Joe Hofmann
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 Olive
DL-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, Delbarton
DL-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
