7/2/2011 - Sussex Stars Shine
As Matt Soltes cut through the South’s defense for an impressive gain, some of the heads of the assembled media and hanger-ons on the North sideline turned to get a better look at the quarterback.
Then after the Vernon senior completed a couple passes, the prevailing thought was who was this kid and where the heck is Vernon?
Yes, those of us fortunate enough to watch Soltes play the last three years were fully aware of his immense talents and were not surprised he played well and was named the offensive MVP of the 33rd annual North-South Classic played at Kean University a week ago.
And although the North fell 21-14 in part to a Soltes’ pick that went the other way for an 85-yard touchdown late in the game, Soltes made a big impression statewide, and good for him.
A couple of media members were asking me where the 6-foot-3, 205-pound signal caller was going next year.
I told them Division II East Stroudsburg University, and before they could ask, I explained the family connection of his father, Andy, playing QB for Denny Douds in the early 1980s and the fact the Warriors run the spread like Vernon had the last couple of seasons.
The consensus was that Soltes was Division I material and I couldn’t agree more. But East Stroudsburg, I believe is a good fit, and if he stays healthy, it won’t be long before Soltes is the starting QB for the Warriors.
Soltes was terrific for the North, and even after the pick-six, he guided the North down to the South 10 before the game ended on a sack. He finished 11-for-21 passing for 176 yards with a 1 TD passing and rushing.
He effectively moved the North most of the game and also did a great job punting for his high school coach, North special teams coach Chuck Tepper. He hit LeRon Dilliard on a perfect 33-yard scoring strike and he ran for a 3-yard score, both in the first half.
There is no cheering in the press box (unless you are Jerry Morelli!), but I couldn’t help to feel a sense of pride not only watching Soltes, but all five Sussex County players perform.
Joining Soltes were Nick Boyle of High Point, Kevin Cook of Wallkill Valley, Mike Labell of Lenape Valley and Julian Farinola of Sparta.
All of them contributed to the North effort and all saw quality playing time, especially Soltes, who was also named a team captain after a few days of practice.
Boyle, who played defensive end and was the long snapper on special teams, recovered a muffed punt to help set up North’s first touchdown. Boyle’s development from a big kid playing football to a football player the last two years has been fun to watch.
The strapping, 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is heading for Delaware next year and will fight for the long snapper’s job as a freshman. But the hard work Boyle put in the weight room and his dedication to the sport will definitely put him in the running for playing time outside of special teams.
Cook is as hard-nosed of a player I have covered. Small in stature, Cook was a mass of heart and muscle and did a nice job in his couple of carries, but more importantly did the dirty work blocking out the backfield.
Cook had a monster season for the Rangers and is the school’s all-time leading rusher. He was a late addition to the squad, he said, but he did not let down the North at all. But everyone who knows Cook knows he was going to bring it 100 percent and he delivered.
Labell was as good as a linebacker you could find in the Mugs Media area the last two years. LaBell played a big role during a North goal line stand when on fourth down he forced the runner inside and he was stopped short.
When I mentioned the play to LaBell, like a typical linebacker, he said he should have made the play, but was happy his mates were there to clean it up.
Then there was Farinola, the most dynamic player in the area, the last two years, by far. Farinola was a true threat to score every time he touched the ball for the Spartans on offense, defense and special teams.
He did most of his damage on special teams for the North with a couple of hard-hitting tackles.
The Sussex County highlights did not stop at halftime, no sir. During the break, longtime Sussex County resident and former Butler head coach Bob Jones was inducted into the New Jersey Football Coaches Hall of Fame as was longtime Lenape Valley assistant coach Walt Scheese.
It was neat watching Don Smolyn’s reaction to Scheese being honored. The legendary Lenape Valley mentor was beaming with pride and couldn’t wait to give us a sound bite about what a great coach Walt is, but also what a great friend and person as well.
Scheese has been with Smolyn since their days together at Green Brook and in 38 years at Lenape, he had helped Smolyn win 274 games, nine conference crowns, seven section titles, and make the playoffs an astounding 28 times.
But one of my favorite Smolyn-Scheese stories is not football related. Nope. It is a track story from 1985 when the Pats won the North 1, Group 2 title with three guys. Yes, you read that right, three guys.
The incredibly talented Pearson brothers, Kevin and Brian, dominated in the sprints and field events, while Jack Hay cleaned up in the distance events.
Smolyn joked that they could have went to the meet in a Volkswagen bug, but he added what a great job Scheese did in getting the kids prepared.
Jones, a proud Butler graduate and former Bulldogs star, went 99-79-4 from 1984 to 2002 and won five section crowns, including four straight from 1994-97 for Butler.
A football lifer, Jones currently assists his son Daryl at Wallkill Valley and has been a big reason behind the Rangers’ success the last couple of seasons.
All in all, it was a great night for Sussex County football as all the players and coaches represented themselves well.
At the end of the game we had all five players plus Tepper pose for a shot and it made think how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to watch these fine young men over the course of their careers.
It was a game I will always remember and a game that some statewide media will remember as the night they discovered where the heck Vernon is located.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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