On one part of West Morris’ football field Friday night, A.J. Codella bearhugged and high-fived teammates Tommy Borgia, Brody Mansolino, and Mike Finlay.
Soon, he found his way to the beaming Wolfpack coaches.
More hugs, smiles, and laughter.
It was a Friday night in November, but it felt more like New Year’s Eve.
Happy Sectional Championship!.
Indeed, it was a great night to suit up for West Morris, which won its 11th sectional title with a 35-14 victory over Summit.
At game’s end, mini-celebrations broke out all over the field. Before long, the West Morris student body got into the act, coming out of the stands, flooding the field and congratulating their friends on the team. Football parents joined the party.
Players posed for pictures with family, friends and teammates deep into the night.
“We were just so happy that our last home game ended with a win and a sectional championship,” Codella said.
“It was electric,” Borgia added. “There was no other way to go out. Last game on that field. I grew up in Long Valley and it’s awesome that we get to walk off that field with a trophy in our hands.”
West Morris (12-0), which tied a school record for victories, will play at Old Tappan (12-0) in the state Group III semifinals Friday night. The winner will advance to the state Group III championship game against Cedar Creek or Holmdel.
West Morris advanced over Summit the same way it has all year: With a brute-force running game that operated at peak efficiency all night long. The overpowering line of Codella, Borgia, Blake Parkinson-Gee, Joey Drown, Matt Laceenza and tight ends Luke D’Aconti and Sean Conway pounded away in the Wing-T.
West Morris ran wild all game long, to the tune of 48 carries for a whopping 356 yards. The team has run for 4,500 yards this year and that’s with defenses loading the box the way Summit did, but to no avail.
The biggest beneficiaries of the O-Line were rugged Deacon Frayne (23 for 178, 2 TDs, 1,333 yards for the season) and swift-to-the-outside Mike Finlay (10 for 130, 2 TDs, 900 yards).
Wolfpack quarterback Stephen Bracchioforte (1-for-1, minus-2 yards passing) needed to attempt one pass all evening.
Why throw when the running game is going so well? Why pass when the O-Line is pushing defenders around? Why not run when Frayne is breaking tackles and Finlay is speeding to the outside?
“The game went according to plan,” Borgia said. “In every game, the goal is to beat them up front and we did that. To make yards, you have to push guys back. Honestly, they were strong and tough, but we won the battle. Just push them back a few yards and let the running backs do the rest.”
At game’s end, Summit coach Kevin Kostibos commented that West Morris’ big boys up front resembled a college line.
Music to a high school lineman’s ears.
“That is amazing to hear,” Codella said. “Even the Summit players said … a couple of kids said that we were legit and the real deal. That means so much.”
Right from the outset, West Morris imposed its will on Summit by running the ball on its opening drive. Frayne wound up going in from 17 yards out to conclude the game’s first possession.
Kostibos’ team wound up driving downfield but fumbled the ball away and West Morris recovered. A short time later, Frayne went in from 4 yards out. The second of five Johnny Vieira PAT’s made it 14-0.
Summit’s offense couldn’t generate any points on its second drive and West Morris went right to work and scored on its third straight possession when the speedy Finlay went in from 48 yards out, making it 21-0.
That drive had another highlight, when Frayne seemed to carry several Summit tacklers on his back for a 37-yard run that was nothing short of incredible. Frayne was one of the best backs in all of Morris County this year, and definitely the most surprising. No one saw him running like an elite back in the summer months.
“We knew he was good, but not at the level that he is at right now,” Codella said, “but 1,300 yards was not a thought for any of us.”
Armed with a 21-7 lead at the half, the Wolfpack were not done.
“We tried not to talk about it,” Codella said. “We wanted to put up as many points as possible and not jinx anything. At halftime, we didn’t say a word. Just go out and play hard and keep putting points up.”
That they did, as Braccioforte scored on a 1-yard plunge and Finlay added his second TD of the game, this one from 25 yards out.
The last TD came as the result of a six-minute drive, which was atypical of the kind of season that Wolfpack – namely, their O-Line and running game – have had.
It was a beautiful – and fitting – way to win a sectional championship.
“Just drain the clock and have a long possession,” Codella said.
And now, the 2025 team joins a dynasty. As good as West Morris has been down through the ages, this is the best run of football the school has ever had. Four sectional titles in five years is quite a run.
“It’s awesome, and now the seniors have a legacy at West Morris,” Borgia said. “In 10 or 15 years, we can come back and look at the banner and say, ‘That was my year, my senior year.’ The other championships were great for my friends who were seniors on the team, but this one was for my friends and my guys, something we could look back on. Undefeated state sectional champions.”
They knew what they had to do against Summit and did it.
“We came onto the field and we knew what we had in front of us, a sectional championship in our last home game ever,” Codella said. “Just ball out, and leave everything on the field.”
Everything … including the celebration afterwards.
