A week to go

Game scrimmage Friday has come and gone.

Now, if you ask any coach they will tell you that they had an outstanding final scrimmage. That's what coaches are supposed to tell reporters, so since I already know the answer, I usually don't ask....but here were some of the matchups that our teams had Friday:

Scotch Plains-Fanwood at Immaculata, Bernards at Pingry, Hillsborough at Clifton, Bound Brook at Hawthorne, Morris Knolls at Watchung Hills, Morristown at Bridgewater-Raritan, Franklin at Lawrence and North Plainfield at Brearley. Plainfield goes to Teaneck Saturday night.

I stopped by Immaculata-Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Bernards-Pingry. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to wait around for the Bernards' scrimmage and just a few plays at Immaculata.

A season-0pening game that might be a bit overshadowed is Watchung Hills playing host to Montgomery. Montgomery is expecting to have a good season, while Watchung Hills wants to contend for a North 2, Group IV playoff berth. North 2, Group IV is a very crowded and deep field -- defending champ Elizabeth, last year's CJ IV champ Hunterdon Central, reigning Skyland Conference champ Phillipsburg, perennial contender Piscataway and Franklin...talk about a tough field.

Wednesday stuff and a new Panther baseball coach

Spoke to Ridge High coach Tony Mottola tonight. He informed me that running back Keegan Conway was seriously injured during a tackling drill in practice recently. Conway suffered several broken vertebra, but thank goodness -- Keegan's ok. In fact, there's a chance he'll be able to come back and play lacrosse in the spring.

Ridge opens Sept. 14 against Immaculata, so the Red Devils have two scrimmages left -- one with South Plainfield Friday night, then next Thursday with Hun.

I'll have some more information on Ridge tomorrow.

Dunellen junior tailback Ricky Fiorito, who gained 900 yards last year, broke his ankle and may be back late in the season, according to Dunellen coach Dave DeNapoli.

Plainfield is working hard for first-year head coach Reggie Robinson. Dropped by practice Wednesday afternoon, and the Cardinals looked sharp. Robinson hasn't named his starting quarterback yet -- the Cardinals have three that are looking to win the job. Robinson said that four different backs will share the load.

Robinson is hoping to boost the offensive production for a team that went 1-9 last year. The Cardinals scrimmage at Teneack Saturday night and will likely be in the house at Elizabeth's Williams Field when Elizabeth has a scrimmage with Don Bosco.

More on Reggie tomorrow.

I know this isn't football related, but Max Newell has been hired as the new baseball coach at Bridgewater-Raritan. He takes over for Scott Bray, who resigned when he was hired as the Panthers' head football coach.

Assistants step down

Two longtime and important members of their staffs have stepped down recently.

Piscataway High longtime assistant and the team's offensive coordinator Larry Lester told my colleague Jerry Carino that he won't be with the Chiefs this season. Lester said he's not sure if he will return to his longtime position as head track coach. Lester is one of the area's classiest and influential coaches. His son, Larry Jr., was a Piscataway star and played at Boston College.

North Hunterdon assistant Tom Hank has also stepped down after helping Dennis Haughey for the past 13 years. Hank, who also is an assistant baseball coach for Parker Snare at North, is the Lions' head girls basketball coach.

Sunday notes

North Hunterdon High School coach Dennis Haughey spent part of Sunday afternoon in front of the television in the Lions fieldhouse, breaking down Saturday's scrimmage with Delaware Valley.

The Lions did some good things, and bad. They were penalized a bit too much, but junior running back Ted Delia had some good runs.

The Lions will have a rugged start of the season. How's this. They open with defending Central Jersey Group IV champion Hunterdon Central Sept. 7, then has a bye week before their bye week. They come back to play defending state Non-Public Group III champion Immaculata Sept. 20, then play at Montgomery Sept. 28 before coming home Oct. 5 to play host to defending three-time Skyland Delaware East champ Phillipsburg. North played Phillipsburg twice last year -- in the regular season, and in the opening round of the North 2, Group IV playoffs.

