PITMAN, NJ – Four-time defending champion Salisbury has been voted as the preseason favorite to repeat as New Jersey Athletic Conference football champs, based on a vote of the league’s seven head coaches. The Sea Gulls, ranked No. 25 in the D3football.com preseason poll, garnered six of the seven possible first place votes.
2022 runner-up Christopher Newport is predicted to finish second again. Rowan picked up a first place vote and comes in at No. 3, followed by Kean, dark horse selection TCNJ, Montclair State, and William Paterson.
SALISBURY
Salisbury brings back a slew of top players from last year’s squad. Head Coach Sherman Wood expects his Sea Gull squad to possess great energy and chemistry this year to put together another quality season after last year’s run to the NJAC title and NCAA berth.
On the offensive side, First Team All-NJAC fullback Joey Bildstein returns after leading the NJAC in rushing last season (112.5 yds/game) and putting up the second-most all-purpose yards (112.8/game) in the conference. He is joined by First Team offensive lineman Tony Mason, who helped led Salisbury as the league’s top offense at 33.3 points per game. Running back Jaden Davis, an honorable mention all-conference pick last year, adds solid rushing numbers after recording 50.4 yards per game last year to rank seventh in the NJAC.
The Sea Gull defense is once again strong, with First Team All-NJAC safety Caleb Brubaker headlining the defense. Brubaker enters the season as a D3football.com Preseason First Team All-American after earning Second Team All-America honors last year. He led the NJAC with seven picks with a return for a touchdown. He also posted five pass breakups, which added to his seven interceptions ranked him third in the NJAC in passes defended. He also registered 6.2 tackles per game to rank 12th in the conference. He is joined by First Team linebacker Jimmy Celentano who ranked in the NJAC top 10 in tackles (7.4/game) last year and had posted three sacks. Three-time all-conference honoree Casey Counts also returns. The linebacker had five sacks last year and nine total tackles for loss to rank among the best in the NJAC. Two-time all-conference pick A.J. Butler returns to help the defense and the punt return squad. He ranked first in punt returns last year, returning 11 for 127 yards (11.5 yards per return). On the defense, he added three interceptions and two pass breakups.
Newcomers to Watch:
Khari Jones (CB; Sophomore transfer from Wagner)
Mason Fisher (WR; Westminster, MD/Westminster)
A.J. Haythe (S; Forestville, MD/Bishop McNamara)
Aven Williams (WR; Silver Spring, MD/Montgomery Blair)
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT
CNU head coach Paul Crowley is excited for his squad this season, noting the team’s hard work in the offseason led by a strong group of senior leaders. The Captains finished second in the NJAC last year after an exciting but heartbreaking loss to Salisbury in the regular season finale.
The Captains have a core group of returners looking for more this season. Two-time NJAC Offensive Player of the Year Matt Dzierski will be back to guide the offense. The quarterback led the NJAC in passing (169.9 yds/game) and total offense (214.1 yds/game) and had the second-fewest interceptions among conference QBs. He averaged 6.6 points per game to rank third overall, rushing for 11 TDs in addition to throwing for 11 more. He will be protected once again by two of the top offensive lineman in Josh Hartley (First Team All-Conference) and Connor Kirley. The o-line duo started all 10 games last season and helped the CNU offense average nearly 25 points a game.
On the other end, a pair of Second Team All-Conference players return to lead the defense. Cornerback Josh Uvodich ranked second in the NJAC last year with 11 passes defended, including nine pass breakups and two interceptions. Safety Kindrick Braxton was among the top 10 in the conference in tackles, registering 7.9 per game to rank seventh. They are joined this year Carson Turner, who looks to contribute at the defensive end after posting 16 tackles including 1.5 for loss last season.
The Captains also have back First Team All-Conference and Third Team All-Region kicker Ryan Castle. He led the NJAC by averaging 51.1 yards per kickoff. He was also 29-for-31 in extra point attempts and added nine field goals. By averaging 3.3 points per game, he ranked second among NJAC kickers in scoring.
ROWAN
The Profs head into the 2023 season with experience, as Head Coach Jay Accorsi expects the offense to shine behind the leadership of two-time First Team running back James Fara and an experienced offensive line. The Prof defense also has experience and depth, particularly at the linebacker and defensive back positions.
