Gogerty-Guided Cedar Grove
Essex County Team Of The Year

Essex County Team of the Year: Cedar Grove- Panthers were the top story of the playoffs while playing their best football of the season when it mattered most, including winning three straight road games beginning with a late touchdown to cap a 22-point fourth quarter in coming from behind to edge top-seeded Mountain Lakes before then knocking off a pair of undefeated teams in New Providence in dominant fashion in the North 2, Group 1 final, and then in as dramatic a finish as there could be with standout kicker Sebastian Kovacs’ 48-yard field goal as time expired to edge Butler, 24-21, in a memorable Group 1 state semifinal. Even in its 29-14 state final loss to undefeated Glassboro Cedar Grove played with much vigor and pride and gave a strong effort against a state-ranked and fleet-footed Bulldogs team that has now won 27 straight games. The 2025 Panthers were senior-led with key performers including first-year starting quarterback Pierce Asfalg, who had a sensational season; running backs Thomas Cannataro and Jerry Targia wide receivers Xavier Andujar, Michael Ruggiano and Michael Cantarelli and O-linemen Chris Ferrera, Jake Saraiva and Mikey Leno. Asfalg led the Panthers with his passing (202 of 298 for 2,851 yards, 20 TDs, 9 Int.) and running the ball (65 carries for 910 yards and 15 TDs). On defense, two-way performers included the solid linebackers Cannataro and Cantarelli, D-linemen Saraiva and Leno and DBs Andujar and Targia. Other key senior defenders were LB George Dakar and DB Nate Masson. Star placekicker Kovacs also played well at linebacker while keeping a very active presence all game long and was such a special teams weapon with his booming kickoffs which frequently sailed into the end zone for touchbacks; and he also booted five field goals in 2025 to cap a superb high school career.

Runner-Up Team of Year: Shabazz: The Brick City’s Bulldogs, like Cedar Grove, were able to earn their way to a second straight group state final. Starting with a season-opening 10-7 win at Group 5 West Orange on placekicker Basit Raimi’s late field goal, the South Side Newark squad was on top of its game all season long other than a brief stumble in an early-season thrashing at the hands of state titan St. Peter’s Prep. Shabazz’ playoff run was highlighted by a resounding 36-6 victory at top-seeded Westwood. First-year head coach Nasir Gaines, a longtime presence in the Newark Pop Warner ranks, did a solid job in his rookie high school varsity campaign while bringing along what was essentially a very young squad. A veteran senior leader was Stanford commit Zaden McDonald who excelled in a number of ways on both sides of the ball, usually as a standout linebacker, but also as a WR or RB, and even as an occasional QB in the Wildcat look. The vast majority of snaps were taken by talented junior Kareem Costan, who had played in a few games in 2024 before Clifton transfer Romelo Tables became eligible, but blossomed in 2025 as the Bulldogs’ full-time signal caller. His favorite target was sophomore WR Nosym Brown. The sturdy Shabazz defense had a number of key performers including the ever-present McDonald and junior LB Zykir Best, the team’s leading tackler and was SC’s runner-up as Newcomer of the Year in 2024, who continued this past season to be one of the better defenders in Essex County. That superb Shabazz ‘D’ was certainly in full evidence over the second half of the season, including in consecutive stellar performances of giving up a touchdown or less in victories over Verona (42-6) and then in the N2G2 playoffs vs.  Lyndhurst (46-7) and Rutherford (47-0) before a much tougher N2G2 final vs. Madison (26-16) which was followed by one of the Brick City school’s best defensive performances of the season in the dominant victory at Westwood in the Group 2 state semis.

Essex County Offensive Player of the Year: Jake Long, senior QB, West Essex
For anyone who fortunate enough to take in a West Essex game this past season there was never a doubt who the Knights’ ‘Go-To Guy’ was on a constant basis as the versatile QB Long was an absolute dynamo of a two-tiered threat. The veteran signal caller, one of a just a handful of returning regulars for the North Caldwell-based regional high school gridiron program, adapted immediately to effectively orchestrating first-year head coach Dan Fulton’s spread attack after being a successful Wing T signal caller the season prior under longtime Wessex coach Chris Benacquista who made the move over to head the Wayne Valley program I n 2025. Long had 183 rushing attempts for 1,474 yards and 19 TDs and also completed 100 of 150 passes for 1,359 yards, 15 TDs and with only 2 Int. Wessex finished a solid 6-4 and was in virtually every game right up until the final seconds before finally being ousted in the North 2, Group 3 playoff semifinals at Summit on a last-second field goal by the Hilltoppers who advanced with a very narrow 31-28 victory over the always-persistent Knights.

