Tuesday,
June 18, 2013
By Richie 'Ballgame' Barton
Male Athlete of the Season:
Jabrill Peppers, Paramus Catholic Football
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Jabril Peppers did it on both sides of the ball for Paramus Catholic. |
Just a junior, Peppers is widely considered to be the best two-way high school football player in the country. Not even a change of scenery from Don Bosco Prep to Paramus Catholic could stop the freight train that is the lightning fast Peppers. He was a nightmare for the opposition on both sides of the ball, shutting down one half of the field from his cornerback spot and juking his way past defenders as a game-breaking tailback.
His best performance came in the most important game of the season; the Non-Public Group 4 final against Bergen Catholic at MetLife Stadium. He made a statement by breaking off electrifying TD runs of 51 and 81 yards to give the Paladins an early lead en route to their first state title in 16 years.
Peppers, who recently committed to play at Michigan, finished with 1,552 yards rushing on 172 carries (9 yards per carry) with 23 total touchdowns. Despite teams trying to avoid his side of the field at all costs, Peppers still finished with 70 tackles and three interceptions.
Runner-Up: Mark Fossati
St. Joseph’s Regional Football
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Mark Fossati did it on offense, defense and on special teams for St.. Joseph Regional, the No. 1 team in the state. |
Fossati is the ultimate example that the do-everything player is not extinct. An outstanding linebacker who can command the defense? Check. A bruising running back who can pass and run block along and find the end zone? Check. A reliable kicker and punter along with stellar play on other special teams? Check. But it was his knack for making the big play at the right time that vaulted him into Green Knights’ folklore.
Fossati's strip of BC quarterback Jon Germano and 76-yard jaunt to the end zone was one of many defining plays Fossati had this season in leading St. Joe’s to a state title and the No.1 ranking in New Jersey this past season.
Quite simply, the numbers tell the story with the Fossati, a junior. He had nine game with double-digit tackles, finished with a grand total of 154 tackles to go with 2.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He kicked 57 PATs and five field goals and had eight punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He also scored nine touchdowns (two on defense), and recorded a safety.
Honorable Mention:
Jon Germano, Bergen Catholic Football
Will Shiel, Ramapo Soccer
Mike Manente, Pascack Valley Football
Ricky Jeune, St. Joe’s Football
Mikey Taranto, Ramapo Soccer
J.J. Kulscar, Bergen Catholic Football
Alquaddin Muhammad, Don Bosco Prep Football
Kyle Schneider, Pascack Valley Football
Kyle Levermore, Don Bosco Prep Cross-Country
Gabriel Freitas, Kearny Soccer
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Nia Reed dominated the middle for T of C champ IHA. |
Female Athlete of the Season:
Nia Reed, IHA Volleyball
Reed was simply dominant at the net all season. Even with teams trying to double or triple-block her at the net, it was consistently met with thunderous kills from the 6-foot-2 junior middle blocker.
As with most great athletes, Reed rose to the occasion when a championship was on the line. In the Tournament of Champions final against Bogota, Reed showed off both her power and her versatility with 21 kills, six blocks, and six digs to power IHA to a fifth T of C title in six years.
Reed led all players in New Jersey with an eye-popping 525 kills. She is already committed to play at Penn State in the fall of 2014.
Runner-Up: Madison Holleran:
Northern Highlands Girls Soccer
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Madison Holleran had 22 goals and 11 assists for Highlands, which has won 48 straight games. |
Northern Highlands currently has one of the longest winning streaks in the history of New Jersey girls soccer and Holleran has been right in the middle of it all, both literally and figuratively.
As the center midfielder, Holleran has displayed both poise and control in the most pressure-packed situations. Even when the Highlanders faced just their second halftime deficit of the year in the Group 3 state final against Moorestown, Holleran settled the team down and played a magnificent second half to lead her team back to victory.
She assisted on the game-winning goal as Northern Highlands won its 48th straight game and retained its Group 3 state title with a 3-1 victory. Holleran, who will run track at the University of Pennsylvania next year, was a first-team all-state selection and finished with 22 goals and 11 assists on the season.