Somerville junior running back Williams Watson is named after his uncle Jonathan Williams, the former Somerville High great back Jon Williams, who played at Penn State and the New England Patriots. So, if you see the name Williams in the newspaper, it's not a mistake. Williams' brother St. Claire Watson is a senior running back for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers had to scrimmage two times in three days this past week because of poor weather. Somerville had Warren Hills and Mount Olive. The Pioneers game scrimmage Thursday at Mahwah.

Nice job as usual by our friends at the Easton Express Times today with their football special section. Ours will run Sept. 7.

Franklin notes

Ackerman Field is ready to go, according to Franklin head coach Lou Solomon.

Solomon said the field -- which is behind the old Franklin High School, now middle school -- looks great. The field has been re-seeded and watered and the Warriors have stayed off it.

Juniors Jonathan Patrick and Trevor Jackson are contending for the starting job. Patrick is the leader at this point. I like Franklin's offensive line. Center Ryan Beicher, guard Young Ho Chang and tackle Enrique Rios are seniors and have plenty of varsity experience.

Franklin, which had a controlled scrimmage with Voorhees Saturday morning, game scrimmages at Lawrence next Friday. The Warriors won't use the field until their home field until the season-opener with Bridgewater-Raritan two weeks from today.

North Hunterdon scrimmaged Delaware Valley this morning at North. Delaware Valley might be a team that surprises some folks this year. Just a early hunch. That said, the Terriers will have to find a replacement for Rich Gebert, the very productive back that has decided to focus on wrestling.

Banks to Towson

Bound Brook senior wide receiver Erron Banks has committed to Division I-AA Towson University. Banks said he also had interest from Albany, Stony Brook, the University of New Hampshire and Maine.

Banks caught five touchdown passes last year and returned a punt for a score.

Speaking of New Hampshire, former Somerville High star quarterback Ryan Carty is now the defensive backs coach at the school. One of the players Carty is coaching is former Piscataway star Terrence Fox, who graduated in June.

Plainfield High returned from a camp this past week in upstate New York. Reggie Robinson, who has taken over for longtime head coach Clint Jones, said there are three players competing for the starting quarterback job. The Cardinals are scheduled to scrimmage at Lincoln Saturday, play host to St. John Vianney Monday, then play a game scrimmage at Teaneck a week from Saturday. The Cardinals open the season at home Sept. 8 against defending North 2, Group IV champ Elizabeth.

Over in Springfield

Visited with former Franklin High head coach Joe Goerge, now the head coach at Jonathan Dayton High in Springfield, Thursday afternoon at Meisel Park in Springfield.

Dayton is in its third year of resurrecting its football program with Goerge the spearhead of the operation. Goerge is being assisted by longtime Franklin assistant Bobby Martin and Goerge's sons Mike and Jason. It was good to see those guys.

Dayton scrimmaged South Hunterdon and both sides have reason to believe that this year will bring improvement. Dayton was 0-10 last year and South was 1-9, beating Dayton in a consolation game in West Amwell.

Both Goerge and South Hunterdon head coach Jim Meert -- the former Hunterdon Central head coach -- have experienced winning sectional championships at Giants Stadium. Now they are in charge of two of the smaller schools that play football in the state.

South Hunterdon has several players that any Skyland Conference team would like to have -- senior fullback/linebacker Kyle Hart, junior quarterback/defensive back Brian Snell and senior wide receiver/defensive back Ryan Marriott.

I'm going to have something further on coach Goerge's life these days in Sunday's newspaper.

Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins said he was impressed with both Don Bosco and Immaculata in the quad scrimmage at Brick Memorial earlier this week.

"Bosco really came to play," Higgins said. "I'd like to play them later in the season. We had been in pads for five days, but they look like they were in playoff mode already. They really seemed to be up to play us."

One other thought....

The Skyland Conference has set regulations about where reporters can stand on the sidelines during football games. As somebody who has been knocked over a few times while charting a game, I'm all for it...

In fact, I'm at the age where the pressbox is looking more and more a better choice.

