Categories: Football

Joe Hofmann’s First Notes Column: Green Wave Not Lacking for Options, Other Notes

Delbarton lost QB Christian Zabrowski to graduation, but it’s obvious the Green Wave won’t be lacking at the position.

It looks like things are ok at receiver as well.

And the rest of the offense, for that matter.

Coach Brian Bowers’ team rolled to a 34-6 victory Saturday over a highly regarded Iona Prep team, which came into the game ranked No. 1 in all of New York state, according to Bowers.

Delbarton introduced a brand new name to the fold, a sort of new name and a very (VERY!) old name.

Jason Princivalli showed he could handle the position in his first start, going 16 for 23 for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Brock Dandridge, who replaced workhorse Ryan Trafford, rushed nine times for 84 yards and scored a touchdown.

And four-year starter Phil Folmar, meanwhile, caught six passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns.

“Phil is the consummate pro, who can play receiver, running back, or even quarterback,” Bowers said. “We need to get the ball to him in multiple ways and we are going to. He gives us the ability to keep defenses honest. He was so pivotal in our running game last year. When people boxed us up, we got the ball to him on the perimeter.

“He will be one of the premier skill kids in the state, for sure.”

Folmar already is. His versatility last year was enormous for Delbarton, which reached the state Non-Public Group A championship game before losing to Bergen Catholic last year, 24-14, and was the second best team in all of New Jersey.

Trafford finished the year with 944 yards and 16 touchdowns, but Folmar made defenses pay for packing the box by rushing for 349 yards and eight touchdowns (that is, when he wasn’t catching 47 passes for 579 yards and four touchdowns).

Dandridge saw some action as a complement to Trafford as well, rushing for 459 yards and six touchdowns.

“He is a very good football player,” Bowers said. “He’s fast, powerful, runs with patience, he can block, he can catch. He can do all the things we need him to do. He’s dynamic.”

The rout over Iona Prep all started with Princivalli at the controls.

“Last year he was our backup to Christian Zabrowski, but there wasn’t much difference in terms of ability,” Bowers said. “Jadon got half the reps in practice last year. He knows how to run the offense. He is a dual threat. He throws a great ball and is very athletic. He’ll make good decisions. Jadon is very good and has spent a lot of time waiting for his opportunity. He has taken the reins right from the summer. He has a lot of ability.”

Delbarton will next host Malvern Prep (Pa.), which was good enough to beat the Green Wave last year in OT, 20-17.

Here and there

1. Mendham dropped a 24-16 decision to West Morris to begin its season but the Minutemen figure to be in the thick of things in the SFC-Liberty Blue race along with Montville and darkhorse Warren Hills.

The team returns a pair of 1,000-yard runners in Cole Capuzzi and Kevin KIng and neither have lost a step from last year. Capuzzi rushed 17 times for 113 yards and a touchdown against what figures to be one of Morris County’s best defenses. King, meanwhile, was 11 for 84 rushing.

“We focus on them, as we should,” coach Ethan Jeros said. “They can repeat last year and then some. I don’t see why they cannot repeat what they did and each score double-digit touchdowns. The nice thing is they are close and really good kids. They have a competition, but they celebrate each other’s successes.

“The nice thing about Cole is that he always seems to go forward when he is tackled. That is something you always notice. I coached in college (William Paterson, VMI, Marietta) and looked at that on film all the time. He has that forward lean.

“Kevin will get carries inside but he will get the pitches and sweeps. He is our rocket outside. He has more chances to make bigger plays. He had 70 less carries than Cole last year. He is the first read for the QB. We want 4 yards per play and hold the ball. Kevin is our big-play guy. This year we will incorporate Kevin more inside. He doesn’t get tackled backwards, either.”

Capuzzi and King were part of a stellar Mendham freshman team when Jeros arrived, replacing Brett Ressler. Many of the seniors return from last year’s team, which came in handy when training camp began in the summer.

“The nice thing about it was that the experience we have returning made it easy,” Jeros said. “Everybody knew what they were doing.”

2. Dover marked its return to the area with a 28-13 win over Morris Hills in a matchup from the old IHC-Hills days. Dover, which had competed in the SFC-Ivy, is now in the SFC Patriot Red along with Sparta, Jefferson, Vernon, Lakeland, and West Milford.

