One Saturday afternoon about 20 years ago, Pope John D-Lineman Devin Perez blew up many, many plays against Jefferson. While working the sidelines for that game, I took notes and play-by-play for the next day’s paper.
But I found myself studying Perez, who wrecked whatever it was that Jefferson was trying to do.
How dominant was Perez? Falcons coach Jim Matsakis gushed about Perez after the game – so much so that I felt the need to write an entire sidebar column about the kid to go with my game story.
He clearly gave an All-Area performance.
One day this summer, I got to thinking about that performance and wondered where Perez stacked up against the area’s other great D-Linemen of this century?
And who were the other great D-Linemen in Morris and Sussex County since 2000? Linebackers? DBs?
I have spent a lot of time researching and have come up with my All-Hofmann Quarter Century Team for defense (offense will run in Big State Sports next week).
So, how did this idea all come about? By accident, really.
Last fall, I was researching a story about local high school football dynasties and on a Google search was sent to Newspapers.com. The site didn’t just refer to a Daily Record story that I had written in the early 2000s but it sent me to the actual page .. a full page notes column with my headshot (I looked younger!) complete with standings, stats, and a Gannett Top 20 right alongside. It was truly a nostalgic step back into time. WOW!
Anyway, that piqued my interest in the site. So I subscribed and I have been hooked ever since. Oh, the memories!
And oh, so many great players.
I spent much of this past summer bouncing around Daily Record sports sections from my time there until the time I left (1991-2017) and came across so many stories about so many great teams and athletes and the thought hit me:
If I had to choose the very best of the very best since 2000, who would I choose?
Man, what an undertaking, I thought. But I went ahead with it and came up with the defense.
I checked All-County teams, All-Area teams and All-State teams. Who were the top kids? Who were the top teams? I ran the numbers (though defensive stats can not always be trusted).
And I checked with some of the longtime coaches who I trust.
So do you think Matsakis – who raved about an opposing player – was the kind of coach I’d go to see what he thought of my team for a first draft? You better believe it!
I have come across coaches of all kinds over the years. Some will list 6-8 of his own players for first-team All County, which is absurd. He’s going to bat for his players, which is admirable, but he is not being realistic. Some coaches want to get the best kids on the All-County/All-Area team – even if that meant a kid from another school being placed ahead of his own.
That’s the kind of coach I want to help me.
So there you have it: a LOT went into doing this. It is not perfect, but it is fun to rehash the true greats of the game.
Not just the great players, but the greatest of the great.
So here goes. I will run the All-Hofmann Quarter Century Team Offense next week.
DEFENSE
FIRST TEAM
DL-Devin Perez (Pope John)
DL-Mark Paski (Delbarton)
DL-Zach Rey (Hopatcong)
DL-Kyle Adams (Roxbury)
DL-Michael Dogbe (Parsippany Hills)
LB-Brandon Perez (Pope John)
LB-Brigham Farrand (Morris Knolls)
LB-Cole Farrand (Morris Knolls)
LB-Don Panciello (Roxbury)
LB-Kevin Murphy (Jefferson)
DB-Mario McLean (Montville)
DB-Derek DePascale (Butler)
DB-Paul Chiara (Mountain Lakes)
DB-Jake Tripucka (Mountain Lakes)
DB-P.J. Coffey (Butler)
UT-Anthony Siragusa (Delbarton)
RET-Kareem Huggins (Bayley-Ellard)
P-Bo Maroney (Sussex Tech)
SECOND TEAM
DL-Matt Gemma (Delbarton)
DL-Frank Beltre (Randolph)
DL-Chuck Anderson (Parsippany)
DL-Stephen Hill (Parsippany Hills)
DL-Gavin Weeks (Delbarton)
LB-Dennis Benzcko (Delbarton)
LB-Mike Staneart (Madison)
LB-Kevin Holonski (Mount Olive)
LB-Robert Wallace (Roxbury)
LB-John Hukowski (Pequannock)
DB-Will Garcia (Pequannock)
DB-Damon Fleming (Morris Hills)
DB-Matt Leotti (Delbarton)
DB-Mike Todisco (Montville)
DB-Ronnie Moore (Dover)
RET-Sean Adair (Morristown)
P-Brian Gruber (Sussex Tech)
