FootballIncredibly Talented Field Leads to a Stacked Big State Sports All-Morris County Team By Joe Hofmann December 3, 2024 It was the year of the pass. The pitch. The keeper. In Morris County, it was the year of the quarterback. From the beginning of the season right until the end, Morris County QBs played a huge role in the success of their teams. Many quarterbacks were masterful at reading a defense, passing, running with the ball, or running an entire offense. Here is a rundown of some of the top QBs in 2024: Delbarton’s Jadon Prinzivalli (140 for 229, 2,083 yards, 16 TDs) performed superbly against one of the most demanding schedules in all of New Jersey. Chatham’s Will Allen (157 for 270, 2,022, 17 TDs, 82 for 336 rushing, 5 TDs) helped spearhead one of Morris County’s surprise teams. This year, Chatham won its first playoff game since 2015. Mount Olive’s Jake Asbury (133 for 205, 1,591 yards, 17 TDs, 47 for 157 rushing, 4 TDs) helped the Marauders reach the sectional semifinals. Butler’s David Smith (101 for 169, 1,499 yards, 28 TDs, 5 INTs, 96 for 706 rushing, 6 TDs) was at the controls of the Bulldogs winning both the NJIC championship as well as North 1, Group I. Randolph had a bit of a down year but Jackson Magley (112 for 177, 1,288 yards, 13 TDs) proved himself to be an able passer in the Liberty White, the best public division in Morris-Sussex by a wide margin. Morris Knolls’ Chris Kaiser only threw for 331 yards, but he was one of the Golden Eagles most valuable performers and was one of the best the school has seen in a long time. He was 66 for 833 rushing (15 TDs) and orchestrated the team’s intricate spread option running attack. Others from the county who orchestrated run-heavy offenses in the same way included Boonton’s Metin Ahmedi and Mendham’s Cam Parrinello Hanover Park’s Joey Borrello had a monster season passing (123 for 170, 1,679 yards, 19 TDs, 6 INTs) and running (146 for a team-leading 510 yards, 11 TDs) in helping to lead the Hornets to their first sectional title since 1990. Montville’s QB Michael Ciullo had a strong year throwing the football (113 for 191, 1,334 yards, 10 TDs, 3 INTs) and ran well when needed (77 for 321, 4 TDs) as the Mustangs reached the sectional semifinals. When he was a sophomore, Kinnelon QB Zach Grande engineered the Colts’ old-school Power-T formation as the team stunned highly regarded Park Ridge in the playoffs. Now a senior, Grande showed he can throw the ball (945 yards, 13 TDs, 3 INTs) as well as run it (511 yards, 9 TDs). Morristown-Beard’s Ryan Novak played in a little anonymity (The Crimson play an independent schedule) but he deserves some kudos after a season in which he was 127 for 180 for 1,642 yards and 21 touchdowns while throwing just four INTs. Jefferson struggled this year but sophomore QB Connor Consiglio (160 for 285, 2,224 yards, 17 TDs) showed some promise. Player of the Year: Morris Knolls’ Bobby Brickner was the best all-around player in Morris County. He rushed 189 times for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns in a balanced backfield. On defense, he was all over the field as a linebacker (1 sack, 9 tackles for loss, 93 tackles, 2 INTs) for the undefeated champions of the rugged SFC-Liberty White and sectional finalists in North 2, Group IV. Team of the Year: The Butler Bulldogs have one of Morris County’s best programs. Year in and year out, coach Jason Luciani has Butler playing at a high level – but not as high as this year, when the Bulldogs fielded one of their best teams ever. Coach of the Year: Hanover Park has always had a good-not-great team – until this year, when the Hornets were great under coach Dan Fulton. The Hornets won the American White and their first sectional title since 1990. They went through their league undefeated by beating playoff teams Madison, Pequannock and Mountain Lakes and were a point away from beating sectional finalist West Essex. BIG STATE SPORTS ALL-MORRIS FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM OFFENSE QB-Jadon Prinzivalli, Delbarton RB-Tyler Cumming, Mount Olive RB-Cole Capuzzi, Mendham RB-Peter Miragliotta, West Morris RB-Bobby Brickner, Morris Knolls OL-Tyler Frame, Pequannock OL-Rowan Killam, Mendham OL-Brent Berchin, Morris Knolls OL-Richie Banatta, Mount Olive OL-Dean Mangiocavallo, Randolph OL-Tommy Borgia, West Morris WR-Phil Folmar, Delbarton WR-Nick Lagunowich, Chatham PK-Will Kramer, Delbarton UT-Joey Borrello, Hanover Park UT-David Smith, Butler UT-Will Allen, Chatham UT-Chris Kaiser, Morris Knolls DEFENSE DL-James Giammanco, Mount Olive DL-Luca Lopez, Delbarton DL-Dante Palladino, Montville DL-Justin Gryszkin, Pequannock DL-Luca Toriello, Butler LB-Kyle Checchio, Delbarton LB-Joe Filippone, Hanover Park LB-Drew Cabalar, Boonton LB-Brady Ashburn, West Morris LB-Lincoln Youtz, Mount Olive DB-Brady Bentrewicz, West Morris DB-Troy Bailey, Delbarton DB-Mike Vito, Montville DB-Anthony Feaster, Montville DB-P.J. Coffey, Butler P-Alex McWilliams, Chatham SECOND TEAM OFFENSE QB-Jake Asbury, Mount Olive RB-Brock Dandridge, Delbarton RB-Sylas White, Boonton RB-Angelo Cundiff, Pequannock RB-Kevin King, Mendham OL-Lorenzo Petrucci, Delbarton OL-Greydon Carcich, Morristown OL-Andrew Stickley, Kinnelon OL-Hudson Flemming, Madison OL-Holden Gillespie, Mountain Lakes OL-Jase Catullo, Chatham WR-Jason Post, Jefferson WR-Jasiah Brown, Morristown PK-Jake Merlucci, Morris Knolls UT- Emilio Mendez, Dover UT-Ryan Novak, Morristown-Beard SECOND TEAM DEFENSE DL-Tyler Jackson, Delbarton DL-Sam Cobane, Whippany Park DL-Aaron Leak, Madison DL-Chase Bright, Morristown DL-Timmy Wiedman, Morris Knolls LB-Erik Edelman, Morris Catholic LB-Hector Lopez Hanover Park LB-Dimitrios Mihala, Morristown LB-James Doehner, Madison DB-Connor Higgins, Mountain Lakes DB-Jayden Koger, Morris Knolls DB-Reed Donegan, Morristown DB-Jaxson Corkery, West Morris P-Trevor Klapmuts, Roxbury UT-Tommy Suchanek, Mendham