But....how about doing something about all of those "assistant'' coaches, parents, eager alumni and others who really don't belong on the sidelines. Some sidelines during Skyland Conference games in recent years have been so congested it's amazing that somebody hasn't broken a leg or arm with a play that falls out of bounds.

Just after midnight

Fifteen days until season-opening night.

Delaware Valley scrimmaged Pope John of Sparta this afternoon. Delaware Valley head coach Mike Columbo told me that one of our area's leading scorers -- halfback Richie Gebert -- has decided not to come out, so he can focus on wrestling. Gebert, a senior, rushed for 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, scoring 105 points.

It's a tough loss for Del Val, but Columbo said the team is moving on. He was pleased with how his team performed. Senior John Beriont will move from quarterback to running back. Senior Brian Comerford will start at quarterback.

Columbo believes his team's strength is its line.

New Providence's Frank Bottone and Scotch Plains-Fanwood's Steve Ciccotelli share somewhat of the same opinion about the change in how their peers handle pre-season practice. Columbo also has similar thoughts.

"There's really no practice start date right now," said Ciccotelli, in his 17th year at SP-F. "What's the purpose. If some of those guys had their way, the start of practice would be the day after graduation. It's really become out of control.

"When do you give the kids a break?,'' he said. "You have to let them step away and trust what you believe in."

Scotch Plains-Fanwood didn't participate in any summer activities, including 7-on-7 games. Bottone's New Providence club did one against Orange.

"I think I was down to the school this summer more than I've ever been," said Bottone, in his 43rd year. "Everybody is pushing it now. It's really a full time job. For years we've started on September 1. The kids worked out on their own."

Columbo said the New Jersey State Athletic Association should just say, "you can't have anything to do with the kids until practice begins in August.

"I've been doing this for 20 years and it doesn't matter what you do in the summer. It's really out of control now," Columbo said. "You never have all your kids in the summer and you never really have the kids where you think they'll play anyway."

New Providence's field is being resurfaced down. The Pioneers will have FieldTurf by sometime in early October. Their season-opener against Newark Central, scheduled for home, may be moved to Newark, Bottone said. The Pioneers then have road games at Rahway and Brearley before their next scheduled home game Oct. 6 with Roselle Park.

Tuesday thoughts

Immaculata isn't the only school in Somerville with great numbers coming out for its football team.

Somerville High head coach Greg Arakelian told me a couple of weeks ago that the Pioneers would have to cut players for the first time in his 13 years with the program. He told me that 84 youngsters signed up for the team, but the program couldn't afford carrying all of them.

Arakelian did have to make the cuts.

"It's probably the toughest thing I have ever had to do as a coach," he said. "We had some good kids who had trained during the summer, who really put a lot into it and we had to cut them. We wanted to be as thorough as possible. We didn't want to cheat the kids."

Arakelian, in his first year as head coach after serving as former coach Kevin Carty's line coach for 12 years, said the Pioneers are filming every practice, then analyzing them the same day.

Somerville was scheduled to play host to Warren Hills Tuesday in a scrimmage, but because of the rain the scrimmage has been shifted to Warren Hills Wednesday.

If Brooks Field is the worst in the Skyland Conference, Warren Hills' can't be too far behind.

Some stuff

Cranford entered the Mountain Valley Conference last year in every sport but football. Next month, the Cougars begin their first football season in the MVC after spending years in the Watchung Conference.

We only have two schools we cover left in the MVC. Governor Livingston will be the one school that will play Cranford.

"Their football numbers are up, they have lights, night games and they put their games on television live," Governor Livingston coach Terry Hanratty said. "They are really putting it together."

It's a pretty solid league, the Mountain Valley Mountain Division. Rahway is supposed to be very good and A.L. Johnson has been good. And then there's Roselle, Hillside and now Cranford.

South Hunterdon coach Jim Meert is in his second year with the Eagles. South Hunterdon was 1-9 last year, but it might improve a bit this year. The Eagles have two solid players in quarterback/defensive back Brian Snell and fullback/linebacker Kyle Hart.

