. Duivenroode Sr. 6-1/220 OT/DT 66 Nick Campbell Jr. 6-0/220 OT/DT67 Chris Epperly Sr. 6-4/230 OT/DT69 Aaron DeMott Sr. 5-8/230 OG/DT70 Tim O’Malley So. 6-1/200 OT/DE72 Travis Pullis So. 6-0/270 OT/DT73 Ryan Olsen So. 6-2/230 OT/DT74 Drew Bye So. 5-7/210 OT/DT75 Willie Chepauskas Sr. 6-3/240 OG/DT79 Taylor Wright So. 6-0/270 OT/DT80 Brendan Miller Jr. 6-0/200 WR/DE82 Erving Sanchez So. 5-10/160 WR/CB83 Marcus Gomez Sr. 5-8/170 WR/CB85 Dan Speer Sr. 6-3/210 WR/DE87 John Torpey Sr. 5-10/180 WR/C88 Shane Dediminicantanio So. 5-6/160 WR/CB89 Ken Christensen Jr. 6-1/180 WR/S89 Scott Schiller So. 5-10/185 WR/LB90 Kyle Stoll So. 6-1/210 OG/LB96 Jordan Southard So. 6-4/250 C/DE

Coach’s History at High Point: Bill Percey (first season)2010 record: 8-3Conference: NJAC American DivisionState Playoff Section: North 1, Group 3

ScheduleSept. 9 Parsippany Hills, 7 p.m.Sept. 16 Jefferson, 7 p.m.Sept. 24 at Pope John, 1 p.m.Oct. 1 Morris Hills, 1 p.m.Oct. 6 Sparta, 7 p.m.Oct. 14 at Montville, 7 p.m.Oct. 21 at Vernon, 7 p.m.Oct. 28 at Mount Olive, 7 p.m.Nov. 4 Morristown, 7 p.m.

HIGH POINT WILDCATS

By PETER [email protected]

WANTAGE — One of the hard-est hits to the High Point football program came from Graduation Night, 2011.

That night took with it one of the most talented senior classes in Wildcats football history. Eighteen of 22 starters moved on from last year’s eight-win sec-tional semifinalist team, includ-ing all five High Point selections to the All-Herald first team: Billy Smith, Brendan Flynn, Nick Boyle, Joe Drossel and Joe Gaccione. Also taking diplomas in hand that night were four of the five Wildcats named as second-team honorees: Kevin Fasano, Austin Caldwell, Beau Scannavino and Jared Musilli.

To be sure, it’s a new day for High Point football. That starts at the top with head coach Bill Percey, who was picked for the job when budget cuts forced the ouster of Jim Delaney. Percey had worked the previous three seasons as an assistant to Delaney, and was an assistant to the iconic Chris Olsen at Wayne Hills before that.

Percey spent most of August trying to pluck the best possible players out of the muck and mud of summer practices. He is forg-ing ahead with a group eager to keep High Point football squarely on the map, both in Sussex County and in the NJAC American Division.

“Our expectations don’t change from year to year in my eyes,” Percey said. “We plan on con-tending for the division (title) and making the playoffs, just like we did last year. So nothing changes on our end. Do we have a lot of work to do? Sure. But we have to keep our expectations high.”

Though the Wildcats’ option offense was consistent last year, defense was the bedrock of the team’s success, and likely will be again. But new leaders must emerge, and Percey thinks he has found some, including senior defensive end Kevin Pettenger and senior nose

guard Willie Chepauskas.“They haven’t had to lead until

now,” Percey said. “I think in the offseason, they started learning how to be leaders. Every day, they get better at it. And you can see them, when the chips are down and practice is slowing down, it’s hot, it’s muddy, they’re the ones that have to push the younger kids. And they have to set that tone, not only for themselves, for the rest of the program.”

Pettenger and Chepauskas are certainly relishing their new prominent roles.

“We’ve always heard, ‘Class of 2011,’ ” Chepauskas said. “It’s our time now. And we’re stepping up to the challenge and we’re ready to take on anything that comes our way.”

One major difference from last year’s team is size. The 2010 squad had plenty of it. The cur-

rent team, not so much.“I know we’re a bit under-

sized,” Chepauskas said. “We’re fast, and teams are gonna have problems with us. We hit hard and we have fun.”

When teams are done playing High Point, Pettenger expects them to come away with a dis-tinct impression. “ ‘Oh wow, High Point has a team,’ ” Pettenger said. “ ‘They know how to play football. They have undersized guys, but they fly around and they hit people.’ ”

To help with that aspect of the game, Percey brought in New Jersey Stags head coach Gary Haase as defensive coordinator. “Coach Haase is really imple-

menting a lot on defense,” Chepauskas said. “He’s very smart and I was very impressed with what he knew. Defense is definitely our strong point, and he’s making it fun for us.”

Percey and Haase are part of a totally revamped High Point coaching staff, so there was an adjustment period.

“The coaches had to get to know us,” Chepauskas said. “We had to get to know the coaches.”

“There was always doubt,” Pettenger said. “Like what’s gonna change, what’s gonna be the difference. Well surprisingly, he (Percey) came in, he brought all new coaches in, people we’ve never even heard of, and every-thing’s taken very fast. Everything clicks. What we thought we’d learn in maybe three days, we learned in one, and we were fine.”

Photo by Sara Hudock-Cole/New Jersey Herald

High Point’s Willie Chepauskas runs a few defensive drills during practice.

Fresh faces aim to lead Wildcats

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RosterNo. Name Yr. Ht./Wt. Pos.2 Christian Copeman So. 5-8/145 SE/DB3 Cory Zervas Sr. 5-9/162 FL/DB4 Kyle Potten Jr. 6-2/177 QB/DB5 Sam Nubile Jr. 5-10/175 RB/LB11 Josh Bileci Jr. 6-1/170 SE/DB/P/K14 Brian Reznik So. 5-11/157 QB/DB16 Connor Farese Sr. 6-0/175 FL/DE21 Brian Frawley Sr. 5-10/164 FL/DB22 Jake Brook Jr. 5-9/175 RB/LB23 Garrett Armstrong So. 6-2/178 RB/LB24 Anthony Cameron So. 5-10/162 SE/DB25 Matt Moszcynski Jr. 5-10/163 RB/DB26 Nick Pastor-Poe Jr. 5-9/166 FL/DB30 Dan Kent Sr. 5-9/181 FB/LB33 Giancarlo Piccinini So. 5-9/172 TE/DE36 Dylan Wunder So. 6-1/172 FB/LB39 Will Donkersloot So. 5-6/140 FL/DB44 Andrew Slager Sr. 5-10/172 TE/DE46 Robert Marciano Jr. 5-11/178 FB/LB50 Tyler Hunt So. 6-2/174 G/DE51 Dan Rosica Jr. 6-2/207 T/DT52 Steven DeFelice Jr. 5-9/178 C/LB53 Tony Borgese So. 5-9/240 T/DT54 Brody Wecht So. 5-10/223 T/DT55 James Steelman Jr. 5-10/173 T/DT58 Pat Lobban So. 6-0/176 G/DE59 Andrew Simpson So. 5-8/171 G/LB60 Henry Weiss Jr. 5-9/165 G/DT64 John Cormey Jr. 5-10/246 T/DT67 Kyle Geraci So. 5-10/200 T/DT71 Tom Smith So. 5-11/243 T/DT72 Ray Acheson So. 5-10/174 C/DE74 Conner Casterline Sr. 5-9/248 T/DT77 Kevin McNeel Sr. 6-1/191 G/DE78 Brody Adamsky So. 5-9/205 T/DT78 Adam Crisman Sr. 6-4/290 T/DT81 Chad Zervas So. 5-8/155 SE/DB83 Joe Repasy So. 6-2/188 TE/LB84 Adam Gorisak So. 5-5/135 FL/DB85 Connor Douglas So. 6-0/162 SE/DB

Coach’s History at Kittatinny: Jim Green (19th season, 83-95 overall record)2010 record: 2-8Conference: NJAC Freedom DivisionState Playoff Section: North 1, Group 1

ScheduleSept. 10 Lenape Valley, 1 p.m.Sept. 16 at Parsippany, 7 p.m.Sept. 24 Newton, 1 p.m.Sept. 30 at Hanover Park, 7 p.m.Oct. 8 at Wallkill Valley, 1 p.m.Oct. 14 at Hopatcong, 7 p.m.Oct. 21 at Madison, 7 p.m.Oct. 29 Hackettstown, 1 p.m.Nov. 5 Chatham, 1 p.m.

KITTATINNY COUGARS

By ANTHONY [email protected]

HAMPTON — In the animal kingdom, the cougar is the largest of all the small cats. The feline mammal has not only great size and speed, but the aggressiveness to stalk and ambush any prey that walks by it.

The cougar’s characteristics were not imbedded in the Kittatinny Cougars last football season when they went a dismal 2-8. But this year, the Cougars feel ready to unleash their animal instincts while getting back into contention in both the NJAC Freedom Division and the state playoffs.

“We came off a pretty rough season last year,” senior free safety and captain Brian Frawley said. “We definitely have the talent to be successful this year. We just have to be more aggressive, but that will come eventu-ally.”

The Cougars were far from relentless a year ago, giving up 217 points in their eight losses after going 6-4 in 2009 to make the North 1, Group 2 playoffs. Two big differ-ences this year. First, Kittatinny has been reclassified into North 1, Group 1. And in order to better contain opposing offenses, coach Jim Green has decided to switch to a 4-3 defense rather than the 4-4.

“This year we are playing a more aggres-sive front,” Green said. “We found out that there were so many teams in the league that spread you out that we couldn’t play a 4-4. We always had six or seven men in the box and we were out of our basic defense anyway. It’s more gap-responsibility this year, be aggressive and that’s the direction we are going in.”

More importantly, he wants his guys to react immediately to the football so they can make big plays.

“We want to look to turn the ball over on teams,” Green said. “We’re gonna come after the quarterback. We’re gonna try to make some picks in the secondary. We’re gonna look to get a lot of people to the foot-ball, strip the football and cause turnovers.”

The Cougars’ defensive prowess starts up front with senior defensive tackle Adam Crisman. The three-year Cougars’ starter has a mammoth 6-foot-3, 282-pound frame that is bound to give running backs some trouble going up the middle.

Behind Crisman is a young secondary, but it has Frawley there to patrol the field and keep quarterbacks honest. The Cougars feel the change in attitude on defense is the main key to a successful season.

“If you’re aggressive in high school foot-

ball, you are going to be pretty good,” Crisman said.

On the offensive side, the Cougars lost their key playmakers in running backs Dean Gould and Tyler Cerbo and quarterback Stew Quinn to graduation. But Green has handed the quarterback reins to junior Kyle Potten while employing a running back by committee.

Potten said he has settled under center pretty well and believes the offense can be just as effective as the defense.

“We have a lot of I guess you can say spunk that really brings out a lot of aggres-

sion,” Potten said. “We should be in a lot of games this year.”

If both the offense and defense can bring the in-your-face attitude every game, the Cougars may have a shot at getting back to the upper echelon of the Freedom Division. They have a difficult home matchup against Lenape Valley in Week 1 and tough road contests against Hanover Park and Madison in midseason that could derail their goals.

Regardless of the outcomes, they want to make sure they are going hard at all times.

“Our goal is to make the state playoffs,” Green said.

Kittatinny junior running back Jake Brook carries the ball during practice.

