Four 1,000-yard rushers head All-District football team
By tim morris
Staff Writer

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Colts Neck’s Mark Savard (l) and Obi Nkwuo were two of the Freehold District’s four 1,000-yard rushers, along with Freehold’s Keith Reed (r) and Manalapan’s Cory Brooks (not pictured).

Led by four 1,000-yard rushers and a first-year program that made the state playoffs, the 2000 football season was one for the ages.

One-thousand-yard rushers don’t just walk through the doors. It takes a combination of teamwork and the individual skills of the running back to average 100 yards a game for a season, and this year the district was blessed with four of them. Two came from the same team, Colts Neck, which capped its spectacular debut.

Mike McArthur’s Cougars went 7-4 in their first varsity season and not only qualified for the state playoffs, but won their first-round game over Highland Park (42-20). The Cougars set the bar high for future teams, as did running back Obi Nkwuo and Mark Savard, who each surpassed 1,000.

Last year Manalapan’s Cory Brooks was a junior who had potential. Then, starter Derek Thompson went down with an injury, and Brooks stepped in and picked up 1,000 yards. This fall, as the main back, Brooks was even better, surpassing 1,000 again.

Freehold’s Keith Reed, who runs as hard as anyone, carried the Colonials (5-5) on his back this fall, became one of the most feared runners in the Shore and in the process, was the first Freehold Borough runner in 10 years to surpass 1,000.

In Jack Phillips, the Braves and the district had one of the best quarterbacks in the Shore.

Brooks, Savard, Nkwuo, Reed and Phillips head the News Transcript’s 2000 All-Freehold District Football Team, as selected by the six head coaches.

Joining them on the offense are linemen Aaron Winik and Gerard England, Freehold Township; Scott Blum and Jesse Manna, Howell; Larry Hendrickson, Freehold Borough; and Andrew Panico, Colts Neck. The receivers are Dan Clayton, Freehold Township; and Manalapan’s Mike Bianco and John Pappa. Brian Huff of Marlboro is the tight end. Mike Obertlik of Colts Neck is the place-kicker. Freehold Township’s Rabie Kwara is part of the backfield with Brooks, Nkwuo and Reed.

The defense is led by the area’s best two-way player, Savard, a linebacker.

The defensive line has Matt Summonte of Freehold Township; Dallas Klem, Freehold Borough; Mike Sarapochillo and Brandon Foster, Colts Neck; and Spinelli, Marlboro.

The linebackers are Savard and his teammate Chris Stoop; Travis Skinner and Riemel Simmelkjaer, Howell; Josh James and Anthony Hubbert, Freehold Borough; Cole Williams-Ficarra, Freehold Township; and Sultan Radoncic, Manalapan.

The secondary is Brett Jones, Freehold Borough; Jesse Stoop, Colts Neck; Mike Gaeta, Manalapan; Chris Romano, Marlboro; Bryce Skinner, Howell; and Seth Behler, Freehold Township.

The punter is Lorenzo Issidoro of Freehold Township, and the return specialist is Jonathan Zinco, Manalapan.

Brooks earned every one of his 1,332 yards this year. The Braves were breaking in a new, inexperienced offensive line, but that didn’t prevent Brooks from pounding out those 1,300+ yards. A very punishing runner who gets stronger as the game progresses (he carried the ball 179 times), Brooks’ best game of the year came when he tied Reggie Grant’s school-record with four touchdowns in a single game, while rushing for 277 yards on 28 carries in a 35-13 win over Southern Regional.

Phillips is one of the top college prospects in the Shore at the quarterback position. Despite the youthfulness of the Braves’ line and a new receiver to pass to, Phillips still ranked among the passing leaders with 1,1154 yards and six touchdowns while completing 97 of his 180 passes. That is on the heels of a 1,473 yard season in ’99. Phillips also ran for two touchdowns.

Nkwuo was Mr. Excitement, Colts Neck’s outside threat. One of the best open field runners in the Shore, Nkwuo could make defenders look silly with his swerving moves and speed. He was a big-play threat every time he touched the ball. Nkwuo gained 1,199 yards on just 152 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per rush. He had nine rushing touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a score as well. The Cougars fed off the electricity of his long runs. He ran for 217 yards against Holmdel on just 17 carries.

Savard was the perfect complement to Nkwuo. He was Mr. Inside, the runner who moved the chains and wore teams down. He would pick up 1,086 yards on 152 carries, and scored 12 rushing touchdowns. In Colts Neck’s state playoff win over Highland Park, he scored four touchdowns and ran for 246 yards.

But Savard was even better as Colts Neck’s search-and-destroy middle linebacker. The senior led the team with 102 tackles. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns, giving him 15 for the season.

To say that Reed was the bulk of the Colonial offense would be an understatement. The senior was the Freehold Borough offense.