Fara led the NJAC in all-purpose yards last season, putting up 113.2 per game. He was also the conference’s third-leading rusher (94.5 yds/game) and ranked fifth in touchdowns (8) and sixth in scoring (4.8 points/game). He is joined by wide receiver Terry Carlstrom, who Accorsi noted the continued development along with freshman Marlon Boston who is expected to contribute off the bat. Carlstrom averaged 21.9 receiving yards per game, including 10.4 yards per catch, and scored two touchdowns. He also ranked fourth in the NJAC in kick return, averaging 20.1 yards per return. Offensive lineman Robert Stashek, a 2021 all-conference pick, helped lead the Prof offense to the second-highest scoring average last season at 26.0 points per game.
On the other end, defensive lineman Eric Hill and Joshua Ortiz look to lead. Hill posted 29 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, along with three pass breakups last year. Ortiz registered eight tackles for loss. Defensive back Miles Cook also returns, recording 11 tackles last year including one for loss along with a pass breakup.
Newcomers to Watch:
Marlon Boston (WR; Somerset, NJ/Franklin Township)
Tyshawn Bookman (RB; West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford)
Brody Colbert (DB; Monroe, NJ/Williamstown)
Giaini Derameaux (DL; Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township)
KEAN
Head Coach Dan Garrett brings back a solid group of returners along with talented transfers. He credits the team’s hard work in the offseason in the continued improvement after being in a three-way tie for fourth place in last year’s standings.
Offensively, Garrett has back a trio of all-conference performers, including 2021 Special Teams Player of the Year Donte Jamison and 2022 Second Team All-Conference duo Robbie Nungesser and Dazzy Iannuzzio. Jamison, a wide receiver, looks for a big season after earning First Team honors at both offense and special teams two years ago. Last season, he contributed 19.8 rushing yards per game and 58.6 all-purpose yards per game. Nungesser will quarterback the offense again after ranking second in the NJAC in passing (169.0 yds/game) and third in total offense last year (197.0 yds/game). He added 28.0 rushing yards per game. Iannuzzio, a wide receiver, scored four touchdowns last year and was sixth in the conference in receiving (35.7 yds/game) while averaging 9.6 yards per catch.
Three-time all-conference lineman Jamma Ndiaye returns to lead the Cougar defense. He tied for first in the NJAC in fumble recoveries (2) and eighth in tackles (7.5/game) while posting 7.5 total tackles for loss. Safety Javohn Arrington was tied for first in the NJAC with two forced fumbles while tying for second with three interceptions. Linebacker Ray Gorny also looks to step up after posting 6.1 tackles per game last season to rank among the NJAC’s top 15.
All-conference kicker George Chrissafis returns this season. He went a perfect 8-for-8 in extra point attempts last year and kicked seven field goals.
Newcomers to Watch:
Alex Bryant (WR; Ocean Twp., NJ/Monmouth University/Ocean Twp. HS)
Anthony Summey (RB; Ocean Twp. NJ/Georgia/Pitt/St. Peter’s Prep)
TCNJ
This year’s dark horse team, the Lions aim to prove themselves in 2023 after three heartbreaking one-possession losses last season. Head Coach Casey Goff looks for his team to tame the turnovers after a -19 margin last year, and welcomes back a strong core group with an extra year of experience under their belt.
A big piece of this year’s team will be the all-conference trio of Thomas Burke, Malin Jasinski, and Duro Ajayi on offense. Burke, a D3football.com Preseason Third Team All-American and 2022 NJAC First Team pick at tight end, was third in receiving yards last year with 49.8 per game and averaged 9.7 yards per catch while scoring two touchdowns. Jasinski, a Second Team All-NJAC honoree last year, was in the conference rankings in a number of categories. The wide receiver was third in kick return (20.7 yds/return), seventh in receiving (34.8 yds/game), and seventh in all-purpose yards (78.4/game) while scoring three touchdowns. Ajayi is also a two-time all-conference honoree – including First Team last year – at offensive tackle.