South Hunterdon went to Penn State during the summer where it competed in a 7-on-7 camp. The Eagles were probably the only team that came with seven players.

"I think we have six really good players," Meert said. "Kyle Hart could have played fullback for any team I've ever coached except when we had Mike Carr (at Hunterdon Central) and I think Brian can be a Division I defensive back."

nicks and nacks

The pursuit of high school football information for 2007 continues.

Spoke to Dunellen coach Dave DeNapoli tonight. The Destroyers run a very unique offense -- the double wing.

"There's no splits whatsover," DeNapoli said. "We have two tight ends, two wingbacks, two fullbacks. The fullback is right behind the quarterback. We basically bring everybody in. I always felt it was the best way to give a weak team a chance to win."

DeNapoli said he got the idea a few years ago when the Destroyers were beaten by Middlesex and were dominated in time of possession.

Dunellen has a good group of skill players back this year. They will lack size. DeNapoli is hoping the offensive scheme can help.

Dunellen opens the season has a rugged scrimmage Tuesday morning at Columbia Park with North 2, Group I defending champion Verona and Group IV Perth Amboy. A surprise on the schedule will come Sept. 22 when the Destroyers play host to Wildwood, which has re-started its football program. Dunellen is now part of a very deep North 2, Group I bracket, which includes the aforementioned Verona, Belvidere, New Providence and Hoboken.

Governor Livingston will start the season without senior quarterback Tyler George, who broke his right hand playing basketball. GL coach Terry Hanratty said that George may be ready to play week three against Newark Central Sept. 20.

The Highlanders lost the area's leading scorer in the versatile Matt Zimmerman and tight end Matt Boyer. Players like senior fullback Joey Gilfedder and linebacker Matt Fullowan and four-year starting linebacker Joe Natale will play big roles. Look for sophomore Max Machado to fill in for George at quarterback.

Funny twist of the schedule for Bound Brook. The Crusaders will play North Warren twice in the regular season. Bound Brook plays the Patriots at home Friday night Sept. 14, then plays at North Warren Oct. 12. I can't recall two teams playing each other twice in the same regular season. It has happened in the playoffs.

In 1999, Hunterdon Central lost to West Windsor Plainsboro in the last week of the regular season, then beat the same team in the first round of the Central Jersey Group IV playoffs. Central beat Piscataway for the that year.

and another....another

Tuesday we wrote about Bound Brook senior wide receiver Deven Baker, who has committed to playing at Division I-A Temple next year. I wrote that lineman Mike Sandusky, who went on to play football, wrestle and throw the shot at Maryland, was the last Crusader to earn a D-1 scholarship in 1954. But...but....

Well, we found out about a few other Crusaders who also did it

We ran a clarification Wednesday. Bound Brook running back Donnie Iarkowski, who was one of the standouts of the BBHS '64 club, was an all-around athlete, who was also a Division I football scholarship player.

He went to the University of Tulsa. I remember watching Iarowski play and he was a tremendous player. He had an outstanding season with the Tulsa freshman team in 1965, but suffered what turned out to be a career-ending injury.


On that same BBHS '64 team was two-way tackle Tom Sinibaldi, who earned a football AND wrestling scholarship. It was a partial scholarship for both sports, according to Sinibaldi, who I spoke to this afternoon. Sinibaldi played football at Maryland for two years and wrestled for four.

Also, quarterbacks Alan Beatty -- who would eventually coach Bound Brook -- was on the '64 team and went to the University of Connecticut. Chuck Fox, who played some quarterback on the '65 team as a junior, played at Colgate.


I think that's it for now. The bottom line -- Baker is the first Crusader to get a D-1 scholarship in a long, long time.

My bad

I made an omission in the newspaper Wednesday in our story about Bound Brook senior wide receiver Deven Baker.

Deven is headed to Temple University on a football scholarship. He is the first Crusader to earn a Division I football scholarship since Donald Iarkowski in 1965. Iarkowski was a terrific back for the Crusaders and got a scholarship to play at Tulsa University, a Division I program.