Photo by Tracy Klimek/New Jersey Herald

Defense is key for Kittatinny


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RosterNo. Name Yr. Ht/Wt. Pos.10 Robert Pregno Sr. 6-0/185 QB11 Sean Carroll Jr. 5-7/160 QB12 Michael Kelly Sr. 5-10/185 QB13 Adam Chavarria So. 5-8/130 E14 Dan Blair Jr. 5-9/130 E15 Bryan Galligan So. 6-2/160 QB16 Dante James Jr. 6-1/210 RB20 Matthew Fordham Sr. 5-7/170 RB21 Michael Grieco Jr. 5-8/170 RB22 Dominic LaBell So. 5-8/145 RB23 Andrew McCarthy Sr. 5-8/160 RB24 Brian Atehortua So. 5-7/160 RB30 Paul Riboldi Jr. 5-8/185 RB31 Christopher Dimitriou Jr. 5-11/160 RB32 Nicholas Rafferty Jr. 6-3/215 RB33 Joe Dulio So. 5-10/150 RB34 Martin Rzeszutko Sr. 6-0/185 K35 William Portington Sr. 5-11/175 RB40 James Braun Jr. 6-2/230 E41 Dominick Cagnole Jr. 6-1/155 RB43 Michael Borges So. 6-0/180 RB44 Dave DelSontro So. 5-9/165 OL50 Bill Underwood Jr. 5-11/175 OL51 Michael Vaughan So. 5-9/195 OL52 Kristian Barrett Jr. 6-0/180 OL53 Ryan Lindner So. 6-1/230 OL54 Joe Esposito So. N/A OL55 Justin Deacon Jr. 6-4/245 OL56 Zeno Schuszter Jr. 6-2/200 OL57 Chad DiRupo Sr. 5-8/210 OL63 Mark Sylvester Sr. 6-1/210 OL64 Andrew LaBell Sr. 5-10/190 OL65 Eric Koreivo Jr. 6-1/200 OL66 Tyler Rodland Jr. 6-1/200 OL68 Richard Fahsbender So. 5-8/155 OL70 Joseph DelSontro Jr. 5-9/210 OL71 Kevin Pardo Jr. 5-8/190 OL72 Jeremy Toney Sr. 6-0/260 OL73 Michael Conrad So. 5-5/165 OL74 Matthew Hill Jr. 6-2/320 OL75 Aaron Bogle So. 5-6/195 OL76 Josh Mankin Sr. 6-3/270 OL77 Brian Melly Sr. 6-0/260 OL78 Mitch Brandon Sr. 6-2/240 OL79 Robert Sperling Jr. 5-11/245 OL80 Frank Benson Jr. 5-11/175 E81 Zack Samiljan Sr. 6-1/185 E83 Kyle Shannon Jr. 6-1/170 E84 Sam Delagrange So. 5-11/155 E85 Fred Scharnikow So. 5-7/140 E86 Bruce Engelhardt Jr. 5-10/155 E87 Tyler Shaw So. 5-7/120 E88 Eric Taylor So. N/A E89 Vincent Gallo Jr. 5-11/185 E Coach’s History at Lenape Valley: Don Smolyn (36th season, 274-112-13 overall record)2010 record: 8-3Conference: NJAC Freedom DivisionState Playoff Section: North 1, Group 2

ScheduleSept. 10 at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.Sept. 16 Newton, 7 p.m.Sept. 23 at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.Sept. 30 Wallkill Valley, 7 p.m.Oct. 7 at Chatham, 2 p.m.Oct. 14 Madison, 7 p.m.Oct. 21 Morris Catholic, 7 p.m.Oct. 28 Parsippany, 7 p.m.Nov. 4 at Hanover Park, 7 p.m.

LENAPE VALLEY PATRIOTS


STANHOPE — If the Lenape Valley football team has a divi-sion or state championship on this season’s menu, it will include plenty of beef.

For sure, the Patriots’ offen-sive line will be sturdy. The three players who had cement-ed positions by late August aver-age 283 pounds. There should be plenty of lanes opening up, a prospect the running backs are relishing.

“They do all the little things well,” senior back Will Portington said of the linemen. “So we’re looking to pound it up the middle with the running backs. The line will be creating big holes. ... They’re all powerful and big, and they’re all pretty fast.”

Portington will be one of the players running behind and hopefully through that line, along with last year’s scoring leader Nick Rafferty, now a junior, and first-year varsity back Mike Grieco, also a junior. They should help overcome the graduation of Brian Kreuder.

Part of the hulking O-line will be seniors Josh Mankin (6-foot-3, 270) and Jeremy Toney (6-0, 260), and junior Matthew Hill

(6-2, 320). Mankin and Toney are returning starters.

It’s no wonder the running backs are raring to go, and they’re not the only ones. New starting quarterback Bobby Pregno is looking forward to playing behind what he called a “huge line.” Pregno, a starting safety on last year’s North 1, Group 2 semifinalist team, emerged as the starting signal-caller over strong-armed senior Mike Kelly and highly-skilled junior Sean Carroll, a transfer from Hopatcong.

“He’s a threat to run the foot-ball, he’s a tough kid,” Smolyn said of Pregno. “He’ll respond very well under pressure. ... Bobby’s a real fiery leader for us. He was the backup last year, so he’s ready to go. It’s his turn.”

Pregno takes over for Matt Ciampaglio, a first-team quar-terback on last year’s All-Herald first team after passing for 1,402 yards and 13 touchdowns and leading the Pats to second-half comebacks in half of their eight wins.

“Matt Ciampaglio was a great quarterback,” Pregno said. “Coming in, trying to fill his shoes is gonna be really tough. But I’m gonna do the best I can. I’m gonna try to lead the team to the best of my ability and let’s

hope that’s enough to win us some games this year.”

Ciampaglio had sort of a Montana-to-Rice thing with since-graduated split end Ryan Newson — also a 2010 All-Herald first-teamer — who hauled in 10 of Ciampaglio’s touchdown strikes. Hopatcong transfer James Braun, a junior, could become one of Pregno’s favorite targets, as could senior Zack Samiljan.

“He’s been running some routes very well,” Pregno said of Samiljan. “He got pretty big over the offseason, did a lot of lifting, came out really commit-ted. So I think that he’ll be one of my number ones. And we’ve also got Jim Braun from Hopatcong, who’s a big boy, good hands. I’m excited to throw the ball to him this year.”

The defense lost some clutch players, too, including tackle-happy linebacker Mike LaBell, a selection on the All-Herald’s first-team defense last season. Smolyn thinks junior defensive end Dante James might be the same kind of big-time player. “He’s got a high motor,” Smolyn

said of James. “He could be the guy.”

After being dethroned as Freedom Division champs last year, the Patriots ventured to the state semis where they were shut out by Lakeland. They will try to remedy both outcomes this season, but know it’s a slow and steady process.

“We’re not really looking that far in the future,” Grieco said. “We’re just playing one game at a time. Every practice, hus-tling.”

“I think they’ve worked very hard over the summer,” Smolyn said. “And since we started practice, they’ve done a good job. It’s a group that I am cau-tiously optimistic about. The pieces seem there.”

One of those pieces is Smolyn himself, who begins his 36th season at the Lenape Valley helm and is the dean of Sussex County coaches now that Vic Paternostro is no longer guiding Pope John.

“He knows what he’s talking about,” Rafferty said of Smolyn, “and he practices us hard every day.”

“We all have a lot of respect for Coach Smolyn,” Portington said. “He’s been around the game so long. If he gives us advice, we all listen.”


Lenape Valley offensive linemen block for quarterback Bobby Pregno during a home scrimmage against St. Anthony’s.

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RosterNo. Name Yr. Ht./Wt. Pos.

1 Johnny Holden Sr. 5-10/180 WR/DB

2 Vincent Moore So. 6-2/190 TE

3 Anthony Smith Sr. 6-1/175 DB

4 Raul Green Jr. 6-0/170 WR

5 Cory Bell Sr. 5-9/195 RB

7 Daniel Cunico So. 6-1/210 TE

9 Deriam Guridy Fr. 5-11/175 LB

10 Timothy Schanstra So. 6-0/180 QB

11 Drew Daniel Fr. 5-8/155 DB

11 Austin Bailey Fr. 5-9/170 WR

12 Ryan Pearsall So. 6-4/170 QB

20 Peter Hefele So. 5-7/145 DB

21 Noah Brown So. 6-0/190 RB

22 Dashawn Chatelier So. 5-8/160 DB

24 Mark DiMatteo Jr. 5-7/160 RB

28 Daniel Lacey So. 5-7/150 DB

31 Mason Shaw So. 5-10/165 DB

32 Christian Sloan Jr. 5-8/160 RB

34 Christopher Buccino So. 5-7/160 RB

35 Connor Anderson Jr. 5-10/185 DL

39 Trent Smith So. 5-9/175 LB

42 Brian Olshanski Fr. 6-0/175 DB

42 Malvin Santa Sr. 6-1/200 LB/RB

44 Eric Podolski Jr. 5-9/185 LB

47 Randall May So. 5-10/190 LB

50 Malachi Moore Sr. 6-6/190 DL

52 Noa Merritt So. 6-0/235 DL

54 William Krajicek So. 5-8/170 LB

55 Dylan Cato Sr. 6-1/235 OL

56 Matthew Iuliani Sr. 5-10/200 OL/LB

57 Kevin McGill Sr. 6-1/245 OL

58 Anthony Sterling So. 6-0/235 DL

62 Kevin Lenahan Sr. 5-10/210 OL

66 Seamus Ryan Jr. 6-2/245 OL

74 Michael Bunero Sr. 6-0/240 OL

75 Jacob Lazar Jr. 5-10/215 OL/DL

77 Nicholas Warner So. 6-0/220 OL

81 Joseph Blauner Sr. 5-8/160 QB

87 Thomas Adams So. 6-2/195 TE

95 Victor Valentino So. 5-10/210 DL

-- Dante Monaco So. 5-9/160 QB

-- Connor Lynch Jr. 6-3/240 OL

-- Alberto Araujo So. 6-1/180 DL

-- Christopher Curran So. -- --

Coach’s History at Pope John: Brian Carlson

(first season)

2010 record: 10-1

Conference: NJAC American Division

State Playoff Section: Non-Public Group 3

ScheduleSept. 10 Delbarton, 1 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Morris Hills, 1 p.m.

Sept. 24 High Point, 1 p.m.

Sept. 30 at Vernon, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Mount Olive, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15 Sparta, 2 p.m.

Oct. 22 Jefferson, 2 p.m.

Oct. 28 at Montville, 7 p.m.

Nov. 5 East Orange Campus, 1 p.m.

POPE JOHN LIONS


SPARTA — Jimbo Fisher did it. Jimmy Johnson did it twice.

Fisher stepped into the shad-ow of the legendary Bobby Bowden and then stepped out of it, building his own reputation as Florida State’s head coach. Johnson replaced Tom Landry as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and succeeded Don Shula at the Miami Dolphins’ helm, bringing about consecu-tive Super Bowl titles for the Cowboys and three playoff berths in his four years coaching the Dolphins.

Brian Carlson is in a similar situation as the new Pope John football coach. After 43 seasons and a Jersey-best 373 wins, Vic Paternostro may be a harder act to follow than The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.’’ But since he was officially named as Lions head coach on April 1, Carlson has taken ownership of the team, applied his own imprint, gotten the players’ attention.

“The first time we met him, he didn’t even say ‘hi’,” senior defen-sive lineman Malachi Moore recalled. “He just straight up demanded us to stop talking,

demanded respect. And that’s what you’ve got to do when you’re dealing with kids our age, is just demand everybody’s respect. He definitely got it the second he came in.”

“Coach Carlson’s a great coach,” wide receiver Johnny Holden said. “He knows what he’s doing.”

“We were pretty much on board Day One,” said sophomore Tim Schanstra, who will be this year’s starting quarterback. “Coach has done a great job keeping us in line, and we’re all working hard toward the same goal.”

The returning players will never forget Paternostro, but are squarely focused on the present and future of Pope John football, and that now revolves around Carlson, a former head coach at Kean University and linebackers coach at Don Bosco Prep.

“Of course, it was weird at first,” Holden said. “But we meshed together well, our team-mates came together.”

“You can never replace what Coach P was,” Moore said.

“Sometimes in the back of our minds, we’ll be like, ‘Hey, remem-ber that thing that Coach P used to do.’ He was a great coach. And now, we’re just moving on.”

“I think it’s gone very well,” Carlson said. “The kids have done a great job, the staff ’s done a great job. And we’re excited.”

Carlson steps into one of the highest regarded programs in New Jersey, but inherits a team that lost a super-talented senior class, among them linebacker Cole Farrand, lineman Mickey Curran and running back Kyle McGrath — the Herald’s 2009 Football Player of the Year.

Moore and Holden — both All-Herald second-team selections last year — are members of the incoming senior class ready to step up and lead, as Pope John looks to defend its NJAC American Division crown and erase the sting of last November’s heartbreaking loss to Holy Spirit in the Non-Public Group 3 semi-finals. The best way to achieve the latter is obvious — push through to the title game and win it.

“Even saying ‘Holy Spirit’ gets those butterflies in your stomach again,” Moore said. “And then, the fact that Holy Spirit actually

beat the team that they were playing against in the champion-ship just made it even more upsetting.”

To help Pope John surge far-ther this year, Carlson has installed the spread offense, which will utilize the speed and talents of his skill players. That includes Schanstra and sopho-more running back Noah Brown, both of whom saw some playing time on last year’s team but now step into more integral roles. They are thrilled to be cogs in the spread.

“I love it, actually,” Schanstra said. “There are a lot more opportunities for big plays on my part. And I think we can really confuse the defenses.”

“I played in this type of offense in eighth grade and it was real exciting,” Brown said. “So I was looking forward to it.”

Even with the new coaching staff, the new offense, there’s still an old mentality at Pope John.