Goble was a Morris Hills lineman for Scarlet Knights coach Mike Sabo a few years back.

Dover quarterback Henry Soto rushed for three touchdowns and Emilio Mendez added one for the Tigers against Morris Hills.

As a freshman, Soto started at quarterback in his first varsity game in place of the injured starter Anthony Trongone, who missed that game with a concussion. Trongone was arguably the best QB the Tigers have had in the last 30 years, according to Goble. The coach said that Soto could have started for 80 percent of the teams he saw last year, so he should be in for a big year.

Goble, meanwhile, is trying to bring Dover back to the Glory Days, when the Tigers were always a threat in the Hills and Group II. The school reached the sectional finals but lost to Sparta at Giants Stadium in 2003.

“After 2003, I don’t know what happened to the program, but we are trying to get back,” Goble said. “I think right now we are trending in the right direction. We have a good group of seniors that are trying to turn the program back. We hope to keep building.”

Goble’s senior year at Morris Hills was the last time the two schools played back in 2008. Dover won that one, 51-25.

The Scarlet Knights were led by Omaldy Ferriera’s 51 yards and a touchdown. Ferriera was one of the team’s leaders in the offseason weight training program.

Said coach Bruce Campbell said, “He is a returning starter and physical on both sides of the ball. He is talented with the ball in his hands and as a blocking back. We are excited for him to return as a linebacker and we will increase his load at fullback.”

3. Roxbury lost as much to graduation (Colin Richter, Anthony Skawinski, Jahmini Miller, Matt Rattay, etc.) as any team in the Morris-Sussex area. But some of the new varsity players stepped up and performed well in an 18-13 win over Parsippany Hills.

New Gaels QB Connor May was effective throwing and running. He was 7 for 12 for 156 yards passing and was 12 for 73 (two TDs) rushing. Running back Trevor Klapmuts was solid running and receiving. He was 24 for 126 and a touchdown rushing and caught three passes for 97 yards.

Nick Riska, one of the holdovers from last year’s sectional finalists, spent much of the night in the Vikings backfield with two sacks and two tackles for loss.

“We do not have much varsity experience but the kids were great in the weight room and they understand our concepts,” second-year coach Ryan Roumes said. “We put a lot of pride on the line and the kids are excited to show what they can do.”

The Gaels begin play in the stacked SFC Liberty White when they host league favorite Mount Olive Friday night. The Liberty White had two sectional champions (West Morris and Mount Olive), a sectional finalist (Roxbury), a sectional semifinalist (Morris Knolls) and two playoff teams (Randolph and Morristown). It is one of the few times a league has qualified all of its teams for the postseason.

“It’s unbelievable how every team made the playoffs and we had multiple sectional finalists,” Roumes said. “It’s an unbelievable league, dynamic and diverse. That helped us along the way last year, no doubt. There were no breaks and we had close games every single game. You learn about yourself every game, what works and what doesn’t.”

And now it is time to turn the page.

“People ask us how we can follow up last season,” Roumes said. “But high school sports are a year-by-year thing. We are thankful for last year but now we have guys stepping into a new role. It’s time for them to make their own legacy and create their own special moments.”

Par Hills, meanwhile, received a strong outing from freshman quarterback · Nick Napolitano (12 for 17, 163 yards, 2 TDs), making his first varsity start. The Vikings are trying to replace receiver Joey Ciccotelli, who caught 74 passes in 10 games last year – one short of E.J. Cumerford’s school-record 75 set in 13 games – and had 1,147 yards and 14 touchdowns. He caught 179 passes for 2,417 yards and scored 30 touchdowns in a terrific three-year career.

Napolitano led a balanced passing attack by completing three passes to three different receivers (Zachary Holbert-Paszko, who had two TDs, Nick Vico and A.J. Herre).

The Vikings are coached by first-year Ross Tarlowe, who was the longtime defensive coordinator for Dave Albano, who is now in his first year at Randolph.

4. In case you missed Big State Sports preseason podcast with Dan Cleary and myself, it can be found here:

We discussed: