The curtain will soon begin to rise on the 2025 high school football season in the Morris-Sussex area and we’ve got questions … lots of questions.
Here are a few that come to mind (and some possible answers).
1. Has there ever been a more accomplished coaching staff on the high school level than at Morris Catholic?
The Crusaders brought in Dave Albano, who hired Cosmo Lorusso to run the defense. Albano won two sectional titles at Par Hills and Lorusso two at both Pequannock and Roxbury. They are certainly two of the best coaches ever in Morris County and two of the best to ever walk the sidelines in North Jersey, when you get right down to it. Consider this: A good coach legitimizes himself with one sectional crown. Great ones win two. Something is building in Denville. There are some great longtime assistant coaches and coaching staffs in the area, but I cannot think of any that is more accomplished (on paper) than this one.
2. Who is the best quarterback in the area?
There was a wealth of talent at QB in Morris-Sussex last year, which included the likes of John Elko (High Point), Zack Clarken (Wallkill Valley), David Smith (Butler), Will Allen (Chatham), Joey Borrello (Hanover Park), Jake Asbury (Mount Olive), Jackson Magley (Randolph), Chris Kaiser (Morris Knolls), Mike Ciullo (Montville), Zach Grande (Kinnelon), Ryan Novak (Morristown-Beard), and Jadon Prinzivalli (Delbarton), among others. My pick for Morris-Sussex All-Area was Sparta’s Shane Hoover, who returns after a year in which he was 160 for 231 for 2,265 yards and 30 touchdowns. Spartans coach Frank Marchiano loves to open things up and he has just the right QB to make things click this year. Sparta is in for a big year and Hoover will be in the middle of it all.
3. Can Delbarton repeat in the SFC-United White?
Hard to say. Remember last year? That’s when Brian Bowers Green Wave scored a wild 52-51 win over DePaul, which came into the game ranked among the best 2-3 schools in New Jersey. Delbarton’s Phil Folmar had an incredible game, catching nine passes for 171 yards and three TDs. So what does that mean this year? Not much – especially the way things go in the world of Parochial football. Every year, rosters among some of the Catholic schools in the Bergen-Passaic-Hudson area change dramatically. Who’s back? Who left? Who’s coming in? Who was snatched up from the public schools? The way things have gone lately, we literally don’t know who is where from year to year. We know Delbarton returns many talented juniors. We know the Green Wave don’t have a revolving-door operation that some of the other schools have. Delbarton will be good, that much we know. But the other schools? Can anyone say with certainty who’s who? You cannot. There are transfers all over the place. You almost have to wait until Week 0 or Week 1 is complete in order to get an accurate read on some of these schools.
4. Can someone win the American Blue outright this year?
Last year, high-powered High Point appeared to be the best team but then lost a wild game to Newton. The two finished with 4-1 records in the league, but the unofficial league title went to Newton thanks to its wild 36-32 win over High Point. The Wildcats return the best running back in the league in Jerron Martress (more on him below), but the Braves return a wealth of talent on both sides of the ball. The early nod goes to Newton, thanks to the return of ….
5. Is there a better all-around player than Newton’s Nick Kurilko in Sussex County?
What a two-way threat the Braves have. He rushed for 933 yards and 14 TDs and caught 14 passes for another 143 yards last year. He had 13 tackles for loss and one sack among his 70 tackles at linebacker last year. And he dominated in the biggest regular-season game when Newton beat High Point: 14 for 158 rushing with three TDs, 21 tackles (four for loss), and 42-yard INT return that led to Newton’s go-ahead touchdown.
6. Is High Point’s Jerron Martress the best running back in the Morris-Sussex area?
It’s very likely. Amazingly enough, he entered last year wanting to play quarterback for coach Bill Percey but the coach thought better of it, inserted John Elko in the spot (good move, as Elko had a big year throwing and running), and Martress wound up being arguably the best running back in school history (1,671 yards, 26 TDs) as the Wildcats finished 9-2 and were the surprise team in Sussex County last year.