“He (Carlson) came to do the same thing that we’re looking to do,” Moore said. “Win the cham-pionship.”

“We’re a contender every year,” Schanstra said. “We’ve just got to put in the effort and all this hard work will get us there.”

Pope John’s Noah Brown carries the ball during practice.


Carlson up to task of guiding LionsFor a video


njherald.com.

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SPARTA — The Moore family of Hackettstown now has something in common with Peyton and Eli Manning. Cheryl and Reggie Miller, too.

The Mannings and Millers are siblings whose athletic abilities carried them to the Division I college level. Pope John graduate Vanessa Moore and Pope John senior Malachi Moore became such a pair when Malachi accepted an offer to play defensive end for Boston College, two years after his older sister was recruited to be a Georgetown center.

After considering UConn, Rutgers and Delaware State, and getting an offer from Temple, Malachi agreed this sum-mer to eventually continue his football career at Boston College. For a high school athlete, it doesn’t get much better than a D-1 scholarship, and a large part of Malachi’s inspiration and motivation came from his big sister.

“It wasn’t a rivalry,” Malachi said. “It was in the back of my mind that my older sibling went Division I. At first, I was always thinking about playing basketball in college because of my sister. So then, I had a talk with my sister. She just told me to do what makes me happy. And I fig-ured if my sister can go D-1 in basketball, why can’t I go D-1 in football.”

Throughout high school, Malachi had evolved as a football and basketball play-er. And he grew to Division I size — 6 feet 6, 245 pounds — which had him wonder-ing where it might lead.

“Definitely at the end of my junior sea-son I started thinking about whether or not I should play basketball in college,” Malachi said.

Football, however, came to the fore-front thanks in part to Malachi’s former coach Vic Paternostro and new coach Brian Carlson. “Coach P and Coach Carlson both got it in my mindset that I could play D-1,” Malachi recalled. “And so I started going to football camps ... and they were right. The feedback I got from everybody made me confident in myself.”

Division I schools showed interest. But it wasn’t long after a four-day visit to Boston College that Malachi received an offer from the Eagles. He couldn’t snatch it up fast enough.

“The campus is amazing,” he said. “The coaching staff ... they challenged me more than any other college that I went to. They kept me guessing, they kept me on my feet, just to make sure that I was going as hard as possible.”

Soon after Malachi had cemented his Division I college future, he heard from Vanessa.

“She was the first one to call me,” Malachi said. “She’s definitely my No. 1 fan, as I am for her.”

Moore’s commitment to BC marked the second straight year that a Pope John player has reached the D-1 level. Cole Farrand signed last year to play linebacker for Maryland.

“It’s a great honor, obviously, for

Malachi and for the whole program,” Carlson said. “We’re excited about that. It’s nice to have that put away, and now we’ve got to focus on our goals for this year.”

Malachi says his recruiting coach, Mike Dawson, informed him that he was the only defensive end the Eagles would recruit this year, which has Malachi believing he can go in and make an impact right away.

“I think it all depends on how hard I’m willing to work,” Malachi said. “And I think they know that I’m willing to work as hard as possible.”

Malachi says his high school football experiences helped him get to the next level. “Football always has its ups and downs,” he said, “and no matter what, your teammates are always gonna be there for you. And that’s something I’ve picked up in football, especially at Pope John, especially with Coach P, because he was here so long. Just that whole fam-ily mentality that as long as you keep your head up, everything’s gonna be all right. You might have a bad practice, a bad day, you might have a bad week, but all you’ve got to do is keep your head up.”

Malachi still has one more season with his high school family before moving on to Boston College. His football brethren, like his sister, couldn’t be prouder of his achievement.

“It didn’t surprise us at all,” wide receiver/defensive back Johnny Holden said. “We know Malachi’s a great com-petitor, great teammate, great off the field as well.”

Pope John’s Moore already has D-1 future

Pope John’s Malachi Moore (50) is a threat on both sides of the ball, but it’s his skills as a defensive lineman that make him Division-I material.


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RosterNo. Name Yr. Ht/Wt. Pos.1 Victor Cotto So. 5-8/135 RB/DB2 Shea Bongiovianni Fr. 5-5/130 RB/DB3 Joey Ioffredo Fr. 5-1/110 RB/DB4 Feyi Olugbenga Sr. 5-10/185 RB/LB5 James Cramner Fr. 6-1/145 WR/DL6 Stephen Rogers So. 6-1/160 WR/DB7 Willie Russell So. 6-0/175 QB/LB9 Jonathan Nelson Sr. 5-10/180 WR/DL10 Ryan Clarke So. 6-4/195 QB/LB11 Andrew Fernandez Fr. 5-4/115 WR/DB12 Gabriel Plewa So. 5-11/150 WR/LB13 Carmen LoPorto Fr. 5-2/115 WR/DB15 Vinny Marinoni Sr. 6-1/160 WR/DB17 Jonathan Yanko Fr. 6-1/155 QB/LB19 Kevin Mulharin So. 5-7/118 WR/DB20 Ian Brigman So. 5-11/165 RB/LB21 Tommy Rieg So. 5-8/155 RB/LB22 Nick Esposito Sr. 5-9/195 RB/DB24 Aric Webster Sr. 5-10/166 RB/DB26 Jonathan Parker Sr. 6-1/220 TE/DL29 Chris Seely Jr. 5-6/160 RB/LB31 A.J. Bongiovianni Jr. 5-7/155 RB/LB32 A.J. Fasano Sr. 5-7/175 RB/LB33 Johnny Wilkerson Jr. 5-4/160 RB/LB34 Johann Lara So. 5-11/155 RB/DB36 Richard Selliken Jr. 6-1/170 WR/LB40 Dan Meusel Jr. 5-10/188 RB/DB43 Wyatt Gehring Jr. 5-9/180 RB/DB44 Austin Brown Sr. 6-1/215 RB/LB48 Brandon Fasano Fr. 5-2/110 WR/LB50 Eric Cucinella Sr. 6-1/260 OL/DL51 Danny Pisano Jr. 6-1/175 OL/DL52 Jonathon Falconetti Fr. 5-2/115 OL/DL54 Tristan Caplan Fr. 5-7/220 OL/DL56 Brandon Moore Jr. 5-8/170 OL/DL58 Troy Bongiovanni So. 5-7/180 OL/DL59 Nicholas Defranco So. 5-8/177 OL/DL60 Dan Cappiello So. 5-11/155 OL/LB61 Tom Donnelly So. 5-8/170 OL/LB62 Aleksander Dimovski So. 5-7/150 OL/DL63 Kyle Hangley Sr. 5-8/160 OL/DL66 Chris Houterman Jr. 6-0/210 OL/DL67 Nick Powers So. 5-10/265 OL/DL70 Kenny Pisano So. 5-8/185 OL/DL71 Vincent Solimando So. 5-11/145 OL/LB73 Chris Monaco Jr. 5-11/220 OL/DL75 Carlos Maldonado Sr. 5-9/220 OL/DL76 Colin Koets So. 6-1/250 OL/DL77 Brandon Tatum Fr. 5-11/210 OL/DL78 Patrick Menagh Jr. 5-8/150 OL/DL80 Sawyer Guard So. 5-9/145 WR/LB81 Mark Duncan Jr. 6-1/190 TE/LB84 Patrick McNamara So. 6-1/175 TE/LB85 Eric Cabrera Jr. 5-6/140 WR/DB

Coach’s History at Hopatcong: Gary Andolena (fifth season, 11-28 overall record)2010 record: 4-5Conference: NJAC Independence DivisionState Playoff Section: North 1, Group 2

ScheduleSept. 9 at Kinnelon, 7 p.m.Sept. 16 Mountain Lakes, 7 p.m.Sept. 24 at Morris Catholic, 1 p.m.Sept. 30 Whippany Park, 7 p.m.Oct. 6 at Pequannock, 7 p.m.Oct. 14 Kittatinny, 7 p.m.Oct. 21 at Dover, 7 p.m.Oct. 28 Boonton, 7 p.m.Nov. 3 at Butler, 7 p.m.

HOPATCONG CHIEFS


HOPATCONG — The Hopatcong football team’s near-.500 record last season was very much a reflection of how its sea-son played out — with some promise but ultimately frustra-tion.

The Chiefs would seem to get on a roll, then lose a winnable game. They flirted with a state tournament berth, but when November dawned, found them-selves too far behind North Warren in North 1, Group 1 power points.

So Hopatcong’s 4-5 record basically said it all. A little bit up, a little bit down, but a little more down than up. Injuries didn’t help.

“It was definitely frustrating,” said running back/linebacker Austin Brown, now a senior. “You can’t control everything. We had a couple of guys injured during the season. Last year, we defi-nitely had a caliber team to make the playoffs, make the states, and we had a couple of losses at key positions.”

“I got hurt, I had a knee inju-ry,” said offensive lineman Eric Cucinella, now back for his senior season. “It was kind of rough.”

“That’s something you have to deal with — injuries,” Hopatcong coach Gary Andolena said. “Was it a little frustrating? Yes. Because we had opportunities, and a couple of weeks, injuries did mount up and take a toll on us. But as a coach, and even the kids know, we never use that as an excuse. That’s just part of the game.”

An injury to senior starting quarterback Tom Vicedomini did at least give Andolena a chance to see what then-freshman Ryan Clarke could do against varsity competition, and the Chiefs’ coach was impressed, especially during a late-season game against Boonton. “Ryan was able to help engineer a couple of drives for us to win the ball-game,” Andolena recalled.

Clarke now steps in as the full-time starter. At 6 feet 4 and close to 200 pounds, he certainly has good size for the job and, accord-ing to Andolena, the ability to go along with it.

“He brings a nice little dimen-sion to our offense,” Andolena said, “being able to throw and stretch the field vertically for us.”

Adding a “little dimension’’ to the Chiefs’ offense, defense and special teams last year was Brown, a dependable rushing threat and a terror at linebacker. Though just a junior in 2010, he

exhibited enough leadership to be named a co-captain.

Andolena and his staff held off until later in summer practices before naming all of this year’s team captains. Only Brown came in knowing he would hold a cap-taincy again.

“He’s a well-rounded ballplay-er,” Andolena said. “He really brings the energy every day to practice.”

“I take responsibility every day,” Brown said. “Just pushing

my guys as hard as I can, making them work.”

Brown is a motivator in prac-tice, even leading his team in calisthenics. But the Chiefs’ most prominent leader will not be their only weapon out of the backfield. “Along with Austin, we’ve got several other backs that we expect big things from this year,” Andolena said.

They will run behind an offen-sive line now anchored by Cucinella, with Derek Walthour — a 2010 All-Herald first-team selection — having graduated. Vying for time in the trenches this summer have been senior Kyle Hangley; juniors Chris

Houterman, Patrick Menagh and Danny Pisano; and sophomore Troy Bongiovanni. One of those players will add depth to what should again be a sturdy line.

The Chiefs head into the sea-son with lofty expectations, look-ing to compete in the rugged NJAC Independence Division, and in Group 1.

“We always push to make the states, make the playoffs,” Brown said. “You work as hard as you can to get as far as you can.”

“It’s an athletic group,” Andolena said, “and it’s a group that really comes to work every day.”

Chiefs seek more consistency

Hopatcong tight end Pat McNamara, center, keeps

his grip on the ball during a scrimmage against

Hawthorne.



visit njherald.com.

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2 Meghan Gianni-Bradford Sr. 5-4/127 WR

4 Ryan Hattersley So. 5-6/143 QB/ DB

8 Nico Grello So. 5-11/145 TE/DL

11 Casey Thomas So. 6-1/160 QB/DB

12 Zachary Little Sr. 6-0/220 QB/DB

15 Matthew Popek Jr. 5-7/155 FB/LB

17 Sean Lupo Sr. 6-1/175 SE/DB

19 Joe Maker So. 6-0/158 RB/LB

20 Tyler Lombardo Jr. 5-7/160 RB/LB

21 Chris Castellanos Jr. 5-6/125 RB/DB

24 Shane Gallichio Jr. 5-7/145 SE/DB

29 Eddie Taylor So. 5-7/145 SE/DB

32 Ben Cramer So. 5-10/160 RB/LB

33 Joshua Sibblies Jr. 5-9/165 RB/DB

37 Jimmy Papis Sr. 6-1/220 TE/LB

40 Zach Kirby So. 5-11/185 RB/LB

42 Adrian Rodriquez So. 5-5/145 RB/DB

44 Grant Brandon Sr. 6-2/235 TE/DE

51 Jake Connelly Sr. 5-8/190 OL/DL

52 Kyle Gabbard Sr. 6-3/170 OL/DL

53 Patrick Reed Jr. 5-6/195 OL/DL

54 Garrett Richards So. 5-6/180 OL/LB

55 Alex Grave de Peralta So. 5-6/160 OL/DL

56 John Belowsky Jr. 6-1/220 OL/DL

57 Brendan Pierson Sr. 5-11/180 OL/DL

58 Jonathan Heater Jr. 5-11/225 OL/DL

60 Shane Greco Jr. 5-11/200 OL/DL

64 Mohammad Balatero So. 5-10/175 OL/DL

67 Trevor Hartmann Jr. 5-10/160 OL/DL

70 Forrest Gysen Sr. 5-11/210 OL/DL

72 Joe Cercone So. 5-9/250 OL/DL

74 Michael Larsen So. 5-8/131 OL/DL

75 Brianna Ziegler Jr. 5-7/170 OL/DL

77 Ryan Vasquez Jr. 5-11/200 OL/DL

78 Marc Jensen Sr. 6-1/242 OL/DL

82 Robert Coward So. 5-7/130 SE/DB

84 Justin Smith So. 5-6/130 SE/DB

86 Zac Martin So. 5-8/150 RB/LB

88 Marcus Allen So. 6-0/135 SE/DB

Coach’s History at Newton: Jim Rabbitt

(first season)

2010 record: 3-7

Conference: NJAC Freedom, Division

State Playoff Section: North 1, Group 2

ScheduleSept. 10 Hanover Park, 1 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.