He gained 1,185 yards on 154 carries and scored 11 rushing touchdowns (he scored a 12th on a pass reception). Reed combined a power game with speed, making him a threat no matter where the Colonials were on the field. He rushed for 250 yards in a win over Point Pleasant Beach.

Kwara represented the hard-nosed effort that is beginning to characterize the Patriots. He slammed for 630 yards on 122 carries as he helped Freehold Township become a more ball-control team. He scored a team-best six touchdowns.

Clayton provided Freehold Township with a passing game. Paul Tall, long armed with sure hands, was a very inviting target for quarterback Lepore.

Clayton, a junior who knows how to run pass patterns, pulled down 25 passes for 262 yards — both tops on the Pats. As a safety, he made 67 tackles and averaged 10 yards per punt return.

Bianco and Pappa were on the receiving end of most of Phillips’ aerials. Bianco was among the Shore’s busiest receivers, catching 30 passes for 352 yards.

Pappa, who is just a sophomore, was the long threat as his pulled in 19 aerials for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Huff is the prototypical tight end. Big and strong, he’s like having an additional offensive lineman. But the senior also has good hands and is a threat to catch the ball, putting extra pressure on defenses.

Hendrickson, a senior, was the lone returning starter on the Colonials’ line. His leadership helped the line develop into a solid unit that enabled Reed to rush for more than 1,000 yards.

Freehold Township doubled it points production and was able to control the football for long periods of time this year, thanks to veterans Winik (270) and England (230). They played a very physical game, firing off the ball and pushing people back.

Howell was also a team that could control the line of scrimmage — due to the presence of Blum and Manna. Blum, a senior, led by his experience, while the 295-pound Manna figures to be the leader next year.

Colts Neck’s running success was entirely because of the skills of its fine running backs.

The Cougar offensive line more than held its own, as the Colts Neck team piled up impressive running numbers. Junior Andrew Panico was the best of a solid unit that was dominated by underclassmen.

Obertlik’s kicking made a big difference for the Cougars. He won two games with field goals, including the inaugural Colts Neck-Freehold Borough Thanksgiving Day game, 10-7. He connected on four field goals and 25 extra points. His long field goal was 39 yards. He scored 37 points as a kicker, which ranks with the best in the Shore.

Summonte is one of the reasons that Freehold Township has undergone an attitude adjustment in the last few seasons

He brings a toughness and aggressiveness in play to the defensive line, which is very contagious. The 6-3, 245-pound defensive end figured in every team’s game plan. Despite being marked for double-teams, he made 61 tackles, 15 for losses. Fifteen of his tackles were in the backfield for losses. He was a three-year starter.

Foster and Sarapochillo are a pair of talented juniors who will be back to wreak havoc on offenses next year. They did quite a bit of damage this fall. Sarapochillo had eight quarterback sacks and 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage (team highs), while Foster made 61 total tackles.

Klem gave the defensive line a huge lift this year. He was not just a presence on the line, but someone who could make plays. He had three quarterback sacks and 21 tackles.

His biggest play was the blocked extra point against Mater Dei that prevented the Seraphs from tying the game, resulting in a 14-13 borough win.

Spinelli, a junior, was one of the big pluses for Marlboro as he turned himself into a force on the defensive line. He had 34 stops on the season.

Stoop gave Colts Neck a second linebacker with range who could make plays. He had 91 total tackles and recovered three fumbles.

Last year, as a sophomore, James learned from the best, Darrell Reid, now at the University of Minnesota. James proved to be a very good student as he played with an intensity Reid would be proud of. He had 93 total tackles, including 11 for losses. He also had two quarterback sacks. James can cover the entire field, and he doubled as a pretty good running back, rushing for more than 100 yards a couple of times.

At linebacker, Hubbert gave Freehold Borough opponents a double headache. Also a junior, he had 84 stops this year, including six behind the line of scrimmage.

Skinner and Simmelkjaer were an outstanding linebacking combination for the Rebels, making plays all over the field. Skinner made 77 stops, including 14 behind the line of scrimmage, and Simmelkjaer made 63 tackles, five for losses. Both had one pass interception.

Williams-Ficarra was Freehold Township’s leader on defense. The hard-hitting linebacker made tackles that fired everyone up and raised the level of play. He had 70 tackles, two of them for losses, and had three sacks. Williams-Ficarra also gave the Pats a tough up-the-middle fullback that complemented Kwara.

As all good linebackers, Radoncic led his team in tackles. The Brave senior was very mobile playing the run and pass with equal effectiveness.

Jones was the Madison Square Garden Network’s Defensive Player of the Week back in October when he returned a pair of pass interceptions for touchdowns in Freehold’s 41-21 win over Keansburg.