New Jersey All-Stars Beat Stars From Northeast

by Jeff Fisher
New Jersey High School Football Huddle

The first ever New Jersey/Northeast All-Star Football Classic went to the stars from the Garden State. Jersey pulled at the 13-7 victory on the very last play of the game on an interception and lateral that turned into a touchdown. To read about the exciting end of the game, click here.

For high school football news from around America, click here to go to The High School Football Huddle.

Roster for New Jersey High School All-Star Football Game Announced

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

How good are New Jersey's top high school football players? We'll find out next month when the Garden Staters take on an all-star team made-up of players from Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York and Virginia in the New Jersey-Northeast All-Star Classic at Rutgers University.

For the previous 11-years, the game has pitted New Jersey against New York in a game known as the Governor's Bowl. Click here to read more about the format change for the June 7th game.

Former NFL quarterbacks Phil Simms (New Jersey) and Joe Theismann (Northeast) will be the head coaches.

New Jersey Roster
Offense

QB-Brent Caprio, Mainland
QB-Mike Colvin, Morristown
RB-Ray Graham, Elizabeth
RB-Aaron Hayward, Penns Grove
RB-Dillon Romain, Don Bosco Prep
FB-Blaze Caponegro, Wall
FB-Patrick Schuhl, Gloucester Catholic
TE-Malcolm Bush, Hackensack
TE-Mike Naples, Somerville
WR-Quron Pratt, Palmyra
WR-Roderick Tunstall, Glassboro
WR-Jerry Waters, Camden Catholic
WR-Tyree Watkins, Camden
WR-Nick Williams, Hun
OL-Nick Cattolico, Delran
OL-Zach Chibane, Paramus
OL-Elijah Grant, Piscataway
OL-Max Hay, Burlington City
OL-Eric Mahler, Old Bridge
OL-Evan Regas, Toms River North
OL-Cody Wallace, Moorestown
OL-Khalil Wilkes, St. Peters Prep

Defense

CB-Jeremy Crayton, Piscataway
CB-Kendall James, Roselle
CB-Eric Loper, Timber Creek
CB-Logan Ryan, Eastern
S-Josh Evans, Irvington
S-Jason Hendricks, Hudson Catholic
S-David Kenney, Peddie
LB-Greg Burton, South Plainfield
LB-Carlo Calabrese, Verona
LB-Glenn Carson, Southern Regional
LB-Ka'lial Glaud, Winslow Twp
LB-Marcus Green, Scotch Plains
LB-Brian Leffler, Hun
LB-Zach Protin, Lakeland
DT-DaShawn Cassell, Shawnee
DT-Tyson Chandler, North Plainfield
DT-Tyler Danielson, Sayreville
DT-Julio Geronimo, East Orange
DE-Mike Cole, North Brunswick
DE-Aaron Hush, Piscataway
DE-Mike Larrow, Union.

Special Teams
LS-Mike Alberque Jr. Ridgefield Park
K-Drew Evangelista, Cedar Grove
P-C.J. Feagles, Ridgewood.

Coaching Staff
Head Coach-Phil Simms, NY Giants
Assistant Coaches-Chuck Johnson, Ridgewood
Ken Trimmer, Caldwell
Charlie Pirrillo, Holy Cross
Dan Higgins, Piscataway
Tim Gushue, Shawnee
Joe Matterich, Jefferson
Rich Hansen, St. Peter's Prep
Warren Wolf, Brick.

As soon as I can find the entire Northeast roster, I will pass it along.

Not So Fast! Brick Township Football Coaching Legend Takes A Stand on New Head Coach

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle
The winningest head football coach in New Jersey history may have been crying wolf when he retired on December 1st. According to the Daily Record, Warren Wolf, who retired with a record of 361-122-11 in 51 seasons at Brick Township, wants to rescind his retirement because officials decided to go outside of the district for his replacement...Patrick Dowling, formerly of Allentown High.

Click here to read the story.

For high school football news from around America, click here to go to The High School Football Huddle.

Gatorade Replay..Thanks for the Memories!!

by Jeff Fisher
New Jersey High School Football Huddle


Around 5:30 P.M. CST on Sunday, April 26, 2009...I received a call from my mother, who lives in Easton, Pennsylvania...actually Wilson Borough (my hometown) to be exact.