Oct. 1 Newton, 2 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15 Wallkill Valley, 1 p.m.

Oct. 22 at Chatham, 1 p.m.

Oct. 29 Madison, 1 p.m.

Nov. 5 Parsippany, 1 p.m.

NEWTON BRAVES


NEWTON — Changes abound for the Newton football team. So far, they’ve been posi-tive changes and Braves head coach Jim Rabbitt hopes the good vibes continue.

The changes start with Rabbitt himself, who begins his first year leading the varsity after a stint as the freshman coach. Rabbitt also has installed a new offense, the Delaware, a departure from the run-and-shoot employed by his prede-cessor, Tom Brennan.

And there are several new players, especially on defense, pushing for a big upgrade from last year’s 3-7 record.

One of the not-so-new compo-nents of Newton’s football team is Zac Little. Having started since his sophomore campaign puts Little in the same-old same-old category, but even he has some adjustments to make, after passing for roughly 3,000 yards over the past two seasons in Brennan’s offense, and now learning to run the Delaware.

Little doesn’t mind, though.“I think it’s actually gonna

help a little bit,” he said, “because now that people are gonna know we want to run the ball, there’s gonna be a lot more play-action and stuff like that, where it’s gonna open up the passing. So I don’t think the passing numbers are gonna get hurt too much.”

Still, there is plenty to learn.“Being the quarterback, it’s a

lot different than what we ran under Coach Brennan,” Little said. “Now, I have to focus on little things, like footwork and all that stuff that never really mattered when it was all timing with patterns and stuff. But it’s coming along good. We’re start-ing to get a good mesh in the backfield, so it’s starting to turn out pretty nice.”

“In the previous system, I think he was asked to really rely on throwing the ball a lot,” Rabbitt said. “This offense gives him a lot of run-pass options. ... It’s not gonna be just him carry-ing the load, being mostly responsible for moving the foot-ball.”

Senior Jimmy Papis is anoth-er player in transitional mode, shifting this season from run-and-shoot wide receiver to

Delaware tight end. “It’s a lot of blocking now,” Papis said. “But everything’s working well.”

Once everyone grows com-fortable with the offense, Rabbitt expects it to confound defenses throughout the region. “If it’s run correctly, sometimes it’s hard to find the ball,” he said. “There are so many differ-ent things you can do with it. You can have four different peo-ple carrying the ball at any given point. There’s a lot of mis-direction.”

Adjusting to Rabbitt himself has been the easy part. The players didn’t need to develop a rapport with him, having played on his freshman team. “So we all know him,” Papis said. “We all know him well.”

Much of last year’s varsity coaching staff is returning, so the players don’t have to worry about unfamiliarity with them either. “Yeah, we know every-body well,” Papis said, “what they‘re gonna think or what they’re gonna say.”

“It’s been very easy for me,” Rabbitt said of his step up to the varsity. “And I think most of that comes from the seniors who have taken over the roles of leaders. They’ve made it very easy for me.”

That leadership is key for a team that lost a bunch of it, especially on defense. Papis, who plays middle linebacker, is one of the players being count-ed on to keep the defensive unit inspired.

“Jimmy is very, very quiet,” Rabbitt said, “but he’s that clas-sic kid that leads by example. And when he speaks, everybody listens. I think he has really, really become a leader on this team.”

Newton’s defense will need to improve on last year’s average of allowing an even 30 points per game. If that number is reduced considerably, the Braves may crack the .500 mark for the first time since 2006 and could even reach the state tour-nament for the first time since 2000.

“I think we have a good chance,” Papis said. “A .500 record, states, that’s what we’re looking for.”

Photo by Daniel Freel/New Jersey Herald

Newton quarterback Zac Little, center, scrambes out of the pocket as Brianna Ziegler, right, rushes and Justin Smith defends during a drill.

Change in the air for BravesFor a video


njherald.com.

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Big Shoes to Fill Three Pivotal MatchupsDELBARTON AT POPE JOHN, SEPT. 10, 1 P.M.

You have to go back to 1967 for the last time someone other than Vic Paternostro coached Pope John. Year 1 of the Brian Carlson era begins with an early test, a home game against an always-solid Delbarton team. Will the Lions’ spread offense click from the outset with sophomore Tim Schanstra under center in his first varsity start?

Should be a fun afternoon.

HIGH POINT AT MONTVILLE, OCT. 14, 7 P.M.Budget cuts forced Jim Delaney out of his High Point teaching and foot-ball-coaching job, but he landed squarely on his feet, succeeding Gerry Gallagher as Montville head football coach. Bill Percey, a key

member of the Wildcats’ staff the past three seasons, replaced Delaney, and the two will match wits in what should be an important midseason American Division clash.

MADISON AT LENAPE VALLEY, OCT. 14, 7 P.M.

When the teams met on Halloween weekend last year, the Patriots were

7-0, a half-game up on 6-0 Madison in the Freedom Division. It promised to be a memorable clash at Madison High School. Well, it was memorable — for Madison. The Dodgers treated Lenape Valley to a good, old-fashioned shellacking, dominating every phase of the game in a 42-0 rout. This year’s rematch is in Stanhope, and the Patriots should be out for revenge.

Here are some of the succes-sors to the top standouts from 2010:

POPE JOHNWho’s gone: Kyle McGrath,

RBWho’s next: Noah BrownMcGrath was an offensive

machine the last two seasons, rumbling for a combined 2,826

yards and 46 touchdowns. He was a Brandon Jacobs-type back, with size to knock people over and speed to get outside. Brown, as a freshman last year, saw some playing time late in games when Pope John had big leads. And he was impressive, especially in the regular-season finale at Delbarton, when he rushed for 115 yards and two

touchdowns on 10 carries, including a 56-yard scoring run. Brown should be lethal in the new spread offense.

LENAPE VALLEYWho’s gone: Mike LaBell, LBWho’s next: Dante James,

DLIt seemed whenever Lenape

Valley needed a big play last

season, LaBell was there. Be it offense or defense, he was a guy coach Don Smolyn could rely on to step up in crunch time. Smolyn is looking for someone to be that guy, the one who can deliver when the team’s back is to the wall, and thinks James may well be that kind of player. After 35 years of coaching, Smolyn should be a sound judge

of big-time players.

WALLKILL VALLEYWho’s gone: Kevin Cook, RBWho’s next: Mike BuvisCook earned the Herald’s

Player of the Year honors last year after leading the county in rushing with 1,679 yards. He kept the chains moving and was a big reason Wallkill Valley

made its first trip to states in 15 years. Buvis was not a starter last season, but got quality time in the running back rotation during big games, even though he was just a sophomore. When he carried the ball, Buvis showed he could be dangerous. He should make a smooth tran-sition to being the Rangers’ main rushing option.


When E.J. Manuel replaced injured quarterback Christian Ponder in last winter’s Chick-fil-A Bowl, Florida State football fans caught a glimpse of their future, as Manuel went 11-for-15 and led the Seminoles to a 26-17 victory.

Pope John football fans had a similar glance into the crystal ball in last year’s home opener against Morris Hills. The Lions were up big, and most of the starters were watching from the bench, including quarterback Sean Kenney. Sophomore Tim Schanstra was behind center, and on one play, he let fly with a 50-yard touchdown bomb to senior Zach Johannes.

Schanstra didn’t get a chance to dis-play much more ability last season. But he will this year as the Lions’ start-ing quarterback in the spread offense of new Pope John football coach Brian Carlson. Graduations left a big dent in the rosters of every local school, not just Pope John, and at least seven area teams will have first-year starters at quarterback.

At Lenape Valley, Matt Ciampaglio

moved on after passing for more than 1,400 yards last season. Ciampaglio, An All-Herald first-team quarterback in 2010, is being replaced by Bobby Pregno, who started in the Patriots’ defensive backfield last season. Pregno also will replace another 2010 All-Herald first-teamer — punter Jeff Jozowski.

High Point saw quarterback Kevin Fasano leave, and new Wildcats coach Bill Percey spent most of the summer trying to pick a suitable replacement. At Hackettstown, kicker Carl Von Glahn will add quarterbacking to his duties after the graduation of the super-mobile Chris Souders.

Sophomore Ryan Clarke replaces Tom Vicedomini at Hopatcong, Kyle Potten steps in for Stew Quinn at Kittatinny, and Chris Rourke will try to replace the multi-faceted Matt Soltes at Vernon.

For sure, the class of 2011 was tal-ented, and in its wake, a plethora of first-year starters will look to continue that excellence. Throughout Sussex County, there are new starters in the offensive backfields, on the lines, just

about everywhere.The players who were given some

first-team reps last season are relish-ing their chances to be full-time start-ers in 2011. Among them is High Point’s offensive right guard and defensive nose guard Willie Chepauskas, who is now entrenched as an integral two-way player for first-year head coach Bill Percey.

“This year’s my first big year (on varsity),” said Chepauskas, now a senior. “We have a lot of trust from the coach. He’s a great guy, he trusts me a lot. I’m glad that he trusts me and put me in that position.”

By manning both sides of the line, Chepauskas will fill two of the Wildcats’ 18 starting roles left vacant by gradua-tion. Kevin Pettenger will fill two more by also playing offensive and defensive line positions.

Lenape Valley, like High Point, saw quite a few seniors move on. But that is fairly standard for 36-year head coach Don Smolyn, who likes to play as many seniors as he can each year. Because of that, the Patriots’ first-year starters aren’t wide-eyed or nervous about stepping up to varsity responsibilities. They feel like they’ve earned it.

“Here, it’s always been, when you’re a senior, it’s your turn,” Smolyn said. “We’ve always tried to be a heavy senior-oriented team. So when they’re seniors, those kids know it’s their turn.”

Among those stepping into a first-year starting role for the Patriots is split end Zack Samiljan. He is trying to replace the ever-dependable Ryan Newson, who finished his high school career as the all-time leading receiver in Lenape Valley history. Newson was Ciampaglio’s favorite target last sea-son, catching 10 of Ciampaglio’s 13 touchdown passes and snaring 38 receptions for 715 yards overall. “Ryan ran great precise patterns,” Smolyn said, “and always made the catches under pressure.”

Newson, a 2010 All-Herald first-team selection, won’t be easy to replace. But Smolyn thinks Samiljan is certainly up to the challenge.

“I’d love to see him have a year like

that,” Smolyn said of Samiljan. “He catches the ball real well, he’s got good hands. I think he’s a little faster than Ryan.”

At Wallkill Valley, running the foot-ball has been a key part of the team’s offense, and the offensive line there-fore has been an even bigger key. For his 2009 efforts, Matt McConville was named to the 2010 North-South All-Star Football Classic. And after help-ing to pave the way for Kevin Cook’s 1,679 rushing yards last season, Brian Gallagher was selected to the All-Herald first team.

Junior Connor Collins now steps in to help solidify Wallkill Valley’s O-line, where he will play center. On the other side of the ball, Collins should also help ease the graduation loss of defensive lineman Freddy Bolio, an All-Herald second-teamer the past two seasons.

“It’s a big step up,” Collins said. “Last year, I was subbing in a little bit on offense and defense, but mostly special teams. It’s a lot different play-ing on offense and defense. You’re a lot more tired. You’ve got to step it up and bring your game every day, in practice and in games.”

