Back in the early 1990s, Butler football brought the Run and Shoot to Morris County.
This year, quarterback David Smith took it upon himself to get rid of the Shoot.
He kept the Run.
Smith ran, and ran, and ran some more this year.
And when the playoffs came, he continued running – right into the school record books, and right into Big State Sports 2025 Football Player of the Year..
This year, Smith rushed 231 times for 1,875 yards and 30 touchdowns and didn’t fumble a single time. In the playoffs alone, he rushed for 1,024 yards and 15 touchdowns as he led the team to its 10th sectional championship.
Smith had a great year passing (90 for 144 for 62 percent for 1,284 yards with 16 TDs and six INTs). But those great throwing numbers were overshadowed by his incredible season running the ball.
Check out Smith’s postseason … um, run:
- 33 for 301 yards and three TDs rushing in a 24-21 state Group I semifinals loss to Cedar Grove.
- 24 for 213 and two TDs in a 28-14 win over Kinnelon to win North 1, Group I.
- 23 for 310 and five TDs in a 49-13 win over New Milford in the sectional semifinals.
- 20 for 200 and five TDs in a 42-7 win over Hawthorne in the first round of the playoffs.
In the NJIC championship game (which Butler won for the second straight year), Smith led the Bulldogs to a 41-20 win over Rutherford when he was 9 for 16 passing for 171 yards and two TDs (0 INTs) and rushed for 65 yards and two more TDs.
Oh, man.
No one could have possibly seen this coming. He was 74 for 507 with five TDs rushing last year – not bad, but he didn’t exactly set the world on fire. As a passer last year, he was 85 for 135 for 1,331 yards and 25 TDs and two INTs.
So if you have lost count, he has accumulated 4,997 yards and 76 touchdowns.
Smith’s exploits actually fit right in with some of the Butler great quarterbacks of years gone by (Dan Madine, Scott Brown, etc.).
What those guys did for the pass, Smith did for the run.
There were many other standouts in Morris County, including:
Braydon Longo (Mount Olive) – He was spectacular, rushing 163 times for 1,363 yards and 22 touchdowns, catching 17 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, returning three punts for a touchdown, and a kickoff for a touchdown.
Deacon Frayne (West Morris) – Frayne showed up to summer camp not knowing if he would be a starting running back or not, but boy, he showed he was up to the job when it was given to him, going 199 for 1,238 yards and 15 touchdowns for the North 2, Group III champions.
Jaylin Jones (Morris Knolls) – If there was one running back in Morris County who could be described as electric, it would be the lightning-fast Jones, who rushed 74 times for 1,151 yards (15.5 per carry) and 17 touchdowns. He also scored a touchdown receiving and had another on a kick return.
Luke McGuire (Madison) – The Dodgers fell short in the North 2, Group II championship game and McGuire helped get them there by going 113 for 149 passing for 16 TDs and rushing 116 times for 743 yards and 11 more scores.
Jack Kovacs (Hanover Park) – The Hornets won their first nine games before getting upset in the first round of the playoffs and Kovacs (65 for 97, 1,230 yards, 17 TDs passing, 130 for 731 rushing, 11 TDs) was a big reason why.
Ryan Hogan (Chatham) – The Cougars spent a large part of the year without D1 line candidate Jase Catullo and returning first-team All-Morris WR Nick Lagunowich, but Hogan (126 for 204, 1,684 yards, 16 TDs) was able to have a big season.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: David Smith (Butler). There were a number of candidates this year but Smith literally ran away with the honor. HIs playoff run was one for the ages.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Dustin Grande (Kinnelon). With the exception of the 2012 North 1, Group II sectional championship, the Colts were never known for football but Grande has gotten things going in his four years at the helm. Others who did great work this year include Jason Luciani (Butler), Kevin Hennelly (West Morris), Ryan Roumes (Roxbury), Evan Picariello (Chatham), Chris Kubik (Madison), and Nick Liberato (Hanover Park).
TEAM OF THE YEAR (tie): Butler and West Morris. Both teams went undefeated and won sectional championships. The Bulldogs were done in by a 48-yard field goal against Cedar Grove. The Wolfpack were unstoppable until running into an Old Tappan buzzsaw that attracts its athletes differently than West Morris (more on that in next week’s Big State Sports!). I was tempted to give this solely to Butler but I seriously doubt they’d have given Old Tappan a game either.
ALL-MORRIS COUNTY
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QB-David Smith (Butler)
RB-Braydon Longo (Mount Olive)
RB-Deacon Frayne (West Morris)
RB-Jaylin Jones (Morris Knolls)
RB-Carson Fitch (Mountain Lakes)
OL-A.J. Codella (West Morris)
OL-Hudson Flemming (Madison)
OL-Gianmarco Canziani (Hanover Park)
OL-James Rizzo (Mount Olive)
OL-Cole Benicasa (Butler)
WR-Brett Kunkel (Montville)
WR-Carter Ferris (Madison)
WR-Jasiah Brown (Morristown)
PK-Dominick Grunke (Montville)
UT-Luke McGuire (Madison)
UT-Jack Kovacs (Hanover Park)
FIRST TEAM
DEFENSE
DL-Tommy Borgia (West Morris)
DL-Matt Donnelly (Roxbury)
DL-James Giammanco (Mount Olive)
DL-Landon Smith (Kinnelon)
DL-Holden Gillespie (Mountain Lakes)
DL-Ralph Langone (Mendham)
LB-Timmy Wiedmann (Morris Knolls)
LB-Wyatt Sisco (Kinnelon)
LB-Michael Sclafani (Delbarton)
LB-Jack Mancino (Roxbury)
LB-Hunter Bigham (Chatham)
DB-Kenneth Sharperson (Morristown)
DB-Nick Stoll (Delbarton)
DB-Justin Bullock (Mount Olive)
P-Josh DiPasquale (Roxbury)
UT-Soren Porada (Kinnelon)
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QB-Ethan Everett (Morris Catholic)
RB-Shep Boyd (Chatham)
RB-Matt Tafuri (Delbarton)
RB-Massimo Corvelli (Mountain Lakes)
RB-Dante Rosato (Hanover Park)
OL-Tanner Kross (Delbarton)
OL-Anthony Agnoli (Montville)
OL-Romano DeConciliis (Mountain Lakes)
OL-Joe Drown (West Morris)
OL-Matthew Shivas (Delbarton)
WR-Evan Croker (Butler)
WR-Sonny Arden (Chatham)
WR-Jason Post (Jefferson)
PK-Bryan Urgilez Martinez (Morristown)
UT-Darien Iannacone (Hanover Park)
UT-Ryan Hogan (Chatham)
UT-Frankie Falco (Roxbury)
SECOND TEAM
DEFENSE
DL-Alex Husti (Montville)
DL-Devin Martin (Delbarton)
DL-Bradyn Brown (Dover)
DL-Jack McLaughlin (Boonton)
DL-Jared Martini (Mount Olive)
DL-Julian Lopez (West Morris)
LB-Caden Gabriele (Chatham)
LB-R.J. Fardo (Montville)
LB-Owen Lieberwirth (Mendham)
LB-Isaiah Francois (Morris Catholic)
DB-Tommy Canning (Mount Olive)
DB-Sam Turner (West Morris)
DB-Liam Melvin (Madison)
DB-Dylan Roemmele (Pequannock)
P-Johnny Vieira (West Morris)
UT-Peyton Kibburz (Butler)