Runner-Up Offensive Player of the Year: Abel Paul, junior RB, Livingston
The quick-rising star on the Essex County and statewide scene finished with 248 carries for 2,372 yards and 25 TDs with his most noteworthy performance being an incredible Essex County record 522 yards on the ground while scoring all seven of his team’s TDs in a late regular-season 49-39 victory over Montclair. The quick and elusive 5-9, 175-pound junior completed just his third season of organized football and made a very smooth transition from being a wide receiver as a sophomore for the Lancers, who put together a fine 7-4 season in 2025 while also reaching the N1G5 semis.

Essex Defensive Player of the Year: Sydney Padilla junior D-Line, West Orange
This prize recruit, with offers from a number of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly 1-A) schools including Rutgers, Syracuse, Boston College, West Virginia, Temple and UMass, will most likely wind up being a tight end at the next level with his high skill set and 6-5 ½, 220-pound frame perfect specs for the position, and his Mountaineers coach would love to see his talented junior helping coach Greg Schiano’s Scarlet Knights down in Piscataway. However, while he is a capable pass catcher and superb blocker to watch in the future in college he is also a superb defensive player and put forth a banner campaign in the Mountaineers’ unit of resistance while recording 11 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss among his 50 total tackles as both a superb edge rusher and run stopper to be a premier defender in the county during the 2025 fall campaign.

Runner-Up Defensive Player of the Year: Christian Gonzalez, senior LB, Livingston
Livingston became a better football team as the season progressed and a big reason for its final 7-4 record and reaching the N1G5 semifinals was the all-around play of its somewhat underrated LB-RB-WR Christian Gonzalez, who may not have grabbed the headlines like his breakthrough teammate, RB Abel Paul, but he was such an excellent cog in the Lancers’ improved ‘D’ while finishing with 79 tackles, including 20 solo stops, 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception. As an offensive player he had 485 yards rushing and 16 receptions for 242 yards and 3 TDs as a key contributor; but, it was on defense where he caught the eye of opposing coaches with the way he effectively corralled opposing ball carriers and receivers.     

Essex County Newcomer of the Year: Zahyir Taylor, sophomore QB, Central
In his first varsity season the precocious, young Blue Devils signal caller proved to be an electrifying presence while helping to lead his team to a solid 6-5 record, including a big mid-season win vs. eventual Group 1 runner-up Cedar Grove. Taylor completed 118 of 182 passes for 1,562 yards and 15 TDs, while also having 42 carries for 318 yards and 4 TDs. Plus, despite throwing 12 interceptions. he demonstrated the talent and promise which makes him one to watch for coach Mark Ingram’s Newark squad over the next two seasons.

Runner-Up Newcomer of the Year: Justin Spellman, sophomore QB, Irvington
Another young QB to keep an eye on over the next two years is the Blue Knights’ standout behind center who completed 136 of 263 passes for 1,833 yards, 15 TDs and with 6 Int. Spellman also had 29 carries for 190 yards and 2 TDs. Against Seton Hall Prep, in a 38-22 Irvington loss during its 3-7 campaign, he completed 16 of 26 passes for 236 yards and a TD, and in a tough 20-19 setback to West Orange he also shined completing 20 of 36 passes for 202 yards and a TD.

Essex County Coach of the Year: Rob Gogerty, Cedar Grove
As a scholastic star at Cedar Grove Gogerty was 11-1 as the Panthers’ QB for the 2000 N2G1 champs that finished 11-1, and he was 28-4 as a starter for coach Ed Sadloch and company. His success has followed him as a coach at his high school alma mater, both as an assistant for Sadloch and now as one of the state’s best coaches. His 2021 Cedar Grove team won a North, Group 1 regional championship at MetLife Stadium, and although his 2024 and 2025 squads would wind up losing to a strong Glassboro team in the overall Group 1 final, both seasons as a whole were a rousing success for the Panthers with back-to-back state sectional playoff championships and victories in the group state semis. ‘Gogs’ never-say-die Panthers put together a combined 23-4 record the past two years with several different players stepping up in each season as the strength of the Cedar Grove football program continues to impress, especially being a Group 1 school with a limited geographic area of athletes to build with each year.

Runner-Up Coach of the Year: Dan Fulton, West Essex
It was not an easy chore in making the move from Hanover Park, where he won a sectional playoff title in 2024, and then instituting the spread offense with a predominantly inexperienced West Essex team and a football program at Travis Field in North Caldwell which had been accustomed to running the Wing T for the past half century. The season started slowly for the Knights who were 0-2 out of the gates, but then the victories started coming while facing an arduous schedule and Fulton’s team came a long way in a short time. Knights raved about their new coach and they continued to live up to the West Essex trademark of playing with a continuing aggressive and persistent style as all Knights teams of the past have done and Fulton was an immediate plus in a tricky year of transition for the proud North Caldwell-based regional school’s gridiron program.    