Tommy Keller is one of those play-ers who will be stepping it up. The Sparta junior is looking to capably fill defensive backfield and receiver posi-tions. Herald All-Area second-teamers Tom Roche and Steve Viegas did both well, but they have graduated. A big year from Keller would be huge for the Spartans’ chances of successfully passing the ball and stopping the pass. Sparta coach Frank Marchiano is counting on it.

“It’s a good feeling knowing that he has enough confidence to play me as a junior,” Keller said. “And I take it seri-ously. I want to get better every day and I want to make an impact on the field.”

Running back may have been the position most affected by graduation in Sussex County. Among the rushers who moved on were: Pope John’s Kyle McGrath, who racked up almost 3,000 yards combined over the past two sea-sons; Lenape Valley’s Brian Kreuder; High Point’s Austin Caldwell; North

Warren’s Nick Davalos and Nolan Drylie; Hackettstown’s Madison Kimball; Kittatinny’s Dean Gould; Sparta’s Julian Farinola, who was also lethal as a kick and punt returner; Cook, the Herald’s 2010 Player of the Year, and Cook’s Wallkill Valley back-field mate, Kaje Cowans.

Some of the backs who could step in and make an immediate difference are: Pope John’s Noah Brown; Lenape Valley’s Will Portington and Mike Grieco; Wallkill Valley’s Mike Buvis; North Warren’s Nolan Robertson; and Sparta’s Will Smith.

High Point’s Billy Smith, Pope John’s Cole Farrand and Sparta’s Ben Hansen are just a few of the many defensive stalwarts who graduated.

Chepauskas, Collins and Keller are just a few of the many first-year start-ers looking to make their marks on Sussex County football history while helping their teams compete for state tournament berths. They are confi-dent, but know they are still evolving as varsity players.

“Especially at center,” Collins said, “because you’ve got to know what the count is, you’ve got to snap the ball the

right way. Lots of guys right in front of your face. ... I definitely got some but-terflies in me the first scrimmage. I had a couple of bad snaps, but then I picked it up and I had a better game at the end.”

Collins will probably have plenty more butterflies, as will all the coun-ty’s first-year starters, when the regu-lar season opens this weekend.

“I think you always get butterflies for any game,” Keller said. “But I’m ready for it.”

Vernon quarterback Chris Rourke steps in for 2011 graduate Matt Soltes.


Pope John’s Tim Schanstra, left, made an impression in limited action last year at quarterback.



High Point defensive end Kevin Pettenger already has embraced a leadership role with the Wildcats.

CHANGING OF THE GUARDNew stars primed for breakout seasons throughout area

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Roster

No. Name Yr. Ht./Wt. Pos.

4 Khyle Conklin Sr. 6-0/160 WR/DL

8 Thomas Stillwell Fr. 5-7/140 WR/DB

12 Thomas Fazio So. 5-7/145 WR/DB

14 Dan Fazio Jr. 5-8/145 QB/DB

17 Michael Goodyear Jr. 5-9/150 WR/DB

18 Dylan Johnson Jr. 5-6/145 RB/DB

20 Dimitri Louis So. 5-8/140 WR/DB

21 D.J. Louis So. 5-8/140 WR/DB

22 Mark Bollmann Sr. 5-9/170 RB/LB

23 Dan Louis So. 6-0/160 WR/DB

26 Tyler Goodyear Fr. 5-10/155 WR/DB

27 Steve Rivera Jr. 5-10/180 TE/LB

28 Daniel Struble Fr. 5-8/140 RB/DB

32 Joseph Leroy Jr. 5-10/190 OL/DL

33 Shaq Lassiter Sr. 5-8/180 RB/LB

34 Kyle Bergman So. 5-10/215 FB/LB

40 Michael Hearon So. 5-6/145 OL/DL

50 Kyle Vanderhoof Jr. 5-8/220 OL/DL

55 Alexander Cline Jr. 5-9/210 OL/DL

61 Ray Oliver Sr. 6-2/300 OL/DT

68 Daniel Hartmann So. 5-10/255 OL/DL

73 Mikhail Georgiev Fr. 5-10/240 OL/DL

76 Matt Babcock Fr. 6-0/250 OL/DL

85 Charlie McCann Fr. 5-6/145 RB/DB

88 David Nazaire Fr. 5-9/140 WR/DB

90 Zachary Cline Jr. 5-9/185 OL/DL

92 Austen Campbell Fr. 5-11/200 TE/DL

94 Benjamin Samanns So. 6-2/290 OL/DL

96 Charles Thayer Fr. 6-0/220 OL/DL

Coach’s History at Sussex Tech: Bob Leach

(first season)

2010 record: 1-8

Conference: Independent


Schedule

Sept. 10 St. Joseph Metuchen, 1 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Marist, 1 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Dwight-Englewood, 1 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Newton, 2 p.m.

Oct. 6 Morristown-Beard, 4 p.m.

Oct. 15 Moore Catholic, 1 p.m.

Oct. 22 Immaculate Conception, 1 p.m.

Oct. 29 Manville, 1 p.m.

Nov. 5 at Snyder, 1 p.m.

SUSSEX TECH MUSTANGS


SPARTA — On the stat sheet, a win is a win.

Not according to the Sussex Tech football team.

The Mustangs believe a vic-tory is outscoring an opponent by the end of the game, not by forfeiture, the only kind of win-ning they have experienced in recent history. So for the 2011 season, the Mustangs are stressing on getting a true vic-tory on the gridiron.

“It is really important,” senior defensive tackle Ray Oliver said of winning. “All four years I’ve been playing, we haven’t won once. It (a forfeit) really doesn’t count in my book because we didn’t win anything.”

The Mustangs have only two victories to their credit, both coming on forfeits from St. Anthony’s (2008) and Dwight-Englewood (2010). While they

were technically victories in the record book, the Mustangs were not happy about them.

“We didn’t really earn it,” said Sussex Tech junior running back Dylan Johnson.

If they want to win, the Mustangs have to do it under the control of first-year head coach Bob Leach. Leach replac-es Steve Masotti, who directed the Mustangs for the past three seasons.

Leach, who spent the previ-ous four years as an assistant coach at Wallkill Valley, said he has focused on trying to change the attitudes of his 29 Mustangs.

“Bottom line is, it’s nice and politically correct to say, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and have fun,’ ” Leach said. “But you know what, if you’re keeping score man, we want to win.”

To accomplish this feat, Leach said he has made the team go back to learning the basic fundamentals.

“We’re starting over,” Leach said, “which is fine. That’s the way we’ve got to go. We’re trying to teach a little bit each day, get a little bit better each day, work on different things.”

On offense, the Mustangs are relying on guys like Johnson and junior quarterback Dan Fazio to put points on the score-board. Splitting time with for-mer tailback Mike McKenna, Johnson scored the team’s lone touchdown of the season and racked up 191 rushing yards.

Fazio is in his second year starting under center, but has thrown only 10 passes, complet-ing two while two others were intercepted. Fazio said the team has looked a lot better than it did last year.

“We’re organized,” Fazio said. “We’re getting our fundamen-

tals down. Each and every day, it’s a steppingstone to a new and better season.”

On the defensive side, the Mustangs have the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Oliver, along with junior Steve Rivera at linebacker, directing a unit that hopes to cut down on the 42.5 points per game it allowed last season. But no matter who is playing for them, the Mustangs know they have to have everyone on the same page if they want to be victorious.

“It’s gonna take a lot of hard work,” Leach said. “The kids know it, the staff knows it, the school knows it, the parents know it and that’s all we can do right now. We’re just gonna work hard and try to get some wins.”

If they get that elusive win, the Mustangs believe it will do wonders for the program.

“To win a game, that’s every-body’s dream here,” Johnson said.

Photo by Daniel Freel/New Jersey Herald

Sussex Tech defensive coordinator Brad Szatkiewicz goes over a play with his unit during a walkthrough.

Mustangs yearn for true ‘W’For a video


njherald.com.

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2 Mike O’Brien So. 5-9/165 RB/LB

3 Greg Castillo Jr. 5-11/180 WR/DB

4 Mark Grimes Sr. 6-0/202 RB/LB

5 Thomas Light Sr. 5-10/165 WR/DB

6 Rakiem Greene So. 5-5/135 RB/DB

7 Connor Scholl Jr. 5-8/156 QB/DB

10 Brian Wickkiser Jr. 6-1/195 RB/LB

12 Carl Von Glahn Sr. 6-3/226 QB/LB

18 Jeff Gnutti So. 5-10/175 QB/DB

20 Brandon Kramer Sr. 6-0/182 TE/LB

21 Joe Puccetti So. 5-5/140 RB/DB

22 Paul Heyrich Jr. 5-10/145 WR/DB

23 Eddie Dulio Jr. 5-7/154 RB/DB

24 Ryan Tatarka Sr. 5-10/175 WR/DB

25 Harrison Browne So. 5-11/185 WR/DB

28 Joe Milelli Sr. 5-10/156 WR/DB

30 Alex Sterphone Jr. 5-10/202 FB/LB

31 Steven Puccetti Jr. 5-6/145 WR/DB

32 Cory Snover Jr. 5-9/178 WR/LB

37 Derek Lurker Jr. 5-10/175 WR/DB

44 Joe Alitz Jr. 6-2/178 TE/LB

45 Anthony Capra Jr. 6-2/194 TE/LB

49 Joe Kuipers Sr. 5-7/179 TE/DL

51 Joe Clarke Sr. 5-10/196 OL/DL

52 Bruce Gurnowki Jr. 6-0/210 OL/DL

53 Josh Bucur Jr. 5-8/215 OL/DL

54 John Scherr Jr. 6-1/194 OL/DL

55 Rob Bozich Sr. 5-9/185 OL/DL

56 Evan Bolling Sr. 5-11/192 OL/DL

58 Ismail Saleh Sr. 6-0/270 OL/DL

59 Alex Weingarten Sr. 6-0/208 OL/DL

60 Tyler Zehnbauer Sr. 5-9/216 OL/DL

62 Zachary Schmidt So. 5-9/180 OL/DL

63 Joe King Jr. 5-10/190 WR/DB

65 Jeramy DeVaul Jr. 5-10/194 OL/DL

66 Gerald Hardiman Jr. 5-9/186 OL/DL

67 Mike Rossi Fr. 6-0/208 OL/DL

70 Tyler Wickkiser So. 5-11/190 OL/DL

71 Robert Blanchard Sr. 6-0/245 OL/DL

72 Thomas O’Mara Sr. 6-0/190 OL/DL

74 Dominic Siconofi So. 5-9/180 OL/DL

75 Anthony Colucci Jr. 5-11/180 OL/LB

78 Justin Hill So. 5-10/200 OL/DL

80 Eric Hubey Sr. 5-10/160 WR/DB

81 Christian Tiller So. 5-10/165 WR/DB

84 Hassan White Sr. 5-7/140 WR/DB

85 Justin Vandermark Jr. 5-9/164 WR/DB

Coach’s History at Hackettstown: Tony Villante

(sixth season, 16-34 overall record)

2010 record: 4-6

Conference: NJAC Freedom Division


ScheduleSept. 9 Chatham, 7 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Madison, 1 p.m.

Sept. 23 Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Sept. 30 at Parsippany, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Newton, 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 at Hanover Park, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 Wallkill Valley, 7 p.m.

Oct. 29 at Kittatinny, 1 p.m.

Nov. 4 at Warren Hills, 7 p.m.

HACKETTSTOWN TIGERS


HACKETTSTOWN — Pressure is nothing new to Carl Von Glahn. As the Hackettstown kicker last season, he had to boot some big field goals, including the difference-maker in a victory over Warren Hills. He even notched a few successful onside kicks.

So taking over the starting quarterback job manned so capa-bly by the since-graduated Chris Souders doesn’t rattle Von Glahn.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Von Glahn said. “Kicking last year was a big role, quarterback’s an even bigger role. So I really need to focus, make reads and everything. ... It’s just a matter of getting used to the starters, get-ting the timing down with the receivers and everything. We haven’t really had any problems.”

The Tigers need Von Glahn to remain cool, to keep adjusting to his new position, as they try to rebound from two straight losing

seasons and make a serious run at the state tournament. Senior co-captain Mark Grimes, a line-backer and running back, thinks the team is close to reaching states after posting a 4-6 record in 2010.

“Last year, we had two close losses,” Grimes said, “and if we would’ve had those wins, we defi-nitely would’ve been in better shape for states. But unfortu-nately, we had a couple of close calls that didn’t go our way, and this year we’re looking for them to go our way.”

Head coach Tony Villante is a bit more guarded about his optimism.

“We’re so young,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of kids to replace.”

A successful season will start with Von Glahn, who has big cleats to fill because Souders was the focal point of Hackettstown’s

offense last year. Most of Souders’ production came on the ground, carrying the ball effectively on quarterback draws or sneak plays, and even rushing for 280 yards and five touchdowns in an early-season game against Parsippany.