Honorable Mention:
Carly O’Sullivan, Bogota Volleyball
Clare Shea, Northern Highlands Soccer
Michelle Cruz, IHA Volleyball
Sahara Gipson, Ramapo Gymnastics
Rachel Egyed, Clifton Soccer
Sophie Lederer, Glen Rock Soccer
Valerie Shklover, Fair Lawn Tennis
Julia Topor, Bogota Volleyball
Tina Brindisi, Lakeland Field Hockey
Jackie Reyneke, Northern Highlands Soccer
Kayla Yosif, Ramapo Gymnastics
Hannah Petrone, Glen Rock Soccer
Haley Hirsch, Northern Valley/Demarest Volleyball
Jen Andresen, Ramapo Soccer
Mary Maccabee, River Dell Volleyball
Molly Brown, Northern Valley/Old Tappan Volleyball
Boys’ Team of the Season:
St. Joseph’s Regional Football
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Junior QB Spence Aukampo led SJR to the No. 1 state ranking. |
There was some talk heading into the season that the glory days of St. Joseph Regional football were going to the wayside. With Don Bosco Prep and Bergen Catholic entrenched as perennial national powerhouse teams and Paramus Catholic quickly gaining ground after adding an All-American to their already talented crop of players, it appeared that the Green Knights could have easily found themselves bringing up the rear of the Parochial’s Big Four.
A couple of key early-season injuries should have cemented that, but the Green Knights knew the talent was still there to do something special. Just how special their season ended up though, not even they could have envisioned.
A loss to Paramus Catholic left them at the season’s midway point at 4-2 and wondering which direction they were headed. Led defensively by the aforementioned Fossati and with a balanced offensive attack paced by junior quarterback Spencer Aukamp, running back Sherman Alston and all-state wide receiver Ricky Jeune, the Green Knights flipped the switch and starting beating everyone in their path.
The torrid streak included victories over rivals Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep, becoming the first team to beat both powers in the same season since 1999. Both of those victories came when the opposing team was the No. 1 ranked team in New Jersey. So when faced with a 9-0 deficit in the Non-Public Group 3 state final against Delbarton, there was no panic. It was simply time to kick things into overdrive. After tying the game at 9 by halftime, the Green Knights played their best half of the year; scoring 28 unanswered points in securing a No. 1 state ranking and the school’s 16th state title with a 37-9 romp.
Runner-Up:
Ramapo Soccer
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Ramapo won the Bergen County championship and tied Princeton to grab a share of the Group 3 state title. |
Sharing a state championship is never an ideal situation for any team, but it is certainly better than watching another team celebrate in the final game of the season. Thanks in large part to senior goaltender Will Shiel, Ramapo was able to escape with a 1-1 tie against Princeton in the Group 3 state final.
With a senior-heavy lineup including one of the state’s best playmakers in Mikey Taranto, Sean Ethridge as a top-flight scorer up top, midfielders James Ortiz and Ian Fayorsey causing havoc along the flanks, and Joe Doughan as a steady sweeper along the back line playing for longtime head coach Evan Baumgarten, the Green Raiders had all the pieces in place for a championship season.
The Green Raiders did not lose all year and allowed just eight goals, finishing with a 21-0-3 record, which included the co-championship in Group 3 and an outright Bergen County title with a 3-1 win over Bergen Catholic.
Honorable Mention:
Pompton Lakes Football
Paramus Catholic Football
Bergen Catholic Football
Ramapo Football
Kearny Soccer
Don Bosco Prep Football
Pascack Valley Football
Mahwah Soccer
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Northern Highlands celebrated a second straight Group 3 state title. |
Girls’ Team of the Season:
Northern Highlands Girls Soccer
The undefeated 2011 season that finished with a state championship and a No. 1 state ranking was expected to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Highlanders. Expectations were high but tempered going into 2012 with 10 seniors having graduated. However, the season not only turned out to be a repeat of the 2012 campaign, but remarkably a more dominant one.
Northern Highlands outscored its opponents by a whopping 120-5 margin en route to another 24-0 season, capped by repeating as Bergen County and Group 3 state champs to go along with another No. 1 state ranking.
Runner-Up:
IHA Volleyball
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IHA won its fifth Tournament of Champions title in the last six years. |
For those volleyball aficionados around New Jersey, before the season even nearly everyone surrounding the sport knew the Tournament of Champions final was going to have Immaculate Heart Academy and Bogota squaring off one last time for all the marbles.
That is exactly how it played out as the state’s top two teams faced off for a fourth time and all four matches going four sets. After losing to Bogota in the Bergen County final, it was possible that the landscape was shifting away from the dominant force that has been IHA in recent years. But behind all-staters Nia Reed and Providence College-bound senior libero Michelle Cruz, the Blue Eagles were not ready for their run to end, not by a long shot.
Both were outstanding in the final match with the Blue Eagles also getting huge contributions in the third set from freshman setter Caitlyn Floyd and Larysa Iwaskiw as IHA became the most successful team in the Tournament of Champions era with a 5th T of C title in six years.
Honorable Mention:
Bogota Volleyball
Glen Rock Soccer
Ramapo Gymnastics
IHA Soccer
Northern Valley/Demarest Volleyball
Northern Highlands Tennis
River Dell Volleyball
Lakeland Field Hockey
Dwight-Englewood Tennis
Ramapo Soccer
Northern Valley/Old Tappan Volleyball
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