Ryan McGuire and Cole Groschel, a pair of all-conference defenders last year, look to anchor the Lions’ D again this season. McGuire, a defensive lineman, ranked fifth in the NJAC in sacks (4.5) and caused a loss of 29 yards in sacks. Groschel posted 7.3 tackles per game as a defensive back, ranking among the NJAC’s top 10. They are joined by Logan Flaherty, who recorded solid numbers last year with 5.2 tackles per game along with 7.0 tackles for loss including 2.5 sacks. He also intercepted twice.
Kicker Bobby Wortman returns after ranking eighth in the NJAC in scoring last year (4.1 points/game) thanks to 19 successful extra point attempts and six field goals.
Newcomers to Watch:
Alejandro Camarena (RB; Pascack Hills)
Darian Ghahary (DL; Lehigh University/Randolph HS)
MONTCLAIR STATE
MSU is under the mentorship of first year head coach Mike Palazzo, who is no stranger to Montclair after serving for nine seasons under retired coach Rick Giancola. He brings back a strong core of players from a team that lost five games by just 10 points combined last year. Palazzo looks to his junior-heavy class to build on the extra year of experience to finish out the close games.
All-Conference players Abellany Mendez and Sam Ray look to lead the Red Hawk offense this year. Mendez, a First Team running back in 2020-21, ranked sixth in the NJAC in rushing yards (50.6/game), 10
th in all-purpose yards (61.0/game), and 14
th in total offense (50.6/game) last season. Sam Ray is also a force on the offensive line, earning Second Team All-Conference accolades last season.
The Red Hawk defense is led by a pair of First Team All-Conference honorees in Dimitri Pali aand Nick Burgess. Burgess, a linebacker, posted the second-highest tackles in the conference last year, averaging 9.4 pr game. He was also fifth in the NJAC in tackles for loss (13.5) and fifth in sacks (5), while snagging two interceptions and forcing two fumbles. Pali, a three-time all-conference pick on the defensive line, contributed 5.4 tackles per game to rank among the NJAC’s top 20.
Mike Fitzpatrick, a Second Team All-Conference kicker/punter, averaged 36.9 yards per punt and placed 14 inside the 20 last year. He added 11 extra points and two field goals.
Newcomers to Watch:
Amer Award (OL; St. Peter’s Prep)
Brevin Cooney (QB; Ridgefield Park)
Sam Petronaci (LB; West Milford)
Rodney Fanning (DL; St. Joseph’s Metuchen)
WILLIAM PATERSON
Head Coach Shaun Williams looks for his Pioneer squad to build on their .500 record from last year, and will have 10 offensive starters and seven defensive starters back to do that.
The wide receiver duo of Matt Clarke and Taz Burton will lead the offense and have a total of five all-conference accolades between them. Burton, a Second Team pick last year, ranked eighth in the NJAC in receiving (33.7 yds/game), averaged 10.8 yards per catch, and scored three touchdowns. Clarke, an honorable mention selection last season, averaged 26.4 receiving yards per game to rank among the top 15 and averaged 14.0 yards per catch. They are joined by two-time all-conference offensive lineman Ariel Higuera.
Four-time all-conference honoree Devyn Blount returns for his fifth year at cornerback. A Second Team pick last year, Blount ranked seventh in passes defended (8) with six pass breakups and two interceptions. Outside linebacker Samod Wingo, also a Second Team honoree last year, posted the second-highest tackles for loss (16.0), and was fifth in tackles (8.2/game) and tied for seventh in sacks (4.5). Junioor defensive lineman Yubir Rojas-Herrera is expected to be a force on the defense; he has totaled 25 stops including 13 solo and 7.0 tackles for loss in his two seasons so far. RJ Massey is also expected to step up this season as the defensive back doubles as a punt returner. He posted 46 tackles (4.0 for loss) defensively, and added 180 return yards with a long of 57 yards.
Newcomers to Watch:
Amanuel Gray (North Brunswick)
Nafee Finney (Abraham Clark)
Jason De La Cruz (Moore Catholic)
Logan Arienta (Sparta)
2023 NJAC PRESEASON POLL (first place votes in parentheses)
1. Salisbury (6)
2. Christopher Newport
3. Rowan (1)
4. Kean
5. TCNJ (dark horse)
6. Montclair State
7. William Paterson