FootballBig State Sports 2024 All Morris-Sussex Area Football Team By Joe Hofmann December 11, 2024 It was quite a football season for the Morris-Sussex area. There were many, many storylines. To wit: Butler stormed to the NJIC regular-season playoff championship and then captured the North 1, Group I title by beating Mountain Lakes, 42-7. Hanover Park won its first sectional championship since 1990, knocking off Glen Rock, 24-3. The Hornets went undefeated in the SFC-American White. Morris Knolls reached the sectional championship game for the first time since 2005 before losing to Ramapo, 35-28. The Golden Eagles went undefeated in the rugged terrain known as the Liberty White. Pope John, which got off to a 2-7 start against one of the state’s most demanding schedules, won three straight state tournament games and reached the championship game in Non-Public B before losing to a DePaul team that is arguably the second best team in New Jersey this year, 33-21. Newton and High Point had quite a season-long battle and finished tied for first in the American Blue (the Braves won the head-to-head matchup, 36-32). Delbarton stunned DePaul (52-51) and won the United White. Mendham went undefeated in the Liberty Blue and won its first divisional championship of any kind since 2004. Boonton and Wallkill Valley had a thrilling, season-long National Blue race and finished tied for the division crown (with the Bombers winning the head-to-head matchup, 17-7). Sparta stormed its way through the Patriot Red and won the regular-season crown. Here is Big State Sports Final All-Area team. Team of the Year: Butler. The Bulldogs have had their share of sectional championships over the years (eight) but this was one of their best teams ever. Coach Jason Luciani’s team could pile up points and put the hammer to teams. Coach of the Year: Dan Fulton, Hanover Park. The Hornets rolled to the championship in the SFC-American White and then dominated Newton, Ramsey and Glen Rock on the way to winning their first sectional title in 34 years (when several current Hornets’ fathers played for the school). Hanover has always put a good product out onto the field, but Fulton’s club overachieved and outperformed expectations. Player of the Year: Tylik Hill, Pope John. Out of all of the high school football players in the Morris-Sussex area, there is only one who was absolutely electric with the ball and that was Hill, who was 107 for 727 yards rushing with 11 TDs in the playoffs alone, which might be a New Jersey record for the postseason. Hill was 314 for 2,336 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns. Final Morris-Sussex Top 10 Delbarton Morris Knolls Pope John Hanover Park Butler West Morris Mendham Mount Olive Montville High Point BIG STATE SPORTS ALL-AREA FIRST TEAM OFFENSE QB-Shane Hoover, Sparta RB-Tylik Hill, Pope John RB-Jerron Martress, High Point RB-Bobby Brickner, Morris Knolls OL-Rowan Killam, Mendham OL-Richie Banatta, Mount Olive OL-Dean Mangiocavallo, Randolph OL-Tommy Borgia, West Morris OL-Jared Cofrancesco, Pope John OL-Cody DiCarlo, High Point WR-Phil Folmar, Delbarton WR-Nick Lagunowich, Chatham WR-Luke Doster, Sparta PK-Will Kramer, Delbarton UT-John Elko, High Point UT-Joey Borrello, Hanover Park UT-David Smith, Butler UT-Chris Kaiser, Morris Knolls FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE DL-James Giammanco, Mount OliveDL-Luca Lopez, Delbarton DL-Justin Gryszkin, Pequannock DL-Luca Toriello, Butler DL-Joe Pappa, Pope John DL-Dante Palladino, Montville LB-Kyle Checchio, Delbarton LB-Joe Filippone, Hanover Park LB-Lincoln Youtz, Mount Olive LB-Nick Kurilko, Newton LB-Tyler Houser, Pope John DB-Brady Bentrewicz, West Morris DB-Troy Bailey, Delbarton DB-Wes Johnston, Pope John DB-Mike Vito, Montville P-Tanner Gaboda, Lenape Valley UT-P.J. Coffey, Butler UT-Zack Clarken, Wallkill Valley SECOND TEAM OFFENSE QB-Jadon Prinzivalli, Delbarton RB-Tyler Cumming, Mount Olive RB-Cole Capuzzi, Mendham RB-Peter Miragliotta, West Morris RB-Brian Gruber, Sussex Tech OL-Tyler Frame, Pequannock OL-Brent Berchin, Morris Knolls OL-Lorenzo Petrucci, Delbarton OL-Greydon Carcich, Morristown OL-Andrew Stickley, Kinnelon OL-Jase Catullo, Chatham OL-Dan O’Leary, Pope John WR-Jasiah Brown, Morristown WR-Jason Post, Jefferson PK-Jake Merlucci, Morris Knolls UT-Will Allen, Chatham SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE DL-Tyler Jackson, DelbartonDL-Timmy Weidman, Morris Knolls DL-Chase Bright, Morristown DL-Donald Weiss, High Point DL-Erik Edelman, Morris Catholic LB-Drew Cabalar, Boonton LB-Brady Ashburn, West Morris LB-Hunter Choldnicki, Sparta LB-Anthony Tudda, Newton LB-Sam Conetta, Pope John DB-Anthony Feaster, Montville DB-Kyle Edwards, Hackettstown DB-Luca Vizzini, Vernon DB-Connor Higgins, Mountain Lakes P-Alex McWilliams, Chatham UT-Reed Donegan, Morristown UT-Emilio Mendez, Dover