Villante will try tailoring this year’s offense to better fit Von Glahn. “The old adage, you don’t put square pegs into round holes,” Villante said. “We’ve got to find out what he does best. We know some things from the sum-mer that he does well, throwing-wise, his accuracy. ... He falls into more of what you think of as the traditional quarterback stuff. But there are some wrinkles that I think he has that we’re gonna try to exploit.”

Villante also has had to find new players to pound the ball. Aside from Souders, Madison Kimball was the Tigers’ most consistent runner last year, but Kimball also has graduated.

“We like what Brian Wickkiser’s done for us, Mark Grimes, Greg

Castillo,” Villante said.Defense is the cornerstone of

any successful team and Grimes has confidence in the Tigers’ defensive unit.

“Our linebacking corps is solid, our defensive backs are solid,” Grimes said. “We have a lot of competition on the line, so we should have a good line this year. It’s looking good.”

“We play defense from the ter-minology and the understanding of what you see from Sunday on down,” Villante said, “hopefully with a little bit more stress on technique and fundamentals. Sometimes you don’t see that in the NFL as much as you should. But we try to preach those things all the way through and carry a lot of those lessons all the way down. Understanding gap exchange. Understanding flow and responsibility and leverage and what it takes to be a good defense. Pursuit, angles, gang-tackling, those things are all part of what it means to be a good defensive player.”

Hackettstown quarterback and

linebacker Carl Von Glahn performs a

tackling drill with a teammate.


New role doesn’t rattle Tigers’ Von GlahnFor a video


njherald.com.

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JEFFERSON — Steve Strumolo can still remember the feeling, how much it hurt when he tore up his left knee in the opening football game of his sophomore season.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I would play the game again in high school,” he said. “I thought I was done. I didn’t think I was get-ting back on the field.”

Strumolo can still remem-ber the feeling, how much it hurt when he and his Jefferson football team-mates let a 12-0 fourth-quar-ter lead become a 15-12 loss in last year’s season opener against Roxbury.

“I was really upset,” Strumolo recalled. “I really wanted that one for the team and for myself. And it just slipped away.”

But the adversity of both setbacks made Strumolo tougher. Though his 2009 season was lost to injury, though his 2010 season opener turned into a harsh memory, he battled back. Jefferson fell uncharacteris-tically short of last year’s

state tournament, but the 5-foot-7 Strumolo kept his helmet up, kept running

hard and had racked up 1,035 rushing yards by sea-son’s end. He gained 103.5

yards per game, 4.8 per carry, and found the end zone seven times.

Strumolo’s resiliency has certainly earned him the respect of his coaches and teammates.

“I don’t need to see him driving a sled with the linemen,” Jefferson coach Joe Mattessich said. “He doesn’t have to prove any-thing to me. He’s a gamer. I know he’ll be there. I know he’s strong and he’s definitely a leader now.”

“Steve, he’s got a lot of heart,” Falcons quarter-back J.R. Reese said. “He’s a great running back, great person, great player, great friend.”

Not holding on against Roxbury — the North 1, Group 4 champion a year earlier — was hard to take. But the ’09 knee inju-ry, which also occurred against Roxbury, was most devastating to Strumolo personally. A kid who thought he would spend Friday nights and Saturday afternoons evad-ing would-be tacklers instead spent his days in physical therapy.

“The rehab was rough,”

he said. “It took basically a year to get me back on the field, running and just doing what I was doing, again.”

“Somebody like Steven, he’s so passionate about the game,” Mattessich said. “And I knew it was breaking his heart. But I knew that he had a focus and an understanding that he could come back and he could be just as strong, and even better.”

S t r u m o l o s a y s Mattessich was an inspiration.

“He was there with every step I took,” Strumolo said. “He want-ed me back on the field as much as I wanted to be back on the field.”

Mattessich wasn’t the only one in Strumolo’s corner.

“I was lucky, I guess,” Strumolo said, “because I had family to help me and push me along. My dad kept pushing me through everything. ... Everything was just a mess, but they got me through it.”

Finally on Sept. 10, 2010, Strumolo was back in game action. Despite the

heartwrenching loss to Roxbury — in a contest Jefferson led for all but eight minutes and 38 sec-onds — Strumolo made a valiant return, dashing for 115 yards and two touch-downs. One of those scor-ing romps covered 58 yards.

Strumolo kept pounding out the yardage, and by November, he had reached one of the golden numbers in sports — 1,000 yards rushing.

“I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “As a person, I expect the most from myself, and I expected to rush for 1,000 yards last year.”

And Strumolo is primed for a big senior season despite running behind an inexperienced offensive line. “I expect to be even better than last year,” he said.

Lolo Sanchez, one of those new varsity offen-sive linemen, doesn’t doubt Strumolo’s ability to excel again.

“Fastest kid in the world, I say,” Sanchez quipped.

Catch Strumolo if you can.

Jefferson’s Strumolo long way from sophomore injury

Jefferson running back Steve Strumolo, left, has put injury woes in the past.


Photo galleries, videos online at www.njherald.com

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RosterH/ANo. Name Yr. Ht./Wt. Pos.1/1 Jerry Reese So. 6-1/185 QB/DB2/2 Nicholas Muccia Jr. 5-7/141 K3/3 Evan Rapp Sr. 5-7/146 WR/DB6/6 Devyn Sanchez Sr. 5-9/192 RB/DL7/7 David Pryce Sr. 5-9/137 WR/DB8/8 Tyler Zimmerman So. 6-0/158 WR/DB9/9 Kenneth Ginefra Sr. 5-11/176 WR/DB10/10 Daniel Brown Jr. 6-0/168 WR/DB11/36 Dakota Nobile So. 5-8/132 QB/DB12/12 Tyler Jones So. 6-0/155 WR/DB14/14 Kyle McCarthy Jr. 5-8/175 RB/LB19/19 Evan Miller Sr. 5-10/172 RB/LB21/85 Peter Franco So. 6-0/143 TE/DL23/23 Besart Kaba Jr. 5-9/159 K27/27 Zachary Doumas Jr. 5-8/140 WR/DB29/29 Joshua De Jesus Jr. 5-6/173 RB/LB30/30 Kyle Neuschatz So. 5-8/168 WR/DB32/32 Steven Strumolo Sr. 5-7/182 RB/DB38/38 Jason Valentini So. 5-10/171 RB/LB44/44 Alex Palmiere So. 5-4/145 WR/DB45/42 Vincent Cannarozzi So. 5-10/193 RB/LB46/46 Steven Dallicardillo Jr. 5-10/182 RB/LB48/48 John Kampas Sr. 5-9/214 RB/LB50/50 Lauren Sanchez Jr. 5-9/200 OL/DL51/51 Dylan Pickard Sr. 5-8/191 OL/LB52/52 Thomas Dugan Jr. 5-8/195 OL/DL53/53 Nicholas Guerra Sr. 6-0/200 OL/DL55/55 Robert Rubel Sr. 5-11/154 OL/DL58/58 Christopher Smolt Jr. 5-9/268 OL/DL59/59 Ryan Sylvester Jr. 5-5/149 OL/LB60/60 Andrew Verdes So. 5-5/175 OL/DL61/57 Dominic Platoni Jr. 6-1/179 OL/DL62/62 Kevin Ramsay So. 5-6/190 OL/DL63/63 Joseph Kampas So. 5-8/178 OL/DL64/64 Amir Amro So. 5-7/166 OL/DL65/65 Jake Miller So. 5-9/186 OL/DL67/67 Erik Harsanyi So. 5-7/156 OL/DL68/68 Robert Hajnos So. 5-10/182 OL/DL69/69 Ryan Weber So. 5-11/228 OL/DL70/70 Rick Gambuti So. 5-5/190 OL/DL71/71 Breiland Marion So. 6-1/226 OL/DL72/72 Andrew Willard Jr. 5-11/257 OL/DL74/74 Charles Romano Jr. 5-6/250 OL/DL75/75 Brenden Matos Sr. 5-8/188 OL/DL76/76 Tyler O’Connell Sr. 6-1/219 OL/DL77/77 Stephen Shipley-Sanchez Sr. 6-0/266 OL/DL82/80 Sean Berta So. 5-8/161 TE/LB83/83 Antonio Letizia So. 5-6/155 WR/DB86/86 Jake Ferguson So. 5-7/145 WR/DB88/88 Daniel Pasquariello Jr. 6-0/155 WR/DB89/89 Vincent Ginefra So. 5-11/227 TE/DL92/92 Michael Barkley So. 5-8/191 RB/LB

Coach’s History at Jefferson: Joe Mattessich (sixth season, 29-23 overall record)2010 record: 4-6Conference: NJAC American DivisionState Playoff Section: North 1, Group 2

ScheduleSept. 9 at Randolph, 7 p.m.Sept. 16 at High Point, 7 p.m.Sept. 23 Mount Olive, 7 p.m.Sept. 30 Sparta, 7 p.m.Oct. 6 at Montville, 7 p.m.Oct. 14 Morris Hills, 7 p.m.Oct. 22 at Pope John, 2 p.m.Oct. 28 Vernon, 7 p.m.Nov. 4 at Parsippany Hills, 2:30 p.m.

JEFFERSON FALCONS


JEFFERSON — The Jefferson football team was close to winning seven games instead of four last season. So what do the Falcons need most to bridge that gap this season? A little staying power.

“That’s something that we’ve been focusing on this preseason in camp — how to finish games,” Jefferson coach Joe Mattessich said. “There were three games we lost in the last minute. So there’s something that we need to do. We need to work on redemption, and know how to finish a team off.”

“Those close losses, we just have to work harder in prac-tice,” sophomore quarterback J.R. Reese said, “work harder in the games, pick each other up. And we’ve got to win those close games.”

If Jefferson is to rebound this year, it will start with Reese, who was not quite a field general last year. As a freshman quarterback, he had the intricacies of a varsity foot-ball system swimming around his head and ornery pass rush-ers diving around his legs. But with a full varsity season now behind him, Reese has earned his stars and is ready to lead the Falcons back to state tour-nament contention.

“Yeah, I feel a lot more com-fortable,” he said. “Last year was a good year for experience and just to get a year under my belt, get all the jitters out and just get more developed for this year.”

“He has improved a lot,” run-ning back Steve Strumolo said. “You can see it in his throwing motion. From being a team leader to being a team player, he has it all now.”

“He does a nice job correcting me if I call a play wrong,” Mattessich said of Reese. “That’s a good sign. That means he understands the offense now and has a grasp of it. He’s more confident this year. And he knows he needs to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Last season, Reese had the luxury of learning the varsity game behind an experienced offensive line. This year, the cleat is on the other foot, as Reese will be the second-year starter behind a green front five. Of the starting line, only guard A.J. Willard saw any con-siderable varsity time last fall.

“It’s good that these boys that now are on the offensive line took it seriously last year and

they’re able to step up right now and fill those positions,” Mattessich said. “I feel confi-dent that they understand the concept of our offense. They’re bright kids, good kids.”

Lolo Sanchez, younger broth-er of senior co-captain Devyn Sanchez, is one of the players being counted on to solidify the offensive line, and he will man the center position. “I believe having an older brother like Devyn would make Lolo mature even faster,” Mattessich said.

The newbies up front will be prying open holes for an experi-enced backfield that includes

Reese, Strumolo and senior full-backs John Kampas and Devyn Sanchez. “If I take one fullback out and put one fullback in, I’m not losing anything,” Mattessich said.

The younger Sanchez will also play a crucial role on defense, trying to boost a unit that lost some big-game players and big-time leaders, including defensive end Ryan Boucher, an All-Herald first-team selection

last year who had eight sacks, linebacker Brandon Coveney, an All-Herald second-teamer who had three sacks and an inter-ception, and defensive tackle Tyler Mendyk, who posted six sacks.

But Mattessich is confident it will all come together and the Falcons can get back to playing winning football, which should mean playing meaningful games in November.

“We’re always competitive, that’s for sure,” Mattessich said. “Teams know when they play us, they’re gonna be in a competitive battle.”


Jefferson sophomore quarterback J.R. Reese drops back to pass during practice.

