Butler and West Morris won sectional titles and went about them the old-fashioned way: By pounding the rock.
Game after game, opponents geared up to stop both running games but the Bulldogs and Wolfpack continued showing North Jersey how great their football programs are.
Butler rode the legs of quarterback David Smith, who had an incredible season running the ball. He was 231 for 1,875 rushing with 30 touchdowns. Smith saved his best for the big games, as he rushed for 1,024 yards and 15 touchdowns in the playoffs alone. He also was 90 for 144 passing for 1,284 yards and 16 TDs. In two years, he had 4,997 yards combined running and passing and 76 TDs over the last two years in leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back NJIC and North 1, Group I championships. The school now has 10 sectional crowns.
If the topic is Butler’s Greatest Quarterback Ever, Smith is in the conversation, if not at the very top of it.
While Smith ended a terrific career at Butler, Deacon Frayne just began his career as a member of the Wolfpack and might end up leading the school in career rushing yardage before he is through. He sure is off to the best start any runner has ever had, when you consider that sophomores rarely even see the field at West Morris.
Wolfpack coach Kevin Hennelly didn’t have his backfield puzzle solved in the summer until he inserted Frayne and the kid took over with perhaps the best sophomore year (199 for 1,238 yards, 15 TDs for the North 2, Group III champions, West Morris’ 11th) a runner at West Morris has ever had.
How hard is it for a sophomore to enter the starting lineup at a tradition-rich school like West Morris? Look at it this way: Stefano Montella, as great as he was, wasn’t able to start until his junior year at the school.
The irony of all this? Wolfpack offensive coordinator Henry Frayne, a former West Morris All-Morris O-Lineman, has built a glittering reputation as an O-Line guru. While it is a big deal in most towns to grow up and play quarterback or running back in high school, it is more fashionable to play O-Line in Long Valley.
So here comes Henry Frayne’s son … as a star running back. Life is funny sometimes.
Here is a final salute to the Morris-Sussex teams who won their league championships. Winning sectional championships and playoff games are a big deal, but we at Big State Sports don’t want to forget the seven area schools who won their league or had a share in the regular-season title:
- High Point (8-2) finished 5-0 in the league and won the American Blue.
- Hanover Park (9-1) finished 4-0 and captured the American White.
- Chatham (6-3) went 5-0 and won the Liberty Blue.
- West Morris (12-1) won all 5 league games and won the Liberty White.
- Kinnelon (10-2) was 5-0 in the league on the way to winning the National Blue.
- Delbarton (3-1) stunned DePaul in the regular season and wound up tying DePaul and St. Peter’s Prep for the United White title.
- Butler (11-1) went 5-0 to win the NJIC-Meadowlands.
BIG STATE ALL-AREA PLAYER OF THE YEAR-David Smith (Butler).
BIG STATE ALL-AREA COACH OF THE YEAR-Dustin Grande (Kinnelon).
BIG STATE ALL-AREA TEAM OF THE YEAR (tie): Butler and West Morris.
Here is Big State Sports All-Area (Morris-Sussex and Warren schools in the Super Football Conference):
ALL-AREA
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QB-David Smith (Butler)
SKILL-Shane Hoover (Sparta)
SKILL-Braydon Longo (Mount Olive)
SKILL-Deacon Frayne (West Morris)
SKILL-Jerron Martress (High Point)
OL-A.J. Codella (West Morris)
OL-James Rizzo (Mount Olive)
OL-Cole Benicasa (Butler)
OL-Alex Conway (High Point)
OL-Sean Dietz (Newton)
WR-Christian Brevig (Sparta)
WR-Brett Kunkel (Montville)
WR-Jasiah Brown (Morristown)
PK-Dominick Grunke (Montville)
UT-Carter Ferris (Madison)
FIRST TEAM
DEFENSE
DL-Tommy Borgia (West Morris)
DL-Matt Donnelly (Roxbury)
DL-James Giammanco (Mount Olive)
DL-Holden Gillespie (Mountain Lakes)
DL-Gavin Wilczewski (Vernon)
LB-Timmy Wiedmann (Morris Knolls)
LB-Wyatt Sisco (Kinnelon)
LB-Michael Sclafani (Delbarton)
LB-Jack Mancino (Roxbury)
LB-Sam Conetta (Pope John)
DB-Justin Bullock (Mount Olive)
DB-Nick Stoll (Delbarton)
DB-Niko Martinez (Kittatinny)
DB-Davey Rhinehart (Warren Hills)
P-Josh DiPasquale (Roxbury)
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QB-Luke McGuire (Madison)
SKILL-Jack Kovacs (Hanover Park)
SKILL-Carson Fitch (Mountain Lakes)
SKILL-Nick Kurilko (Newton)
SKILL-Cohl Stevens (Warren Hills)
SKILL-Jaylin Jones (Morris Knolls)
OL-Hudson Flemming (Madison)
OL-Gianmarco Canziani (Hanover Park)
OL-Joey Drown (West Morris)
OL-Tanner Koss (Delbarton)
OL-Evan Kennedy (Pope John)
WR-Evan Croker (Butler)
WR-Sonny Arden (Chatham)
WR-Mekhi Garrett (Warren Hills)
PK-Bryan Urgilez Martinez (Morristown)
UT-Jack Brex (Kittatinny)
SECOND TEAM
DEFENSE
DL-Landon Smith (Kinnelon)
DL-Ralph Langone (Mendham)
DL-Alex Husti (Montville)
DL-Devin Martin (Delbarton)
DL-Max Faye (Newton)
LB-Hunter Bigham (Chatham)
LB-R.J. Fardo (Montville)
LB-Owen Lieberwirth (Mendham)
LB-Isaiah Francois (Morris Catholic)
LB-Matt Tyburczy (Hackettstown)
DB-Sam Turner (West Morris)
DB-Liam Melvin (Madison)
DB-Kenneth Sharperson (Morristown)
DB-Brendon Lehman (High Point)
PJohnny Vieira (West Morris)
UT-Soren Porada (Kinnelon)