Now, I've got to do a bit more checking. But I think I got this one straightened out. I should have known better.

Tennessee beat Tulsa 27-6 in the 1965 Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. Five players on that team were drafted by NFL and AFL teams.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Westfield

The Raiders and Blue Devils -- that would be Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Westfield respectively -- played one of the better games of the year last year.

Westfield, 1-9 in 2006, beat Scotch Plains-Fanwood 28-21 on its way to a 6-4 season. Westfield didn't make the state playoffs, but Scotch Plains-Fanwood did. The Raiders finished 4-6.

Will it be different for either?

Westfield will come into the season with a four-game winning streak and without versatile quarterback Tom Bonard, now at Montclair State.

Here's part of what's back -- Malcolm Allen, the senior running back, rushed for seven scores last year and junior Ricardo Johnson, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last year, could become one of the more exciting players in the area. Senior Joe Val Llobera should be a impact player at linebacker.

Senior middle linebacker/tight end Keith Baker, who has committed to playing at Temple University, should be a dominating player on both sides of the ball for Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The Raiders are going to be different, having graduated backs Tom Pennella, Greg Brand and the versatile Kyle Rowbotham.

Quarterback Mike Chervenyak returns after throwing eight touchdown passes last year. He'll have receivers Kyle Mihansky and Marcus Green to throw to along with Baker. Junior fullback Kameron Williams and junior tailback Anthony Taylor will be new to the varsity.

Defensive end Jason Boff, senior lineman Mike Alleman and Baker will be the key to the defense. Alleman was the Meet of Champions shot put champion in the spring.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood scrimmages at Immaculata Aug. 31 at 10 a.m.

Can anyone stop the Spartans?

Remember the years before Immaculata left the Mountain Valley Conference for the Skyland Conference?

Remember the folks who said they would have their comeuppance once they joined the Skyland?

Since the move, the Spartans are 26-7 overall and 22-5 against Skyland Conference opponents.

And that’s after their 5-5 first-season in the league.Immaculata went 12-0 last year in winning the state Non-Public III title.

The Spartans should make it to the state playoffs this year with a 21-game winning streak.

Immaculata senior quarterback Frank DeNick returns along with outstanding junior running back Theo Riddick.

Senior running back Mike Kuhn, who missed all of last year with a nagging turf toe injury, is back along with receivers Brad McAdam, T.J. Fabiano and tight end Jim Fisher.

Riddick scored 23 touchdowns last year – 19 rushing, three receiving and one on a 90-yard kickoff return. Kuhn was scheduled to be a No. 2 option behind Riddick last year, but once his injury came, fullback A.J. Albert filled in capably. He was also an outstanding linebacker, earning the Courier News Defensive Player of the Year.

The line took a major hit by graduation, but center Mark Brazinski and lineman Cody Bohler should be very good along with returning starter T.J. Hoppe.Immaculata also has senior kicker Mike Brownett back. He averaged 48.74 per kick, went 38-for-44 in extra point attempts and had six field goals.

The Spartans will miss graduated linemen Jack Rice, Ryan Bennett and Chris Peltack, but – but – they should find a way to come very close – if not equal – what happened last year.The season starts Sept. 7 against Somerville at dusty Brooks Field.

Piscataway stuff

How about this scrimmage to open with -- Piscataway, Immaculata and Don Bosco at Brick Memorial Aug. 21 at 5 p.m.

Piscataway is coming off a disappointing season -- for its standards. The Chiefs were 7-3 last year, losing to Old Bridge (16-13) and Franklin (22-3) in the regular season and Linden (13-12) in the first round of the North 2, Group IV playoffs.

The game with Franklin was probably the Chiefs' worst in years. Of course, Franklin had something to do with it. But Piscataway is hoping to make amends and get back to the North 2, Group IV final.