Falcons eye smooth finishes


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2 Zach Davis Jr. 6-2/170 SE/DB

3 Nick Shlala So. 5-9/158 QB/DB

4 Nick Vandertulip Sr. 6-0/180 SE/DB

5 Michael Boryeskne Jr. 6-1/210 RB/LB

6 Jake Melville Jr. 6-0/170 QB/DB

7 Codie Aramondo Jr. 5-10/160 RB/DB

8 Anthony DePalma Sr. 6-3/175 TE/LB

9 Teddy Fischer Fr. 5-10/140 SE/DB

10 Evan Costello Sr. 5-7/155 K/P

11 Thomas Keller Jr. 5-10/165 SE/DB

13 Matt Seville So. 6-0/140 QB/DB

15 Tyler Mead So. 5-8/120 SE/DB

16 Nick Munro Jr. 6-1/180 TE/LB

17 Ryan Hutchison Sr. 5-10/165 QB

20 John Sharpe So. 5-9/127 SE/DB

21 Robert Tarleton So. 6-0/160 SE/DB

24 Maxx Levatino So. 5-9/145 RB/DB

74 Sean Delaney Sr. 5-7/245 OL/DL

29 Matt Boffa Sr. 5-6/185 RB/LB

55 Chad Mavety Sr. 6-6/310 OL/DL

72 Chris Panten Sr. 6-4/230 OL/DL

76 Hunter Read Sr. 6-1/175 OL/DL

28 Will Smith III Sr. 6-1/205 RB/LB

32 Eric Reinhard So. 5-11/165 RB/DB

34 Kevin Campion So. 5-7/125 SE/DB

35 John Coleman So. 5-10/140 K/P

39 Nick Bevacqua So. 6-0/195 RB/LB

43 Ronald Pondiscio So. 6-3/170 SE/LB

44 Christian Glew So. 6-0/210 RB/LB

46 Lucas Faria Fr. 5-8/145 RB/DB

49 Joshua Gregoli Jr. 5-10/150 RB/DB

50 Eric Knittle Jr. 5-10/185 TE/LB

51 Joseph Whitney Jr. 5-11/215 OL/DL

53 Jake Davis So. 6-2/170 OL/LB

56 Robert Burns Jr. 6-0/210 OL/DL

65 Carlos Guncalves Jr. 5-9/240 OL/DL

54 Brian Porter Jr. 6-0/205 OL/DL

58 Kevin Foulds So. 6-3/225 OL/DL

59 Ryan Sisco Jr. 5-11/215 OL/DL

60 John Romano So. 5-11/210 OL/LB

62 Michael Meisel So. 5-6/150 OL/DL

66 Scott Byers So. 5-9/165 OL/DL

67 Michael Walsh Jr. 6-2/220 OL/DL

68 Alex Kaplan So. 6-1/170 TE/LB

70 Cole Zugelder So. 5-10/180 OL/DL

71 Ricky Girratano So. 5-9/170 TE/LB

73 Reagan Penner So. 5-11/230 OL/DL

77 Nicholas Martinez So. 6-1/200 OL/DL

79 Phillip Salmeri So. 5-7/170 OL/DL

85 Anthony Longo So. 5-10/140 SE/DB

86 Matt Schumo So. 5-8/135 SE/DB

Coach’s History at Sparta: Frank Marchiano

(second season, 5-5 overall record)

2010 record: 5-5



ScheduleSept. 10 North Bergen, 1 p.m.

Sept. 17 Mount Olive, 1 p.m.

Sept. 24 Vernon, 4 p.m.

Sept. 30 at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 at High Point, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15 at Pope John, 2 p.m.

Oct. 22 Montville, 1 p.m.

Oct. 29 at Morris Hills, 1 p.m.

Nov. 5 West Morris, 1 p.m.

SPARTA SPARTANS


SPARTA — Sure, the Sparta football team lost a ton of players to graduation. But that seems to be a common theme in the NJAC American Division, especially for the Sussex County partici-pants.

Pope John and High Point also saw large contingents of seniors move on. So even with inexperi-ence at some key positions, the Spartans are still looking to be right in the mix of this year’s division title chase.

“Right now, everybody’s 0-0,” Sparta coach Frank Marchiano said. “So everybody’s got a shot. It comes down to the teams that are putting in the work and doing all the little things, and then each game takes care of itself.

“Looking around the league, Pope John’s always gonna have their talent out there, Jefferson’s got some key returning players. ... So each week in this confer-ence is a battle. Every time you go out there, you’re gonna battle. I always say this is the most underrated conference in North Jersey, because these teams come out and hit you each week.”

Last season was Marchiano’s first as Sparta’s head coach, after he moved up from his defensive coordinator position to replace Pat Shea. The Spartans showed promise, and nearly upset Pope John on Oct. 16 before losing that game late in the fourth quarter. Sparta fell uncharacteristically short of the state tournament, and the team’s 5-5 record was indicative of its roller coaster season.

The Spartans will make anoth-er run at states without some cornerstone players who gradu-ated. Julian Farinola will be hard to replace after playing such a vital role in Sparta’s offense, defense and special teams. Last year, Farinola rushed for 800-plus yards and eight touch-downs, returned two kickoffs (99, 80 yards) and a punt return (54 yards) for touchdowns, and was rock steady in the Spartans’ defensive backfield. Farinola, an All-Herald first-team selection the past two seasons, isn’t totally irreplaceable, but coming up with a comparable substitute will be daunting.

“Any time you lose a kid who averaged almost 8 yards a carry throughout his career, it’s hard to find that exact kid,” Marchiano said.

Lineman Ben Hansen, a 2010 All-Herald first-teamer, has also graduated. So have lineman Connor Glew, fullback/lineback-er John Figarelli, and receivers

Tom Roche and Steve Viegas, all of whom landed on last year’s All-Herald second team.

But there are players with varsity experience ready to step in as leaders. Will Smith, now a senior co-captain, battled Codie Aramondo for backfield time during summer practices. Smith is looking to replace some of the rushing yards lost by the depar-tures of Farinola and Figarelli, and he also brings plenty of abil-ity to the linebacking corps.

“It’s a challenge,” Smith said, “but I take challenges very well. I like to step up to the plate.”

Senior co-captains Anthony DePalma (OLB-TE) and Nick

Vandertulip (WR-S) should help fill the voids on both sides of the ball.

“We’re definitely coming together as a team,” DePalma said.

“If we work hard enough and come out and just go against people and just show ‘em what we have, I think we’ll do just fine,” Vandertulip said.

Back for his senior season is last year’s starting quarterback, Ryan Hutchison. Throughout

summer practices, Hutchison battled for this year’s starting signal-caller duties with junior Jake Melville, who is also expect-ed to play safety if he doesn’t wind up as the starting quarter-back.

A big plus for Sparta’s point-scoring capabilities is reliable kicker Evan Costello, whose five field goals last year averaged 39.4 yards and included an astounding 52-yarder. For those efforts, Costello was named to the All-Herald first team.

“He’s gonna have a very good year for us,” Marchiano said. “He’s got one of the strongest legs of any kid I’ve ever coached.”

Sparta wide receiver Rob Tarleton makes a catch during practice.


Sparta’s new batch ready to emerge


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1 Pete Vasquez Sr. 5-8/165 WR/CB

2 Francis Boye-Codjoe Jr. 5-9/150 WR/CB

3 Justin Morgan Fr. 5-6/125 QB/S

5 Nick McLean So. 5-9/190 RB/DL

7 Mike Astor Jr. 6-0/150 QB/S

8 Mike Penque Sr. 5-10/210 RB/DE

9 Chirag Patel So. 5-7/125 WR/CB

10 Corey Mitchner So. 5-8/145 WR/S

11 Brendan Drexler Sr. 5-8/165 QB/S

12 Alex Sucai Fr. 5-10/155 WR/S

13 Alec Bolio So. 5-10/150 WR/CB

22 Calvin Kasarate So. 5-10/160 WR/CB

24 Donny Gunderman Sr. 6-3/210 WR/S

25 Brandon Grabkowski So. 5-7/190 FB/LB

27 Michael Armstrong Fr. 5-6/135 WR/CB

28 Mike Buvis Jr. 5-8/185 RB/LB

32 Dylan DiLaura Fr. 5-6/140 WR/DB

33 Jerry Struble So. 5-11/165 FB/LB

44 Drew Seabeck Sr. 5-8/160 OL/S

49 Kyle Schanstra Fr. 5-10/150 OL/DL

50 Connor Collins Jr. 6-0/210 OL/DL

51 Joe Scanniello Sr. 5-8/160 OL/LB

52 Alex Rose Sr. 5-10/175 OL/LB

53 Jack Andrews So. 5-11/175 OL/LB

54 Tylar Creeden So. 6-0/160 OL/LB

55 Dan Tomick Fr. 5-9/195 OL/DL

56 Bobby Russel Jr. 6-4/215 OL/LB

57 Keith Cusack So. 6-1/190 OL/DL

60 Matt Martucci Jr. 5-10/185 OL/DL

61 Tony Loffredo So. 5-10/195 OL/LB

63 Matt Hanshaw Sr. 6-4/230 OL/DL

65 Giovanni Gangialosi So. 5-9/215 OL/DL

66 Gunnar Batty So. 5-9/155 OL/DL

67 John McKeever Jr. 6-3/225 OL/DL

69 Alex Reiman Jr. 5-9/175 OL/LB

70 Joey Figueroa Jr. 5-9/210 OL/DL

72 Brendan Meyer Jr. 6-2/205 OL/DL

75 Collin McConville Fr. 5-8/200 OL/DL

77 Kevin Murphy Sr. 5-8/175 OL/DL

79 Marcus Swinson So. 6-3/185 OL/DL

80 Thor Seldon Jr. 5-8/155 WR/LB

89 Joe Hocking Jr. 5-9/145 WR/CB

90 Darrin Reed Sr. 5-11/165 WR/DL

Coach’s History at Wallkill Valley: Daryl Jones

(fourth season, 15-15 overall record)

2010 record: 6-4

Conference: NJAC Freedom Division


ScheduleSept. 10 Parsippany, 1 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Chatham, 1 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Whippany Park, 3:45 p.m.

Sept. 30 at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.

Oct. 8 Kittatinny, 1 p.m.

Oct. 15 at Newton, 1 p.m.

Oct. 21 at Hackettstown, 7 p.m.

Oct. 29 at Lawrenceville, 2 p.m.

Nov. 5 Madison, 1 p.m.

WALLKILL VALLEY RANGERS


HARDYSTON — It stung, it hurt, it ached. The Wallkill Valley football players and coaches headed off the field at Lakeland High School knowing they had just lost a state sectional quarter-final game they should’ve won.

The Rangers had let a 14-0 lead over Lakeland turn into a 19-14 defeat, ending Wallkill Valley’s first state tournament visit in 15 years. Lakeland surged ahead to capture the North 1, Group 2 championship.

High school football was over for the Wallkill Valley seniors. But for the returnees, the loss stayed with them all winter and spring, and was still with them in the swelter of August, as they pre-pared for another season.

“That game will never be out of my head,” linebacker Bobby Russel said. “I’ll always think about that.”

“I still think about it to this day,” running back Mike Buvis said. “It’s still in my head.”

“That was a game that, obvi-ously, anybody who was there knows we were right in the mix with them (Lakeland), and they ended up going all the way,” said Daryl Jones, now entering his fourth season as Wallkill Valley’s head coach. “And I thought we were as good as or better than everybody in our section.”

The quarterfinal loss does more than just haunt the Rangers.

“It definitely motivates us,” said quarterback Brendan Drexler, now a senior. “Because they (Lakeland) went on to win, and we easily could’ve beaten them.”

As the Rangers vie for back-to-back playoff berths and winning records, they will do so with some new starters on defense. Freddy Bolio, Kaje Cowans, Keith Yearwood and Charlie Buvis were among the defensive stalwarts who graduated. Russel could be the anchor this season after recording 90 tackles as a sopho-more and landing on the All-Herald second team last year.

Offensively, Wallkill Valley has

to replace the production of Kevin Cook, the Herald’s 2010 Player of the Year who rushed for 1,679 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. Cook graduated, as did the fullback Cowans, a nice change-of-pace runner.

Though only a sophomore in 2010, Mike Buvis saw quality play-ing time in the Rangers’ backfield rotation, including the Lakeland game. Buvis now steps up as Wallkill Valley’s No. 1 rushing option.

“I feel a little bit of pressure, but it’ll be fine,” he said. “I know I can do it.”

“Mike’s gonna be a good run-ning back,” Drexler said. “He’ll probably be one of the top run-ners in the league this year.”

Though he didn’t play quite as much as Mike Buvis, Mike Penque did get some carries last season. “We lost a couple of good backs,” Jones said. “But we also

have a couple of guys with experi-ence. Mike Buvis, Mike Penque both have played varsity football for two years, so they’re ready. I think we’ll have some good guys running the ball for sure.”

Perhaps not as often as Cook and Cowans did. The Rangers won’t always have the run-it-down-your-throat mentality on offense this season.

