New York/New Jersey All-Star Classic

[GoRU]

Aka, the "Governor's Bowl". NJ roster has been released. No word yet on the NY roster.

If a notable player is missing, it's most likely because of injury or early enrollment.

Keith Baker Scotch Plains MLB
Dwayne Beckford Irvington OLB
Marvin Booker Piscataway OLB
Bryan Burnham Moorestown WR
Chance Carrick Howell WR/P/PK
Jack Crawford St. Augustine DE
Kumar Davis Paterson Eastside RB
Kevin DeMaio Holmdel OC
Scott Demler Hun School K/P
Matt Dortch Wayne Valley RB
J.B. Fitzgerald West Windsor Plainsboro South MLB
Chris Garcia Montgomery FB/TE
Dwayne Gratz Piscataway CB
John Griggs Piscataway TE
Mike Gross North Arlington OT
Charles Gushue Shawnee OG
Marquis Hamm New Brunswick DE
Ed Imeokparia Blair Academy CB
Reuben Johnson Winslow Twp. CB
Maurice Jones Belleville FS
Brandon Jones Winslow Twp. WR
Zach Kane Toms River North MLB
Pat Kivlehan St. Joes Montvale OLB
Christian Klein St. Joes Montvale DT
Colin Larmond Jr. Morristown Beard WR
Eric LeGrand Colonia MLB
Jarel Lowery Paterson Catholic DT
Will Martin Holy Spirit OG
Grant Mayes Seton Hall Prep CB
Troy McKenna Bergen Catholic OT
Ryan McMackin Paramus Catholic
DeJuan Miller Metuchen WR
Pat Neumann St. Joes Montvale OT
Chris Pantale Wayne Valley TE
Lynell Payne Cherokee WR
Justin Rand Lacey Twp. OG
Justin Robbins Plainfield OG
Mohamed Sanu South Brunswick QB
Mark Singer Holy Cross FS
David Stevens Millburn OLB
Charles Thompson Teaneck DT
William Washington Holy Spirit RB
Kevin Watson Montgomery QB
Rashad White Teaneck RB
Tahir Whitehead Newark Westside OLB
Ashton Wilder Shabazz DT
Hafis Williams Elizabeth DT
Tim Wright Wall WR 6'4
Chris Zarkoskie Seton Hall Prep OC

[GoRU]

This game is being played today.

edit: stream the game online

[GoRU]

Some impressions:

Mohamed Sanu took a lot of the snaps at QB for NJ. Big-time arm, connected on a bomb to Brandon Jones. Not much touch on his passes. Was scrambling a lot.

Rashad White didn't get a ton of snaps at RB. He looks very thin. Good burst, very fast, not much power.

Didn't see a whole lot of the other receivers for NJ, but they did make a couple plays. Payne, Larmond, Pantale.

Defensively, the NJ front 7 hammered NY for most of the day. The player I noticed most was Syracuse-bound David Stevens. Marvin Booker had a few big hits, and Marquis Hamm, Jarel Lowery, and Jack Crawford stood out on a couple plays. With the DL swallowing up NY's OL, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for the LBs to make plays. LeGrand, Baker, and Beckford made a few plays. Nice interview with LeGrand at halftime.

Pat Kivlehan was the biggest playmaker in the secondary. On one play, Reuben Johnson was badly beaten by a NY WR, but Kivlehan committed PI for 15 yards, denying the TD. NY ended up not scoring on that drive, the final of the game. I only really noticed Will Hill on kick returns, where he was very solid. Again, there wasn't much to work with, but I did see Gratz beaten once or twice. Imeokparia badly misplayed a ball by going for an INT instead of easily breaking up the pass. Grant Mayes was another CB who gave up a few catches.

Jeff Legree did look very solid scrambling, given what he had to work with. A lot of the bigger name NY receivers didn't do a whole lot, and the line was giving their QBs nothing all day. Arguably, the biggest NY play of the day was a beautiful INT return by prep-bound Markell Rice.

I'll see what I can find in terms of other recaps. Some of the bigger names were noticably absent. I also declined to mention most of the I-AA players since I figured that they wouldn't be of much interest here.