7. While we’re on the subject of High Point, what can the Wildcats do for an encore?
Well, Percey has to figure out who replaces Elko, who was a big threat both running and throwing. Percey worked a lot of magic last year, so we’ll have to see what he is up to. The team’s offense was spectacular, rolling up more than 35 points in nine different games, including a 46-6 thumping of Becton in the first round of the state playoffs.
8. And while we’re on the subject of Sussex football, can anyone stop a Matt Parzero-coached team?
No one has been able to lately. The man is a walking dynasty! Newton has won or shared eight straight divisional championships in the SFC. Newton’s record since he came aboard in 2016 is 66-16. The one time the Braves didn’t win their league was in his first year, when they finished second to Lenape Valley (where Parzero played for the great Don Smolyn). How great a coach is Parzero? Put it this way: He was 45-27 while coaching at North Warren for seven years (from 2009-2015). Before he arrived there, North Warren was 22-38 and has gone 23-49 since he left. In Newton’s 10 years before he arrived, the Braves were 29-61. The last time they were .500 was in 2006, when they were 5-5 under Tom Brennan.
9. Is there life after Tylik Hill at Pope John?
Not many schools churn out running backs the way Pope John does, but Hill might have been the best the school has ever produced. He was BigStateSports’s Morris-Sussex Player of the Year last year, when he was great during the regular season and became spectacular in the state playoffs. He finished 314 for 2,336 rushing with 27 touchdowns (19 for 112 receiving). In the regular season, his best game was a 38 for 243, three-touchdown performance in a 35-34 loss to Delbarton (a Top 5-10 team in New Jersey). In the playoffs, he was 107 for 727 rushing with 11 touchdowns against Camden Catholic (a 42-7 PJ win), 30 for 97 and a TD against Paramus Catholic (Pope won, 14-10), 18 for 245 and three TDs versus St. John Vianney (Lions won, 48-14), and 32 for 175 and three TDs against DePaul (33-21 Pope loss in the Non-Public B final). The two other truly great running backs I can think of were during the Vic Paternostro Era: Jeremy Tucker (who was 237 for 2,319 yards rushing in 2005 after he transferred in after Bayley-Ellard closed) and Hank Trogani (the all-time leading rusher in the school with 605 carries for 4,441 yards from 1995-97).
But there were other stellar ones who eclipsed 3,000 yards during their career under Paternostro: Ryan Pepe (3,327 yards from 2000-02), Mike Johnston (3,326 yards from 1990-92), Keith Bonser (3,297 yards from 1992-94), and Matt Petronzio (3,098 yards from 1989-91). The greatest career of any runner in school history belongs to Noah Brown (2012-2013), who wound up going to the NFL after a stellar career at Ohio State. He has played for the Cowboys and Texans and is now with the Redskins.
10. Can a coach have a more difficult introduction to his job than Parsippany’s Thomas Struble?
Since the mid 1980s, I have awarded Coach of the Year honors to many,many coaches (football, wrestling, softball, baseball). More often than not, the coach who earned the award either led his team to a breakthrough season, won a state championship, or made the most out of the least. Generally speaking, those are my criteria.
Last year, I went with Hanover Park’s Dan Fulton (now at West Essex) because he led the Hornets to their first sectional title since 1990. Fulton won by a whisker over Butler’s Jason Luciani, who guided the Bulldogs to the NJIC and sectional titles.
But I have rarely come across a coach/coaching staff who pulled things together the way Parsippany did last year. When you get right down to it, it was a spectacular coaching job!
Few coaches endured the turbulence Struble did when he was hired at Parsippany and it was truly remarkable.
He was approved by the board on June 6 and met with the team the following day. Every assistant coach on previous coach Jason Hurta’s staff had resigned, leaving Struble without any assistants at the start of summer practice. The final assistant was hired during Zero Week (right before Labor Day), so the staff had a combined two seasons of volunteer coaching experience. The Red Hawks lost their first seven games but won their final two (beating Hopatcong, 34-6, and North Warren, 18-13.).
The schedule was a monster with five of the school’s first six opponents reaching the playoffs (Boonton, Pequannock, High Point, Hanover, Madison).