The call went like this....

Mom - "What was the final score to the game?"

Me - "The Liners won, mom"

Mom - "I know, but what was the score?"

Me - "P'burg 27-12"

The reason for the call was my mom was watching my old TV station, which during it's report gave the winner's name, but not the final score for the Gatorade Replay game that broke 1993's 7-7 tie between the two arch rival that meet every Thanksgiving morning at Lafayette College.

Of course, mom is a little jaded when it comes to reviewing the talent that replaced me when I moved to Chicago, but when she was done making light of the fact that the reporter was remiss in not giving the final score, it dawned on me that...high school football memories are as special as a first kiss!

This game was more than an advertising stunt, and my mom and the rest of the area were treating it as such!

They've play 102-games that counted before Sunday, but none of the 102 may have counted more than Sunday's Replay. It had all the romance of a Harlequin novel as two towns that have a combined population of 40,000 came together to show that the Thanksgiving Day rivalry is more than just a game. It showed the fabric of these two Delaware River communities, and it focused me on my job as America's central database for high school football.

The High School Football Huddle is about everything high school football....all 15,000 high schools and 1.3 million players, plus the cheerleaders and the bands. I promise you that this site will always be about ripping apart the fabric of communities around the country to tell the story of high school football.

Finally, for all of us who have thought, "if I had to do it all over again"...Sunday was a special day! It proved that there's nothing wrong with turning back the clock.

In closing, and using football terms...we should always remember that as time rushes by us, we should consider grabbing each passing moment and realize that the problems we tackled in high school, make very special memories.

Gatorade Replay showed that TIES really do bind.

And, don't forgot to check-out various video from throughout the day on College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania...

1993 Tie Broken...Phillipsburg 27 Easton 12

by Jeff Fisher
The High school Football Huddle

You can do it all over again!

Phillipsburg (NJ) beat Easton (PA) 27-12 Sunday in the Gatorade Replay game that broke a 7-7 tie from a 1993 Thanksgiving Day game between the Delaware River rivals. The game lived-up to its hype, and went a long way to proving that these two may own America's best high school football rivalry!

Click here to read about the game.

The Voice of Easton and Phillipsburg...A Real Turn-Back-the-Clock Guy

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle


Sitting here in Chicago, about 45 minutes from the start of the Easton-Phillipsburg Gatorade Replay game. I'm going to listen to the game on the internet with THE VOICE of the Red Rovers and Stateliners...Dick Hammer.

At 75 years young, Dick is my mentor and friend. However, to tens of thousands, he was the voice on WEST-AM Radio.

Dick's words have painted every hand-off, pass and tackle for these two schools since the 50's. WEST was known as "The Best Little Station in the Nation" for its community-based broadcasts that included not only Easton and Phillipsburg football, but also, basketball, baseball wrestling...YES WRESTLING. Hold-by-hold on the radio!

I spoke to Dick earlier this week, and he was very excited about calling today's game with his long-time sidekick Mike Moore, who also helped me cut my teeth in the news business back in the late 70's.

For those of you who have been following my blog about this game...do yourself a favor and click onto the WGPA radio link below, and make this truly a throwback game by listening to a man, who has been calling sports on the radio for over 50 years. While I love the pictures of TV, there's NOTHING better than an old-time radio broadcast.

Click here to go to the WGPA website to listen to today's game.

Phillipsburg vs. Easton (PA)...Better the Second Time Around?

by Jeff Fisher
New Jersey High School Football Huddle

While many may have considered Gatorade's idea to Replay the 1993 Easton-Phillipsburg Thanksgiving Day game to break the 7-7 a joke, on the eve of the game, the feeling in the two communities, is no different than it is on Thanksgiving Eve.

Complete with the traditional bonfire, everyone is getting into the sold-out game that will be played Sunday afternoon at Lafayette's Fisher Field.

For the players, there are probably the same butterflies that were felt 15-years ago. For one player, this replay has been a life changer. You can check-out that story from CNN's Reynolds Wolf below.