“We’re gonna spread the ball around a little bit more,” Jones said. “Last year, we really pound-ed it with Kaje and Kevin Cook. And this year, we’ve got good backs and we also think with Brendan coming back for a third year and some of the receivers we have, we can spread the ball around a little bit more. I think we’ll be a little bit more up-tempo. We’re looking to do a few different things.”

Which suits Drexler just fine.“It’s nice that we can change it

up a little bit,” he said. “We’re not gonna be running the ball a hun-dred percent of the time. We’re gonna mix it up a little. It’ll be fun.”


Wallkill Valley linebacker Bobby Russel hits the sled as coach Daryl Jones looks on during practice.

Playoff loss motivates RangersFor a video


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Roster

No. Name Yr. Ht/Wt. Pos.

7 Tim Lurz Sr. 6-0/185 QB/DB

10 Nick Tosh So. 5-11/160 TE/DL

11 David Wilbur So. 5-10/140 QB/DB

12 Trent Simmons Jr. 5-7/160 SE/DB

17 Stan Johnson Sr. 5-10/170 SE/DB

20 Jon Davalos Jr. 5-9/165 HB/LB

21 John Hayes So. 5-7/135 HB/DB

22 Luke Robertson Fr. 5-8/155 FB/LB

25 Nolan Robertson Jr. 5-7/175 HB/LB

30 Scott Palmer So. 5-8/145 HB/LB

32 Michael Clothier Jr. 5-8/145 HB/DB

33 Mike Staufenberger Sr. 5-9/175 FB/LB

34 Lucas Kiernan Jr. 5-8/165 TE/LB

42 Nico Fluri So. 5-8/135 HB/LB

44 Blain Ayers So. 5-6/140 FB/LB

45 Ethan Ivey Sr. 6-1/215 FB/DL

52 Steven Strowbridge Sr. 6-1/200 C/DL

53 Ryan Kise Jr. 6-2/210 T/DL

55 Angus Flanagan Jr. 6-2/180 C/DL

56 Dan Davitt Jr. 6-1/210 C/DL

60 Matt Lascari Jr. 5-9/235 T/DL

61 Kevin Kise So. 5-7/195 G/DL

62 James Roe Sr. 6-2/245 G/DL

63 Matt Conk So. 6-1/195 G/DL

64 Bryan Koprf Jr. 6-2/185 G/DL

65 Mark Guiliana Sr. 6-0/235 G/DL

73 Nick Meyer So. 5-10/235 T/DL

75 Chris Longyhore Jr. 6-4/295 T/DL

76 Andrew Palantini So. 5-8/230 T/DL

77 Michael Tansey Jr. 5-10/180 G/DL

79 Greg Galante So. 5-10/185 G/DL

82 Zach Heinz So. 5-11/160 TE/LB

88 Brian Turner So. 5-8/135 SE/DB

Coach’s History at North Warren: Matt Parzero

(third season, 10-10 overall record)

2010 record: 6-4

Conference: Mid-State 39, Hills Division


Schedule

Sept. 9 Warren Hills, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Bernards, 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 Governor Livingston, 7 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Pingry, 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Manville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 New Providence, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 Dayton, 7 p.m.

Oct. 28 at South Hunterdon, 7 p.m.

Nov. 23 at Belvidere, 7 p.m.

NORTH WARREN PATRIOTS


BLAIRSTOWN — Numbers, that’s all the North Warren foot-ball team heard about last sea-son. Averaging 20 available play-ers per game, the Patriots were seemingly overmatched and often underestimated by their opponents.

But North Warren made other numbers count more. Like six, the team’s win total, and eight, the Patriots’ seed in the North 1, Group 1 power-point rankings that earned the program’s first state tournament berth since 2002. Matt Parzero — in only his second season as head coach — was named the Herald’s 2010 Football Coach of the Year for making the numbers work most-ly in North Warren’s favor.

Those personnel numbers are a little better this year, as the Patriots vie for a second straight postseason visit.

“We’ve got 33 on our roster,” Parzero said. “It makes a big dif-ference. We’re able to run the scout team 11 on 11, and coach-es don’t have to fill in and run

the scout team. So I’m happy about that.”

“There’s definitely some subs,” senior fullback Ethan Ivey said. “Now we can replace injuries more easily. It helps a lot.”

“Bigger numbers are definite-ly gonna help with our depth and hopefully get some guys some rest,” said senior quarterback Tim Lurz, about to begin his third varsity season.

The Patriots suffered some injuries during summer prac-tice, bringing the number of available players into the upper 20s. But that was still better than last season.

Regardless of how small the roster was last year, or how much bigger it is this year, third-year center Steven Strowbridge is only concerned with one num-ber — 11.

“Some people think numbers are a big deal,” Strowbridge said. “It’s your best 11. You can

only put 11 on the field at once. Whether you have 11 or whether you have 50, it’s your best 11.”

Strowbridge is one of the Patriots’ ‘best 11,’ as is Lurz. The two have been varsity team-mates since their sophomore seasons, but their connection goes back even further.

“Since eighth grade, I’ve always been the center, he’s always been the quarterback,” Strowbridge said. “So that’s five years for us, three years start-ing on varsity. ... Me and him have a good bond together. We hardly fumble. The snaps are normally never bobbled. We know each other pretty good.”

Lurz displayed the arm strength to air it out last year, but usually didn’t need to because of North Warren’s relentless power-rushing attack that smashed out more than 2,800 yards. Gone from the regu-lar backfield rotation are Nick Davalos and Nolan Drylie, but Ivey returns after rolling up 1,134 yards and 13 touchdowns on 139 carries (8.2 per carry), which landed him on the All-

Herald first-team offense.Ivey is clearly the focal point

of this year’s ground game. “It’s definitely a big responsibility,” he said, “but I think I can handle it.”

Like last season, Ivey will have help. Jon Davalos and Nolan Robertson, who were each given substantial carries in 2010, will join Ivey as main cogs in the Patriots’ running-back-by-committee attack this year.

North Warren also brings a sound defense into the season. If everything comes together, Strowbridge may have the right number in mind, because 2011 could be a memorable year for the Pats.

“We definitely have the talent, the skill, the effort, the enthusi-asm,” Strowbridge said. “We have all of them.”

“Our main goal is to win the state championship,” Ivey said. “We had a good year last year, but we definitely want to build upon last year.”

“We’re not looking to go back-wards,” Parzero said. “This is a huge year for the program.”

N. Warren back with more depthPhoto by Sara Hudock-Cole/New Jersey Herald

North Warren players raise their helmets at the end of a practice session.


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1 Ayre Stoner Sr. 6-0/175 WR/LB

3 Dan Tintle Sr. 6-0/170 WR/DE

5 Matt Wighard Sr. 6-2/165 WR/DB

6 Brian Mills Jr. 5-9/150 QB/DB

7 Chris Rourke Sr. 5-10/140 QB/DB

9 Matt Lisa So. 5-9/165 QB/DB

10 Brandon Clark So. 5-9/150 WR/DB

11 Ethan Vallellanes Sr. 5-9/160 WR/DB

13 Kevin Ufferfilge Jr. 5-11/145 WR/DB

14 Geoffrey McBride Sr. 5-10/145 WR/DB

16 Abel David Jr. 5-4/125 WR/LB

20 Chris Pontus So. 5-10/150 RB/LB

21 Ryan Ward Jr. 5-7/150 RB/DB

22 Tom Higginson Sr. 5-10/175 RB/LB

23 Tim Runo So. 5-9/145 WR/DB

24 Justin Dinelle Jr. 5-7/150 RB/LB

25 Jack Peterson Jr. 6-3/175 WR/DB

26 Connor Sparta So. 5-5/155 WR/DB

27 Nick Kinsella So. 5-10/150 WR/DB

28 Tyler Parrish Sr. 5-9/165 RB/DB

29 Colton Rembish Sr. 6-0/180 WR/DB

30 Jordan Hazinski Sr. 5-11/190 FB/LB

32 Chris Gonzalez Sr. 5-9/165 FB/LB

33 Ken Artsma So. 6-0/170 FB/DE

35 Sean Goellner Sr. 6-2/180 TE/LB

42 Travis Pappas Jr. 5-7/170 FB/LB

44 Kyle Brannigan So. 6-0/170 FB/LB

50 Patrick Thompson So. 5-10/205 C/DL

51 Jesse Cornwell So. 5-11/195 OL/DE

53 Mike Rossi Jr. 6-1/180 OT/DT

56 Dylan Picado Sr. 5-10/200 OG/DT

57 John Griffin Sr. 5-8/200 OG/DT

59 James Schreck Sr. 5-10/195 C/DE

60 Max Schriner Jr. 5-8/162 C/LB

61 Tim Duvelsdorf Sr. 5-3/200 OT/DT

66 David Tlatelpa Sr. 6-0/230 C/DT

67 Kyle Savitski So. 5-10/205 OL/DL

68 Vincent Gross So. 6-0/170 OL/LB

69 Jon Gemeinhardt Sr. 6-1/250 OT/DT

71 Matt Campagnola Jr. 6-1/170 OT/DT

73 Elliot Carasquillo Sr. 6-2/360 OT/DT

74 Adam Smith Sr. 6-0/235 OT/DT

75 Scott Ruppel Sr. 5-10/220 OT/DT

76 Frank Rocco Jr. 5-9/155 OT/DT

77 Kerolos Mikaeil Jr. 5-8/165 OG/DL

78 Owen Pullis So. 5-10/225 OL/DL

79 Mike Burke Jr. 6-2/180 OT/DT

84 John Bekefi Sr. 6-0/185 TE/LB

Coach’s History at Vernon: Chuck Tepper

(16th season, 75-65 overall record)

2010 record: 4-6



ScheduleSept. 9 Roxbury, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 Montville, 7 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Sparta, 1 p.m.

Sept. 30 Pope John, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Morris Hills, 3 p.m.

Oct. 14 Mount Olive, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 High Point, 7 p.m.

Oct. 28 at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

Nov. 5 at Morris Knolls, 1 p.m.

VERNON VIKINGS


VERNON — Since 1988, the Vernon football team has had to run a straight line, throw a tight spiral or make a perfect tackle.

Because if they didn’t, they most likely wound up missing out on the North 1, Group 4 playoffs. This year, though, the Vikings don’t have to worry about being perfect every time out in order to make the state tournament after moving down to Group 3.

“It might help us out a little bit,” Vikings senior quarter-back Chris Rourke said of the classification change. “It will probably give us a better shot at making it.”

The Vikings’ classification switch came after the school’s enrollment dropped from 1,164 students to 1,089. Prior to the change, life as the only Group 4 school in Sussex County was not easy.

In 12 years as a Group 4,

Vernon only made the playoffs twice (1999 and 2005). With a schedule that featured smaller schools, the Vikings knew they couldn’t afford two losses. Some years they couldn’t afford one loss.

Vikings head coach Chuck Tepper said the new group sta-tus helps make it a level play-ing field.

“My argument with all that was always if the kids went 7-1 and weren’t able to be in the playoffs or went 6-2, that’s not fair to those kids,” Tepper said. “That argument is not here anymore. I’m happy with that.”

As good as it might be to face schools of equal size, the Vikings know they still have to focus on the task in front of them.

“We’ve got to win football games,” Tepper said. “And as coaches and players, we nar-row it down to just that. Win the game this weekend and good things will happen from there.”

The Vikings had a tough time putting wins on the board last season, losing their first four games. However, they rebounded by taking four of their next six contests to finish with a 4-6 record for fifth in the tough NJAC American Division.

The Vikings head into 2011 with 15 of their 22 starters back, but they will be without All-State quarterback Matt Soltes, who is now at East Stroudsburg University.

“Our loss is East Stroudsburg’s gain,” Tepper said. “I know he is doing well up there, has got some reps with the first team as an incoming freshman. We’re super excited for him, but life goes on here.”

The Vikings will move on with Rourke, who sat behind Soltes for the last two years

waiting his turn under center. Rourke said he isn’t worried about filling Soltes’ shoes.

“I’ve been playing it my whole life,” he said of the QB position. “I think I can do it.”

While Rourke is getting his feet wet at quarterback, the Vikings have four returning offensive linemen to protect him.

Senior Adam Smith, who heads the group, said it is not that much of a change having Rourke behind center.

“I’ve been blocking for him since little league, so there’s really no difference,” Smith said.

With that said, Smith believes he, along with Rourke and the other 20 seniors, are talented enough to make the North 1, Group 3 tournament after enduring two straight losing seasons.

“We see progress,” Smith said. “We were 1-9, then we were 4-6. Hopefully this year, we will get to states.”


Vernon’s Dylan Picado and Ayre Stoner hit the sled during summer practice.

New surroundings for VikingsFor a video


njherald.com.

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