Braves top 2003 All-District football squad
Walcott, Gurrieri,
Keller, Kircher, Smith
top gridiron squad
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Manalapan High School turned around a so-so season with an historic playoff run that made the 2003 season one to remember.

Tom Tarver’s Braves were the story of this year’s high school football season, marching to the Central Jersey Group IV final for the first time. The 7-5 Braves were the No. 7 seed and an afterthought when the playoffs began, but upsets of No. 2 Brick and No. 3 Old Bridge took them to their first-ever state sectional final. The Braves would fall to Brick Memorial in the final, played at Brick, however, they had raised the bar for the program. They will now be the team that future Brave teams will be judged against.

The Braves were just the third Freehold District team to advance to a state sectional final, joining Freehold Borough (1985) and Marlboro (which won CJ IV in 1994).

Freehold Township has its sights set on 2004 after finishing the season with three straight wins. Dominick Lepore’s Pats gave us a retro look during the season in going to the single-wing.

Although Freehold Borough slumped at the end of the season, it didn’t prevent halfback Damian Walcott from putting up big numbers and confirming his status as one of the Shore area’s best players.

The News Transcript’s 2003 All-Freehold District Football Team is ruled by the Braves, who placed 11 players on the team. Running back Eddie Gurrieri joins Walcott, Freehold Township’s Kevin Wagner and Marlboro’s Preston Plevretes in the backfield. Manalapan’s Kelly St. Angelo is the quarterback. The receivers are the Braves’ Greg Dilorenzo, Howell’s Brian Smith and Freehold Borough’s Pedro Hernandez. The linemen are Marc Gumnic, Greg Carroll and Pat Brandefine from Manalapan; Mike Savoye, Howell; Dan Cooper, Freehold Township; Frank DiFranco, Freehold Borough; and Chris Montesano, Colts Neck. Andrew Smith of Freehold Township is the place kicker/punter

Manalapan’s Desi Varrichio, Tom Saunders and Joe Kircher head the defensive line with Joe Florio of Freehold Township, Marlboro’s Anthony Imperiale, Howell’s Matt Hehner and Freehold Borough’s Jesse Leone.

The linebackers are Bill Smith and Rob Bove, Freehold Township; Ryan Keller and Pete Skelton, Colts Neck; and Gary Zappi, Howell.

Freehold Borough’s Danny Matthews, Marlboro’s Kyle Dunleavy, Freehold Township’s Chris Dorf and Manalapan’s Doug Freuh and Alex Widener make up the secondary.

Walcott made a habit of making the big play. Blessed with great balance and vision to go along with his breakaway speed, Walcott was a threat whenever he had his hands on the ball. The senior enjoyed his first full season as the featured back, rushing for 1,100 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns.

After his breakout game against Freehold Township (when he took over the for injured Chris Hegel), there was no stopping Gurrieri. The junior gave the Manalapan offense a new dimension with his speed and ability to get outside. He would rush for more than 100 yards in all three state playoff games, and ended the season with 1,023 yards and nine touchdowns.

Wagner was Mr. All Around for the Patriots, The junior rushed for 770 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He scored six touchdowns running, had one as a receiver, and even threw for another score. He pulled down six passes for 90 yards.

The district’s power runner was the Mustangs’ Plevretes. The senior picked up his yardage the hard way, between the tackles. He picked up 700 yards and scored four touchdowns.

St. Angelo grew as a player and a leader during the 2003 season, and was a big reason the team made such a great run in November. He was a back-up behind the graduated Mike Gaeta the last two years, but when his time game to take over the offense this fall, he was ready. St. Angelo completed 83 of his 176 passes for 1,091 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was a running threat as well, picking up many critical first downs with his legs.

Greg Dilorenzo was on the receiving end of 40 of those aerials for 602 yards and four touchdowns.

Smith, a junior, was one of Howell’s leading offensive threats. Smith caught 31 passed for 398 yards and four touchdowns.

Hernandez helped the Colonials stretch the field with the passing game. The senior caught 18 passed, but they totaled 292 yards (16 yards per grab).

Manalapan’s offense was sparked up front in the trenches by the plays of center Marc Gumnic, (6-foot-1, 265 pounds), Greg Carrone (6-0, 220) and Pat Brandefine (6-5, 290). The offensive line was one of Manalapan’s biggest strength, owing to the play of this trio of seniors. As a unit, they combined strength with quickness. The reason that Manalapan was so balanced on offense was the line’s ability to play both smash mouth and pass protect. The line played superbly in the state playoffs.

