Football: Big Central All-Conference offense
First Team Offense
MAX CHO
Westfield
Senior
Quarterback
The first-year starter led the Blue Devils to some huge wins, especially down the stretch, where Westfield collected impressive lopsided wins over Hillsborough in the regular-season finale, and a 36-0 blasting of Clifton in the first round of the state tournament. Cho completed 149-of-236 passes for 1,913 yards and 20 touchdowns, throwing just four interceptions. He added 244 rushing yards and five scores.
More: Football awards: Central Jersey and Big Central Conference postseason honors index
CONNOR LAVERTY
Bernards
Senior
Quarterback
The four-year letterwinner and three-year starter finished his career with a third straight division title and led the Mountaineers to a 28-5 mark in that span with four playoffs wins, most all-time at school. Laverty completed 119-of-177 passes (67.2 percent) for 1,727 yards and 17 touchdowns, throwing just one interception. He also rushed for 446 yards and 11 more scores, including the game-winner in overtime in the North 2 Group 2 final, giving Bernards (12-1) its first-ever sectional championship.
MICHAEL SCHMELZER JR.
Montgomery
Senior
Quarterback
The three-year starter piloted one of the conference’s most prolific offenses to 33 points per game, as the Cougars enjoyed the first 8-0 start in program history. Schmelzer was 131-for-221 passing for 1,892 yards and 23 touchdowns, throwing just five interceptions. He also rushed for 447 yards and 11 more scores.
WILL DEADY
Ridge
Senior
Running back
A two-time first-team All-Conference pick, Deady capped his career with another dominant campaign, helping the Red Devils to their eighth-straight playoff berth and fifth straight trip to the sectional semifinals. Deady rushed for 1,149 yards on 187 carries, scoring 15 touchdowns, while catching eight passes for 147 yards and a score. He also made 32 tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown as a defensive back.
JAKE SAUS
Hunterdon Central
Senior
Running back
Saus is one of the best breakout stories of the year, a first-year starter who gobbled up 1,254 yards on 209 carries and scored 12 touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 303 yards and five more scores, as the Red Devils posted their first winning season in five years.
ZAIMER WRIGHT
Sayreville
Senior
Running back
The elusive, 5-11, 185-pounder often found holes and wriggled out of trouble en route to 1,743 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on 192 carries. He added 13 catches for 259 yards and two scores. He even threw a 46-yard touchdown pass in the opener against Colonia. He rushed for 240 yards and five scores in Sayreville’s 35-14 upset of Montgomery in the North 2 Group 4 quarterfinals.
More: Football BCC Offensive Player of the Year: Sayreville's Zaimer Wright is 2023 honoree
AJ BOSCH
Woodbridge
Senior
Receiver
The versatile Bosch was equally adept at catching passes as running with the ball, which forced defenses to remain honest. The Bucknell-commit had 44 catches for 755 yards and 12 scores and added 423 rushing yards on 53 carries with four TDs. He finished as the program’s all-time career receptions (135) and receiving TDs (27) leader and his 1,998 receiving yards is second on the list. Bosch also set Woodbridge single-game receptions (13) and receiving yards (240) records against Summit on Sept. 2.
MATTHEW D'AVINO
Montgomery
Senior
Receiver
The two-time first-team pick turned in another stellar campaign giving opposing defenses fits, catching a conference-best 67 passes for 1,051 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Liberty Silver Division champions. D’Avino is committed to play at Lehigh.
JEREMY DECARO
St. Joseph
Senior
Receiver
DeCaro was just one of those human highlight films, seemingly able to come up with a big play on any given snap. He had 44 catches for 894 yards (11 TD) and rushed 62 times for 355 yards (5 TD). He had 49 tackles, two interceptions and a pick six as a safety. He also added seven kickoff returns for 208 yards. DeCaro scored four times (7 catches for 153 yards, 3 TDs, 70-yard punt return) in a 42-14 win over Summit in Week 8.
COLIN HIGGINS
Phillipsburg
Senior
Offensive line
The Stateliners produced the fourth-best offense in the conference, piloted by quarterback Jett Genovese, and it was Higgins that anchored the unit protesting him and opening up holes for a rushing attack that nearly eclipsed 3,000 yards.