“We faced an incredible amount of adversity,” Struble said, “and I could not be more proud of the kids for the effort they gave with zero sign of quit in them (36 kids at the start of training camp, ended the season with 34 at our final game). My coaches were thrown to the wolves and flourished. Our last two games being wins is a huge momentum push.”
11. Can Greg Gruzdis bring Whippany Park a winner?
The Wildcats will be very happy if Gruz works the same magic at Whippany that he did at Waldwick, where he put what had been a soccer school on the football map. Whippany has struggled and has gone 29-54 the last nine seasons. Whippany’s only sectional title was in 1980. The hope is that Gruzdis turns things around.
Gruzdis spent last year as an assistant to Chatham coach Evan Picariello, whose Cougars finished 7-3, won a playoff game at Wayne Valley, and were the surprise team in Morris County.
Waldwick wasn’t exactly a football school until Gruzdis arrived. The five years before he arrived, the program went through three different coaches and they combined to go 15-35. In his first year, Waldwick was 5-5 for its first winning season since 2004. During his 14 years, the school went 88-47. Waldwick went 20-4 and back-to-back sectional finals in 2013-14, losing to Westwood both times.
Gruzdis and Whippany will open at Parsippany Aug. 29 and then will travel to Glen Ridge a week later. The Wildcats will open their SFC-National Blue slate at home against defending co-division champion Boonton Sept. 12.
12. Can Morris Knolls run the table again in the Liberty White?
I doubt it. Going through such rugged terrain is not easy. Doing it twice is next to impossible. Can the Golden Eagles win the league again? Of course! But last year’s team was a special one. In coach Bryan Gallagher’s first season after replacing legendary Bill Regan, Knolls won all five of its games in the always-strong Liberty White by beating West Morris (27-26 in OT), Mount Olive (27-7, and then 42-14 in the sectional semifinals), Randolph (36-18), Morristown (35-28) and Roxbury (42-7). Look at it this way: Knolls had one of its best teams ever last year and squeaked past West Morris and Morristown. Gallagher should have another good team but it lost a lot of key contributors. So let’s say the Liberty White reverts back to two seasons ago (when Mount Olive beat Roxbury in a sectional final and West Morris won its third straight section, and all six teams made the playoffs). If Knolls is a notch below last year and the rest of the league is better than last year … well, let’s just say it’ll be mighty difficult for the Golden Eagles to sweep through the league again.
13. Will the National Blue come down to the wire again?
Last year, Boonton went up to Wallkill Valley in the final weekend of division play and the Bombers came away with a 17-7 win in a battle of first-year coaches. Boonton trailed at the half, 7-0, but dominated in the second half. First-year Bombers coach Sean Norton, who had begun turning things around at Hopatcong, went back to where he played high school football in the early 2000s and inserted a new quarterback in Metin Ahmedi, who ran the triple option beautifully with the help of running back Sylas White, one of the best the school has ever produced. Both are gone. Wallkill coach Jim Hammil, meanwhile, must replace quarterback Zack Clarken, a very good high school QB. So both coaches must figure out a way to replace some prominent players. So with everything so up in the air, my guess is … probably not. Plus, it is likely that Kinnelon, Whippany Park, North Warren, and Hopatcong will have something to say in the divisional race.
14. Has there ever been a better four-year lineman than West Morris’ Tommy Borgia?
Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any lineman at a big school who came in as a freshman and has dominated the way the Princeton-bound Borgia has. I know that there might be a few four-year starters at a Group 1 school or maybe even Group 2, but rarely does a kid come in at a big program as a freshman and make an impact – and it is even more rare when that happens at a football school. He had five sacks and nine tackles for loss as a mere freshman (for a regional champion) and has 222 career tackles, 19 sacks, and 45 tackles for loss for his career – with one year to go. And he is a terrific O-Lineman as well. That’s quite a career.
