Four area football stars sign National Letters
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

TIM MORRIS Everyone was all smiles on Feb. 7, signing day for high school football stars who are going to be playing in college. Freehold Township's Brian Brikowski (l) and Joe Faiella made it official, signing with the University of Akron and University of Maryland, respectively, as their parents, Barry Britkowski and Theresa and Ralph Faiella, looked on.

For high school gridiron standouts with ambitions of playing college football, Feb. 7 is a red-letter day.

It's known as Signing Day, the day when high school seniors sign their National Letters of Intent. Once they've signed on the dotted line, it's official as to where they will be continuing their football careers in college.

Locally, four of the Freehold Regional District's best were among those who will be playing football at the highest level.

Howell quarterback Sean O'Reilly is headed to the Northeast Conference and Wagner College, and Billy Dokouslis, the two-way standout for Manalapan, signed with Lehigh University of the Patriot League.

A pair of Freehold Township Patriots inked their college pacts. Offensive lineman Joe Faiella is going to the University of Maryland and teammate Brian Brikowski is off to the University of Akron.

For O'Reilly, who engineered Howell's first trip to the Central Jersey Group IV finals last fall, it's been a hectic couple of months that turned out just fine in the end.

"It's a tedious process," he said. "You have to feel out what college is good for you."

In that process, it turned out to be Wagner.

"Wagner was the first to recruit me during the season," said O'Reilly.

Coach Walt Hameline, who lives in Colts Neck, stayed in touch with O'Reilly during the season, and when the Rebel made his official visit, that sealed it.

"I got to meet him (Hameline) and he's a real great guy," said O'Reilly. "He has the personal touch. He talked about things you want to hear from a coach.

"I met 10 guys on the team and they were all nice kids," he added.

It wasn't just football that brought O'Reilly to Wagner.

"I took a lot into account," he said. "My major is finance and I can do internships in New York City."

The Seahawks are looking at O'Reilly to play either quarterback, wide receiver or defensive back (he played all three at Howell). Although he would prefer quarterback, O'Reilly just wants to play, and he'll have the opportunity to see action as a freshman.

"I'm ready to play at the next level," he pointed out. "It's a little scary going into something new. I'm going to continue to work hard."

Dokouslis, who became a two-way star this past fall, adding tight end to his defensive end prowess, was recruited by Lehigh to play outside linebacker.

Like O'Reilly, his college decision wasn't solely based on football.

"Number 1 was the superior academic experience," said Dokouslis, who will major in business. "Number 2, the football is great. They play great competition and they've been the winningest team in the conference."

It was an official visit to Lehigh that convinced the Braves star that it was right for him.

"After talking with the coach and going there, it's where I was most comfortable," he said.

The Lehigh coaches told Dokouslis that he will have a pretty good chance of stepping right in and playing next fall.

After meeting the team, Dokouslis was pleased to find that he will be playing with teammates who are as passionate about football as he is.

"I look forward to playing with kids who try as hard as I do," he said.

Lehigh has become one of the top Division I-AA teams in the country, and has been no stranger to the NCAA championship tournament. Last year, they were the Patriot League co-champions.

"They are committed to excellence in football and in the classroom," said Dokouslis. "I like the way they go about doing things."

For Faiella, Feb. 7 was a very long time coming. That's because back in August, he made his verbal commitment to Maryland. While it made his final high school season more enjoyable, he admitted that the

February signing date was a long time coming.

"It took a load off my shoulders," he said.

Like so many other players who signed their National Letter of Intent, Faiella picked the school that was best suited for him athletically and academically. Even though other colleges came calling, Faiella never wavered in his decision to attend Maryland.

"The coaching staff is great," he remarked. "After my official visit, it's where I felt the best. It helped a lot to talk to a lot of the kids. I'm gong to be playing with a bunch of great guys."

Faiella, who played left tackle for the Patriots, could play either tackle or guard for the Terrapins, and he could be on the travel team next year.

Maryland will offer Faiella the opportunity to realize his full potential as a football player.

"Maryland plays in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), which is big competition," he said. "I felt it's where you could go and get much better."

The Terrapins were 9-4 last year and won a bowl game.

It was during his junior year, when teams were recruiting his teammate Matt Hardison, that Faiella began to see that he had the chance to play in college and continued his postseason dedication to working out.

When the season started, Faiella's teammate Brikowski wasn't sure if he'd be playing anywhere after high school. No one had been courting him. Then, the season got under way and he started to shine on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver and linebacker, and sure enough, the calls started. The weeding-out process proved to not be that difficult - Akron offered him what he was looking for.

"I'm really happy about it, "he said. "My long-term goal is to take football as far as I can, and Akron is the best place for me to reach my goals. I always wanted to play at the highest level. I'm really excited about it.

Akron plays in the competitive Mid-American Conference, where its champion receives a bowl bid. Teams step out of conference to play the college heavyweights. For instance, Akron's second game of 2007 will be against Big 10 champion Ohio State.

"Akron is in a good conference and is going in the right direction," said Brikowski.

Although he became one of the best receivers in the Shore Conference this fall, Akron is looking at him as a linebacker. That's fine with him.

"I like playing defense," he said.

Brikowski, who will major in business/marketing, was told that he will have a reasonable shot to make the team this fall.

"It going to be my biggest challenge," he said. "I'm determined to stay on top of things."

Which for him, means working as hard as ever.

In fact, all four signers have that in common. Their scholarships are a reward for all of the extra work they put into becoming the best football players they can be. They certainly are role models for their underclassman teammates to follow.