LEO HASELMANN
Summit
Senior
Offensive line
Haselmann, who is playing at Washington and Lee next fall, is making his second straight first-team All-Conference appearance after leading an offensive line that rushed for over 3,000 yards and produced a conference-best 36.2 points per game.
FRANK PACZKOWSKI
Sayreville
Senior
Offensive line
Paczkowski fit that rugged, bruising mold of the prototypical Sayreville lineman as a two-way player. As an offensive tackle, the 6-3, 270-pounder helped the Bombers rush for over 2,800 yards in the Wing-T. On defense, he recorded 59 tackles as Sayreville finished 8-3.
DIEGO RODRIGUEZ
Hillside
Senior
Offensive line
The Comets finished 8-3, totaling 27.3 points per game, as the Rodriguez-led offensive line produced an 1,100-yard rusher in Talibi Kaba. Hillside won the Patriot Silver Division crown, its third straight conference title.
PAYTON WIECZERZAK
North Brunswick
Senior
Offensive line
Wieczerzak started at center his sophomore season before seamlessly moving to left tackle the past two years. The 6-2, 255-pounder helped North Brunswick go 24-7 in that span, and the Raiders rushed for nearly 1,700 yards this season. He’s also a four-year starter at long snapper and saw time on defense (3 QB hurries).
JACK JOYCE
St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior
Kicker
From the pitch to a place kicker, Joyce began his high school career as a soccer goalie, then the football team needed a kicker and a coach suggested he try it. The 6-4, 200-pound Joyce got hooked and he soon learned the nuances of the role. He went 7-of-12 in field goals with a long of 45 this season and made 54 of 55 extra points. He was also the team’s punter.
JAEDEN JONES
Colonia
Senior
Athlete
The explosive quarterback/safety seemed to do it all for the Patriots, leading them to a playoff berth. Opposing defenses keyed in on Jones, and he still delivered in his dual-threat ways. The Monmouth-commit rushed for 1,454 yards on 151 carries with 22 TDs and threw for 1,201 yards (64-of-113) with nine scores. He added 106 tackles on defense (64 solo) with an interception.
JOHN WARGO
Phillipsburg
Senior
Athlete
The running back and defensive end impacted the American National Division co-champs on both sides of the ball. Wargo rushed for 854 yards and 15 touchdowns and catching seven balls for 116 yards and another score, helping out on defense with 19 tackles, including three for a loss, two sacks and an interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
SECOND TEAM
QB: Derek Anderson, Woodbridge, junior
QB: Aleks Sitkowski, Watchung Hills, senior
QB: Te-Quan Thomas, Linden, senior
RB: Chiekezie Ogbuewu, Dunellen, senior
RB: Carter Shallcross, Summit, senior
RB: Elijah Abass-Shereef, St. Thomas Aquinas, senior
WR: Enzo Ferrero, Westfield, junior
WR: Sal Marchione, Monroe, senior
WR: Dane Sorenson, Bridgewater-Raritan, senior
OL: Zach Menon, Union, senior
OL: Matt Pierre, South Brunswick, senior
OL: Logan Ritchie, Bernards, senior
OL: Max Romano, Westfield, senior
OL: Elijah Thomas, St. Thomas Aquinas, junior
K: Seamus Browne, Summit, senior
ATH: Luke Brogan, Delaware Valley, senior
ATH: Terrell Mitchell, Somerville, junior
THIRD TEAM
QB: Daniel DeGennaro, St. Joseph, senior
QB: Anthony Venettone, South Hunterdon, senior
QB: Al-Ameen Watkins, Plainfield, junior
RB: Patrick Smith, South Plainfield, senior
RB: Na'quavere Thomas, Manville, junior
RB: Chase Young, St. Thomas Aquinas, junior
WR: Jack Clintock, Watchung Hills, senior
WR: Matthew Scerbo, junior Phillipsburg, junior
OL: Jeff Bate, Delaware Valley, senior
OL: Cameron Baumann, Voorhees, senior
OL: Sean Joy, A.L. Johnson, senior
OL: Ryan Kuhl, Old Bridge, senior
OL: Ryan Leyner, St. Joseph, senior
K: Aaron Losada, Sayreville, senior
ATH: Cody Cardillo, Metuchen, senior
ATH: Ajani Phillips, Roselle, senior
ATH: Braden Paulmenn, South Brunswick, senior
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Football: Big Central All-Conference offense