15. What can Hanover Park do for an encore?
That would be asking quite a lot. In case you missed it, a lot has happened to the Hornets since they won their first sectional title since 1990. Coach Dan Fulton got a job coaching West Essex and was replaced by Nick Liberato, whose dad, John, coached Hanover in the mid-1990s. John Liberato resurrected a struggling program and brought the Hornets to a sectional championship game (losing to a powerhouse Pequannock team at Kean in 1999). Nick Liberato will have his dad on staff as offensive coordinator. Hanover lost plenty (including QB Joey Borrello and two-way standout Joey Fillippone, among others) but returns some key contributors from last year such as WR-DB Jack Kovacs, WR-LB Nico Malgieri, and RB-DE Azaad Parks. The American White has two strong teams (Mountain Lakes, Madison) and the Hornets hope to work their way into that upper echelon. But right now, my money is on Madison and Mountain Lakes to duke it out for the division crown.
16. Who is the best kicker in the Morris-Sussex area?
Delbarton graduated standout Will Kramer, who booted 10 field goals in 13 tries (long of 49) and was one of the best kickers Morris County has ever produced. West Morris’ Johnny Viera is entering his fourth season kicking for the Wolfpack and was strong last year, when he was 4 for 5 kicking field goals (long of 38) and was 38 of 42 kicking extra points. Montville’s Dominick Grunke opened quite a few eyes last year, when he was 7 of 8 kicking field goals with a long of 39. Whippany Park’s Brandon Giangeruso was perfect kicking field goals (4 for 4 with a long of 32 yards) and extra points (12 for 12). He is another one to watch.
17. Who wins the Liberty Blue?
First, a look back at last year, when Mendham was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last year. Let’s not forget what Ethan Jeros’ team did in the regular season, when they swept through the league in dominant fashion. I know the playoffs are the final exam of the season, but Mendham’s one-point setback to River Dell shouldn’t cause one to forget just how terrific a season it was for the Minutemen, who won the first divisional crown in school history since 2004 (during the Bill Carpluk administration).
This year, I’m looking at a two-team race between Montville and Chatham, both of whom were good last year (though not at Mendham’s level) and return some standout players. Montville has a strong foundation on defense (Dante Palladino, Ryan Conlon, and R.J. Fardo). Chatham has a great returning receiver (Nick Lagunowich (53 for 737 receiving, 6 TDs) and some good ones in Sonny Arden (29 for 347, 2 TDs) and Michael MacAniff (24 for 360, 3 TDs), but who’s gonna get them the ball to replace graduated standout QB Will Allen?
18. Can Mountain Lakes get back to a sectional championship game?
Absolutely. The Herd were a two-time defending champion heading into last year and were in a rebuilding mode but made it to the sectional finals and were thumped by a powerful Butler team, 42-7. Mountain Lakes was arguably the best Group I school in New Jersey from 2022-23, going 22-4 with two sectional championships and two trips to the state Group I finals at Rutgers (beating Glassboro in 2023). Darrell Fusco’s team runs the Wing-T beautifully and returns a backfield consisting of Carson Fitch, Massimo Corvelli, and Billy Barrett to go with such other returnees as Jack Bronico, Roman Deconcillis, and Holden Gillespie. If I were betting man, I’d put some money on Darrell Fusco’s Herd being the team to beat in Group I.
19. Can Butler stage a repeat in the NJIC and in the playoffs?
Jason Luciani’s Bulldogs are one of the best programs in Morris County and it would be foolish to rule them out. They have one of the best returning quarterbacks in the Morris-Sussex area in David Smith, who was terrific as a two-way threat last year (85 for 135, 1,331 yards, 25 TDs, just two INTs passing, 74 for 507, 5 TDs rushing). Yadi Perez began getting reps at midseason and rushed for almost 600 yards and scored eight TDs.
20. Has a Lenape Valley running back ever gone on such a “run” as Kevin Giusti last year?
Not that I can think of. Lenape’s Wing-T prides itself on a balanced attack (and that should not change under new coach Mike Moschella), but I guess there is nothing wrong with going with the hot hand. That’s the way things are done in basketball and that is exactly what outgoing Lenape coach Wade Pickett did with Giusti, who finished the year as a BigStateSports All-Sussex running back with 1,245 yards and 10 touchdowns. He became the Patriots No. 1 back in October, when he was 22 for 289 rushing (two TDs) in a 28-16 win over Sussex Tech, 40 for a school-record 351 and five TDs in a 53-32 win over Hackettstown, and was 28 for 255 and three TDs in a 41-29 win over Wallkill Valley.