DiFranco was one of the reasons that Walcott was able to ring up his 1,100 rushing yards this year. The Colonial line proved to be very effective moving teams off the ball.

Cooper brought a veteran’s touch to the Patriot line. A three-year starter, he anchored a physical line that could move teams off the ball.

Savoye had a big season for a young Howell team that was feeling its way. The 265-pound guard was the dependable player the team could run behind. The same for Montesano, who stood out on a young Cougar team.

Freehold Township’s Smith was a weapon. His kick-offs routinely went into the end zone, preventing teams from making a run-back.

The tone and demeanor of the Manalapan defense began up front, where the line controlled the line of scrimmage.

Varrichio, an end, made plays. A winner of the MSG Network Player of the Week award during the season, he had 40 total tackles including a team-high nine quarterback sacks.

Saunders, who lined up on the other side of the line to Varrichio at defensive end, had 36 tackles and two quarterback sacks.

Kircher, a tackle, played as important a role on offense as on defense. The Braves changed their offense during the season, putting Kircher as blocking fullback, and it worked.

Three-year starter Florio was the stalwart on the Patriot line. He had 40 total tackles, including a trio of quarterback sacks.

Hehner was Howell’s disruptive force on the D line. The junior came through with 42 total tackles from his end positions. Of those tackles, five were quarterback sacks.

Leone was a solid two-play player on both lines for the Colonials. Defensively, he had 58 total tackles, including six for a loss and two quarterback sacks.

Three-year starter Florio had 40 tackles for the Pats and three sacks of the quarterback. Imperiale dominated play for the Mustangs with 56 total tackles and four quarterback sacks.

The linebacker position was the focal point of Freehold Township’s defense. The Patriots were led by two mobile backers who could make plays anywhere on the field. Three-year starter Smith had 50 total tackles and two fumble recoveries. He did some running for the Pats and was the long snapper on kicks. Bove, a co-captain with Smith, had 60 tackles, including two sacks and a fumble recovery. He was a two-year starter.

Keller’s hard-nosed play was evident on both sides of the ball. He was a punishing running back who led the team in rushing and defensively dished out the punishment at linebacker. He was all over the field with 102 total tackles, including 13 behind the line of scrimmage. He had two sacks, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. He did everything but carry the water for the Cougars. Next to Keller on defense, Skelton had 80 total tackles, including four for a loss. He had one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked kick.

Freuh was a blitzing strong safety who had a knack for always being around the ball. He had 69 tackles, including five sacks. He had a pass interception and two fumble recoveries.

Zappi had 76 total tackles for Howell including 54 solo stops. Five of his stops were for losses.

Matthews was the Colonials big play man on defense. The sophomore had a tremendous nose for the ball. He intercepted five passes and returned one for a touchdown. He also had one fumble recovery.

Widener was Manalapan’s best cover cornerback. He could take the opposition’s best receiver out of the game. Widener had two picks.

Dunleavy was all over the field for the Mustangs. The senior D-back was in on 100 tackles and had four pass interceptions.

Dorf was the biggest theft in the Shore when it came to passes. The senior defensive back hauled in six pass interceptions to lead the conference. He had 10 pass break-ups and 35 total tackles for the season.

Smith was a defensive weapon for the Patriots with his booming kick-offs. He put 15 kick-offs into the end zone, forcing teams to march the long-field against the Pat defense. Smith averaged 37.5-yards a punt, and had two field goals and 14 ex­tra points during the season.

Those earning Honorable Mention for 2003 were: Brandon Emmons (returner), James Vitucci (offensive line) and Nick Tucker (place kicker), Colts Neck; Brent Donnelly (running back), Nelson Navarro (running back), Brian Maida (place kicker), David Owens (lineman) and James Jadacki (linebacker), Freehold Borough; Darrell Willis (lineman), John Madge (lineman), Tom Roman (defensive back), Joe LaPietra (lineman), Mike Vac­caro (lineman), Bobby Malloy (wide re­ceiver), Joe Paolillo (wide receiver) and Pete Reilly (running back); Jesse Borelli (lineman), Anthony Grimes (lineman), Ryan McGuinness (defensive back), Frank Mormino (defensive back) and Tyler Crapanzano (defensive back), How­ell; and Joe Wallace and Rodney Sa­lomon, Marlboro.