Senior Marvin Booker, heading to Rutgers next year, is moving from defensive end to linebacker. He'll also play tight end. Senior Rashaun Cooper, who rotated with the graduated Tony Logan at quarterback for lot of last season before Logan was moved to receiver, is the starter. Senior running back Barry Garrard and lineman Mike Harris, Matt Masters and Frank Sulkowski return.

Football time

"Official" football practice begins Monday around the state.

I've talked to about a dozen of our coaches to get an early idea of what they have back.

Virtually every school -- no matter the size -- has had some kind of practice since school ended in June. Whether it was 7-on-7 scrimmages or team camps, teams have been drilling.

Immaculata, which won the state Group III non-public title last December, went 12-0 last year. If you could find a club that will challenge the Spartans in the regular season, please let me know. My guess is defending Central Jersey Group IV champ Hunterdon Central. The Spartans won't see them until November 2.

Hunterdon Central did lose Courier News Offensive Player of the Year Mike Weisel and special teams star Kevin Alparone, but the Red Devils have a lot back. Receiver Dan Fitzsimmons caught six touchdown passes last year and returns. Tight end/linebacker Garrett Thul, linebacker Mike Diehl and linebacker/running back Anthony Toresco are back after experiencing a championship title at Rutgers Stadium. Derek Goreczny, a senior corner/wideout returned an interception 47 yards for a score. The Red Devils will be out to unseat four-time defending Skyland East Division champion Phillipsburg.

Bridgewater-Raritan returned Friday from a team camp at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa. The Panthers had 70 players between the 10th and 12th grades participate. First-year coach Scott Bray is a Lycoming College graduate. Bridgewater-Raritan went 2-8 last year under outgoing coach Tony Maglione, who is now helping out New Brunswick head coach John Quinn.

Bound Brook has had a busy summer. The Crusaders are coming off a 8-2 season with their first playoff berth since 1978. Senior wide receiver Deven Baker has been offered a scholarship at Temple University and senior Erron Banks has been offered at Towson State. Bound Brook will scrimmage Cardinal McCarrick, Metuchen and Hawthorne.

After a 2-8 season, Bernards will be a team to watch. The Mountaineers have senior quarterback Tony Barone back. Bernards did win two of its last three. They have a ton of players back.

Hillsborough also won two of its last three with a young team. Senior Rocco Mazzagatti, a three-year starter, may be the best lineman in the Skyland Conference. Junior quarterback Mike Daly also returns after earning the job as last year went on. Hillsborough finished 3-7.

Franklin coach Lou Solomon will attempt to get the Warriors out to a better start this year. Franklin did beat Bridgewater-Raritan in its opener, but lost the next three. Versatile senior Gavin Roberts, who has announced his intention of playing at Purdue, will be a fun player to watch. Brian Thompson (cornerback/running back) and Jimmy Ray Ragland (LB/FB) are among the other leaders. Franklin went 5-5 a year ago.

North Plainfield lost quite a few players, but it does return three senior playmakers in Yahad Cobb (OLB/FB/K/P), Devaughn George (SL/HB/DB) and quarterback Bilal Jones. Junior lineman Tyson Chandler is a player with potential and size. He's 6-foot-6, 335 pounds.

Montgomery is a team that may be bound for the top of my sleeper list. The Cougars lost their last three games in '06 and finished 3-7. But quarterback Kevin Watson is back along with tight end Cris Garcia, speedy sophomore receiver JT Tartacoff and senior linebacker Alex Colarusso. Watson is most likely headed to play at the Division I-AA level next year.

It would be unwise to discount Somerville. The Pioneers had a "disappointing" 7-3 season last year missing te Central Jersey Group II playoffs with senior star back Mason Robinson, quarterback Dan DiLella and lineman Len Rutledge. Robinson is now at Rutgers and DiLella is at Albany. Somerville has a first-year coach in Greg Arakelian, who replaces longtime coach Kevin Carty Sr. Senior Steve Robinson, a receiver last year, will head to quarterback. Junior back Williams Watson and senior fullback St. Claire Watson are players to watch on offense. Junior wide receiver Mike Naples caught three touchdown passes last year.

More tomorrow....