Players from small and large programs join forces in the Marisa Rose Bowl

Mehki Parks knew what was coming when he told someone he attended Middlesex High School. It could have been at a football camp or even chatting with other local players.

“They never know it’s a town,” he said. “They’ll always be like, ‘Oh, Middlesex County, right?’ I’m like no, the town. They never understand. So not a lot of people know of Middlesex.”

Not even neighboring places work as landmarks.

“It takes a while for them to really understand because as soon as I tell them Dunellen, they’re like, ‘Uh, I’m not too sure,’” Parks said. “I could say like Bound Brook, they’re like, ‘Eh.’ I could say Piscataway, maybe they’ll know. I could say like over by New Brunswick almost, it’s not really that far – but they never get Middlesex.”

No, sometimes the low enrollment, Group 1 school gets overlooked among the bigger programs of the football universe.

That’s one of the fun aspects about the Bellamy and Sons Paving Marisa Rose Bowl charity all-star football game – school size doesn’t matter. If you’re one of the top recently graduated seniors in Middlesex County, you get a jersey in the intra-county game.

Proceeds benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to assist pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

The nonprofit will be donating funds from this year’s contest to PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital of New Brunswick and the Lakeview School, a program of the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities. Both were the initial beneficiaries of the event, formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and Autoland Classic.

The foundation and game’s namesake is for Marisa Rose Tufaro. The lifelong Edison resident survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.

She was the daughter of longtime Edison Township Public Schools educator Cyndi Tufaro and former Home News Tribune and Courier News sports writer Greg Tufaro, an integral part of the all-star game since its inception in his role as a reporter.

The contest has raised $736,000 for charity since 1994.

The players have been uniting during a handful of practices leading up to Thursday’s 7 p.m. game at Woodbridge High School.

Team Marisa has star power

Edison quarterback Matt Yascko Jr. is one of those big-school stars having led the Eagles to a NJSIAA Central Group 5 title last fall. MyCentralJersey named him the Big Central Conference Offensive Player of the Year and he holds Edison’s career records for passing yards (5,796) and touchdown passes (45).

Now, he’s on Team Marisa for the bowl game along with new teammates from Group 2 South River and Spotswood.

Consider the signal caller impressed with what he's seen.

“I would have thought that some of the South River, you know Spotswood kids would not be up to Group 4 or Group 5 (level), but I was completely wrong,” Yascko said. “Some of the best players out here are from the smaller schools. So it’s interesting to see everybody on the same playing field for once. Like I said, it’s pretty cool. It’s a cool experience.”

Some of those “little” guys will be protecting Yascko on the line. South River’s Joseph Lakato (6-3, 285) and Spotswood’s Connor Manacle (6-4, 300) and Patrick Petscavage (6-0, 240) have his back.

“It’s been fun practicing with people who are good at their game and have like been practicing their entire lives,” said Lakato, who is attending Rutgers School of Engineering.

Among the receivers Yascko will be eying are Joseph Lepore (South River) and Brandon Bandoy (Spotswood). Other targets include South Brunswick’s state high jump champion Damarion Potts and Yascko’s Edison mate Michael Strachan.

Yascko will split quarterback duties with Old Bridge gunslinger Brady Cavallaro, giving Team Marisa high-powered versatility. Cavallaro threw for 1,700 yards in 2022 with 18 touchdowns and he rushed for 200 yards and two scores.

The team also includes MyCentralJersey 2022 Middlesex All-County first-team selections in Selbin Sabio (LB), Adekunle Shittu (DL), Old Bridge’s Dan Hennessey (RB) and Piscataway’s Antonio Rivera (RB).

'This gives me an opportunity'

The other side also has their share of star power.

Splitting time at quarterback are North Brunswick’s Frankie Garbolino (school career record holder with 5,410 passing yards and 53 touchdowns) and South Plainfield’s Joseph Moroney (989 passing yards to lead the 8-1 Tigers last season).

North Brunswick’s Isaiah Barnes (DE) and Colonia’s Manny Faxas (OL) were both selected First-Team All-Middlesex by MyCentralJersey.

Right in the talent mix are Group 1 Highland Park players Anthony Adeniji and Phillip Wilson, as well as Group 2 Metuchen players Connor Larson (DE) and Aidan O'Leary (WR).

Middlesex High School's representatives are Parks (WR/DB), Jacob Platten (WR) and Anthony Gonzalez (DE).

For the record, the Borough of Middlesex has a population of just over 14,500 and sits 3.5-square-miles in the northwestern corner of the county touching Somerset County.

Middlesex does holds its own on the playing fields. Witness the Blue Jays winning the 2017 Central Group 1 football title.

Teams such as baseball and girls basketball routinely beat the bigger schools and make runs in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.

Football, though, is about size and bigger rosters mean having to use less two-way players like how Group 1 and Group 2 schools typically operate.

Parks takes pride in coming from that type of program that sometimes gets overlooked.

“To me, I don’t really look at that like, ‘OK, that’s negative,’” he said. “I look at it like, okay, if that’s what you think now, this gives me an opportunity to go show everybody that I could be from a Group 1 but I could still ball with these Group 5, Group 4, Group 3, Group 2 schools.

"So it’s like I can play at that same level that they’re playing at. … So, I’m going to show them who the little kid from Middlesex is.”

The 5-foot-9, 150-pound Parks was involved in one of the more wild endings last season in a 43-42 overtime victory over Dunellen, which appeared to win in regulation.

The officials called a penalty on Dunellen at the end that gave Middlesex a final untimed play down by eight. Sophomore quarterback Dom Parenti connected with Parks, who slipped off a tackle and cut across the field for a 45-yard TD. Parks then caught the 2-point pass to force overtime at 36-36.

The veteran Parks, who started since a freshman, helped guide the young QB.

“I told him keep your composure, we’re good,” said Parks, who hopes to find a college program to play at next season.

He definitely has one final game. In fact, Parks has been savoring to play in the bowl for some time.

“Honestly, I was looking forward to it since about eighth grade,” said Parks, noting there has been several players from Middlesex selected through the years.

Parks attended the 2018 game at Woodbridge, then called the Snapple Bowl which pitted Middlesex against Union County. Middlesex High School players that year included Devin Lanza and John Kressbach, fresh off the sectional championship.

“I remember leaving Pop Warner practice and walking through that stadium and I just saw all the people at the gate,” Parks recalled. “All the stands filled. … Since then I always told myself I need to be in that game.”

Now he is. Plus, Parks and his Blue Jays teammates have a unique thing that no one else can claim. Team Marisa and Team Rose are wearing jerseys with Middlesex across the front.

“So to actually have a jersey with my town on it and with my last name,” Parks said, “I take even more pride in that because my town’s name is right on that front jersey.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Players from small and large schools compete in the Marisa Rose Bowl