Playmakers Dominate Big State Sports All-Sussex Team

If you were looking for playmakers on the football field this fall, Sussex County was the place to be. Standout quarterbacks and running backs were all over the place. Individuals piled up rushing and passing yardage and their teams amassed a ton of points.

It all started at quarterback. Three different ones in particular were terrific, the best one being Sparta’s Shane Hoover, who was 160 for 231 passing for 2,265 yards and 30 TDs. The strong-armed Hoover is headed to Seton Hall to pitch but has clearly gotten the attention of college football coaches on the recruiting trail. Hoover is the first-team All-Sussex pick at quarterback.

In another year, Wallkill Valley’s Zack Clarken (1,539 yards, 16 TDs, 5 INTs, 664 yards rushing, 7 TDs) or High Point’s John Elko (81 for 135, 1,241 yards, 13 TDs, 102 for 754 rushing, 11 more TDs) would be first-team All-Sussex quarterback.

Both are sure-fire first-team players but Hoover gets the nod.

Running back? The position was just as loaded as quarterback was, with a large group of backs who were among the best their respective schools have ever had. 

Pope John’s Tylik Hill was one of the best runners Sussex County has seen in a long, long time (more on him below) and in the discussion with some of the greats the running back-rich Lions have ever had. Hill may well be the best in school history.

Lenape Valley’s Kevin Giusti came out of nowhere to pile up huge rushing numbers. Giusti picked up steam in midseason and wound up accumulating 1,245 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. He also set the school’s single-game rushing record when he carried a whopping 40 times for 351 yards against Hackettstown.

High Point’s Jerron Martress is already one of the best runners in Wildcats history despite being just a junior. He was 267 for 1,671 yards rushing, scored 26 TDs, and joined forces with Elko to help create an offense that moved the ball up and down the field all year.

Sussex Tech’s Brian Gruber was one of the best players in school history – if not THE best – and rushed for 1,227 yards and 16 touchdowns despite the fact that opposing teams packed the box in an effort to stop him. He finished his career carrying 488 times for 3,439 yards and 40 TDs in three years.

How great was the running back position in Sussex County this year? Well, in another year, Newton’s Nick Kurilko would be a sure-fire first-team running back. He rushed 159 times for 939 yards and 14 touchdowns – first-team numbers in almost any other year but just short this year. But he was one of the best 1-2 linebackers this year (along with Pope John’s Tyler Houser) and is most certainly a first-team linebacker.  

Team of the Year: High Point. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Wildcats became an incredible offensive machine (almost 40 points per game) using the run (RB Jerron Martress burst onto the scene) and the pass (QB John Elko was terrific as a runner and passer) to go with a physical offensive line (Cody DiCarlo, Donald Weiss, Ryan Jaick, among others). The Wildcats scored over 40 points five times and at least 32 points four other times. Raise your hand if you saw this coming, which leads us to …

Coach of the Year: Bill Percey, High Point. Very, very tough call here. A few weeks ago, it was Percey in a landslide. The Wildcats won the SFC American Blue and have had their best season in many, many years. That is the stuff of which many coaches of the year have been determined over the years.

As an aside, Pope John Dom Gaston has brought the Lions back from the dead. They were 2-7 when the playoffs began, granted against one of New Jersey’s most demanding schedules. If the Lions stun DePaul in the state Non-Public B championship game Friday morning at MetLife, that’s a credit to Gaston, who has brought the program back from the dead (1-9 during his first year four years ago). 

Player of the Year: Somewhere in the football heavens, Pope John football coach Vic Paternostro is smiling. The legendary Lions coach would have loved giving the ball to running back Tylik Hill, who had rushed for 277 for 2150 yards and 24 touchdowns entering the DePaul game. He broke loose for 245 yards and three TDs on 18 carries in a 48-14 destruction of St. John Vianney in the Non-Public B state semifinals.

FIRST TEAM 

OFFENSE

QB-Shane Hoover, Sparta

RB-Tylik Hill, Pope John

RB-Kevin Giusti, Lenape Valley

RB-Jerron Martress, High Point

RB-Brian Gruber, Sussex Tech

OL-Jordan Plugfelder, Kittatinny

OL-Cody DiCarlo, High Point

OL-Jarrod Cofrancesco, Pope John

OL-Ryan Corino, Newton

OL-Dan O’Leary, Pope John

OL-Mason Rivera, Vernon

TE-Stone Herbison, Sparta

WR-Luke Doster, Sparta

WR-Connor Hoebee, Wallkill Valley

UT-John Elko, High Point

UT-Zack Clarken, Wallkill Valley

UT-Dylan Duerring, Warren Hills

PK-Brody Tanyeri, Sparta

DEFENSE

DL-Donald Weiss, High Point

DL-Jack Phelps, Lenape Valley

DL-Owen Honey, North Warren

DL-Joe Poppa, Pope John

DL-Gavin Wilczewski, Vernon

LB-Nick Kurilko, Newton

LB-Tyler Houser, Pope John

LB-Anthony Tudda, Newton

LB-Hunter Chlodnicki, Sparta

LB-Sam Conetta, Pope John

DB-Kyle Edwards, Hackettstown

DB-Wes Johnston, Pope John

DB-Vin Rispoli, Sparta

DB-Luka Vizzini, Vernon

UT-Brock Duerring, Warren Hills

P-Tanner Gaboda, Lenape Valley

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

QB-Luke Irwin, Pope John

RB-Brady Shagawat, Sparta

RB-Aiden Elliott-Abel, North Warren

RB-Jaden Roberts, Kittatinny

RB-Evan Cotter, Newton

OL-Jake Van Eeuwen, Wallkill Valley

OL-Andrew Stoffels, Sussex Tech

OL-Jake Kopich, Lenape Valley

OL-Joe Melillo, Newton

OL-Ryan Jaick, High Point

WR-Slade Muller, High Point

WR-Prince Joshua, Pope John

WR-Ethan Alfonso, Wallkill Valley

PK-Lucas Ingliman, Kittatinny

UT-Hunter Wolfe, Newton

DEFENSE

DL-Jakob Bell, Lenape Valley

DL-Johnny Cammarata, Wallkill Valley

DL-Giovoughni Dureny, High Point

DL-Chris Zander, Lenape Valley

DL-Aaron Pflugfelder, Kittatinny

DL-Anthony Padalino, Sussex Tech

LB-Gavin Mericle, Sussex Tech

LB-Brendon Lehman, High Point

LB-Andrew Barta, Wallkill Valley

DB-Michael Certo, Hopatcong

DB-Niko Martinez, Kittatinny

DB-Trey Moodie, Lenape Valley

DB-Matt Guenther, Hackettstown

DB-Matt Baumann, Vernon

UT-Andrew Sanchez, Pope John