[BlueCanada]

How did J.B. Fitzgerald look today???

[GoRU]

I'm not sure that he played.

[JCB-RU]

Yea, if JB played, he didn't do much. I didn't notice him at all and his name was never called on the broadcast. He was supposed to play, so if he didn't, not sure what the reason was. I also didn't see Brandon Smith, and I believe he was also supposed to be on the NJ team as well.

[GoRU]

I was expecting Smith not to play after his injury during the basketball season. Vallone and DeJuan Miller didn't play for similar reasons. Presumably, others might have been held out for precautionary reasons. Maybe there was a minor injury during practice.

Here's the first writeup, there will probably be more tomorrow.

NorthJersey.com: providing local news, sports and classifieds for Northern New Jersey!

Pat Kivlehan was a Benedict Arnold of sorts Sunday.

The St. Joseph safety, who is a native of Rockland County, N.Y., was playing against his home state in the 11th New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic at Rutgers. He made the most of his last high-school game, playing on the same field he’ll take in college.

Kivlehan had two tackles and returned an interception 11 yards to lead New Jersey’s defense and lift his surrogate state to a 33-22 victory over New York. Kivlehan was named New Jersey’s defensive MVP for his efforts.

“It was kind of a shock,” Kivlehan said of winning the award. “I wasn’t even starting. The only thing I did was that interception, but I tried to come through on special teams.”

Kivlehan’s other big play was actually a pass interference call that benefited New Jersey. New York quarterback Jeffrey Legree was looking for Stephan Benjamin down the left sideline but Kivlehan arrived early, reducing a long completion or even a score to a mere 15-yard penalty.

“I thought I timed it right,” said Kivlehan. “Once I hit him I knew it was pass interference. I guess it helped us.”

And Kivlehan wasn’t the only player from North Jersey, or even the only player from the NNJIL, to star for the home squad. Kumar Davis of Eastside rushed for a 3-yard touchdown that gave New Jersey a 26-8 lead midway through the third quarter.

“Everything was there for us,” Davis said. “The talent level was unbelievable here. It felt real good scoring.”
Davis said what he’ll most enjoy is showing off the ring won by New Jersey to his school. So Eastside students shouldn’t be surprised if Davis wants to shake hands with his left.

Wayne Valley’s duo of Matt Dortch and Chris Pantale also fared well. Dortch gained 41 yards on four carries and Pantale caught two passes for 23 yards.

“Those were big kids,” Dortch said of his linemen, who included Ryan McMackin of Paramus Catholic, Troy McKenna of Bergen Catholic and Mike Gross of North Arlington.

“The talent level was so much better than high school. I tried to use my speed and use my blockers.”
Rashad White of Teaneck also enjoyed his first taste of his future home. White rushed for 21 yards on five carries and fell just shy of scoring his first TD at Rutgers.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning,” said White. “I finally got loose and tried running the way I normally would.”

Charles Thompson of Teaneck, Jarel Lowery of Paterson Catholic and Christian Klein of St. Joseph helped lead the defensive line for New Jersey, which only allowed 14 points as New York had a defensive touchdown. New Jersey leads the series 8-3.

What most players took from the game, however, was the experience of playing with past, and possibly future, opponents.

“To be in a game with all the Rutgers-bound players was great,” White said of the seven other New Jersey players who hope to play for the Scarlet Knights. “There’s no telling what we’ll be able to do in the future.”

[GoRU]

Scout.com: A Look Back At NY-NJ All-Star Game

McGill catches two passes in all-star game | lohud.com | The Journal News

Jersey wins football classic, 33-22 - NJ.com

[HotMic]

Scout: A Look Back At NY-NJ All-Star Game (FREE)

A Look Back At NY-NJ All-Star Game

By Philip Mathew
SOR Staff Writer
Posted Jun 9, 2008



SOR provides a look back at the 2008 New York-New Jersey All-Star. The eleventh annual New York – New Jersey All-Star Classic (formerly Governors’ Bowl) on June 8, had a decidedly Rutgers feel to it, with future players and one recent star making their presence felt.

Continued...