AROUND ESSEX- One of the county’s very best 2-way players this past season was Glen Ridge senior QB-DB Zach Konetzni who was ever-present on the defensive side of the ball all season long with an astounding total of 7 interceptions, including two that he returned for touchdowns, to go along with 55 tackles. Then, you can add in his productivity on offense where he excelled as a first-year QB after being a wide receiver and running back the season before. In 2025 he passed for 1,178 yards with 11 TDs and 4 Int. and rushed for 1,253 yards and 12 more TDs for a solid 5-4 Ridgers squad which was once again superbly-guided  by second-year head coach Chris Strumolo…Caldwell may have finished a rather pedestrian-looking  5-5, but coach Todd Romano’s Chiefs were much better than that record and proved to be a handful for virtually everyone they faced while going up against an arduous schedule that included local rival West Essex and other solid teams including Shabazz and Westwood (which it met twice, including in the N2G2 playoffs). The Chiefs edged Westwood in OT in their regular season meeting and won 29-15 at Group 1 finalist Cedar Grove in another impressive regular season victory. Sophomore QB Adam Sepe is evolving into an offensive star in the SFC and one to definitely keep an eye on over the next two years….Despite somewhat of a rough finish Newark Central (6-5) was an exciting, young team to watch with its bevy of talented skill-position players and what should be a team to keep an eye on in 2026 under its impressive, young head coach Mark Ingram….Staying in the Brick City, it is time to bid farewell to longtime Newark high school coach Brian Logan, who enjoyed much success at both West Side and Weequahic during his 23 total years as a head coach where he finished his noteworthy career this fall with a 6-4 Indians squad. The retired Newark cop put together a 115-49 record at Weequahic, including two state sectional titles, and compiled 169 victories overall highlighted also by a N2G3 sectional playoff championship at West Side in 2007 when he was also SC’s Essex County Coach of the Year. Logan is one of two coaches to be named SC Essex Coach of the Year at two or more schools since he was also Coach of the Year at Weequahic in 2016. Darnell Grant has been an SC Essex Coach of the Year at three different schools: Irvington, Shabazz and West Orange. (See the full year-by-year top SC awards since 2004 below on this page)….Another Essex coach who should be commended for his work this fall is Brian Antab at Belleville, who had his team take full advantage of a season in the SFC’s Ivy White Division intended for rebuilding programs as he guided the Buccaneers to a superb 8-1 record which sets a strong foundation to build on heading into 2026…West Orange is another team with much youthful talent to watch in 2026, although Coach Grant’s squad did have very notable seniors in 2025 including West Point-bound RB Farad Green and the multi-talented UMass signee, DB-WR David Moore.        

Sideline Chatter’s Final 2025 Essex Top 10:
1-Shabazz (12-2)- Youthful Bulldogs tied program record with 12 wins
2-West Orange (9-3)- Mountaineers had as much talent as any Essex team
3-Cedar Grove (10-4)- Panthers are rare Group 1 team that simply reloads
4-East Orange Campus (9-2)- Jaguars were strong on both sides of ball 
5-West Essex (6-4)- Switch to spread from Wing T went well for Knights
6-Seton Hall Prep (3-7)- Pirates have their own promising youth quotient
7-Caldwell (5-5)- Chiefs will return a first-rate aerial attack in 2026
8-Livingston (7-4)- Lancers rode 29-member senior class to strong season
9-Weequahic (6-4)- Indians were once again handful for every opponent
10-Central (6-5)- Blue Devils are young squad to watch moving forward

Sideline Chatter Essex County Annual Top Awards Since 2004:
2025: Offensive Player of the Year: Jake Long, West Essex
Defensive Player of the Year: Sydney Padilla, West Orange
Coach of the Year: Rob Gogerty, Cedar Grove
Team of the Year: Cedar Grove

2024: Offensive Player of the Year: Stephen Paradiso, Cedar Grove
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Drago, West Essex
Coach of the Year: Rob Gogerty, Cedar Grove
Team of the Year: Cedar Grove
 
2023: Offensive Player of the Year: Malachi Lewis, Montclair
Defensive Player of the Year; Julian Casale, Caldwell
Coach of the Year: Chris Benacquista, West Essex
Team of the Year: West Essex

2022: Offensive Player of the Year: Harry Boland, Caldwell
Defensive Player of the Year: Julian Casale, Caldwell
Coach of the Year: Darnell Grant, West Orange
Team of the Year: Caldwell

2021: Offensive Player of the Year: Damon Phillips, East Orange Campus
Defensive Player of the Year: Jackson Dowd, Seton Hall Prep
Coach of the Year: Tom Lamont, Caldwell
Co-Team of the Year: Caldwell and East Orange Campus

2020: Offensive Player of the Year: Dario Bryant, Cedar Grove
Defensive Player of the Year: Locksley Burke, East Orange Campus
Coach of the Year: Steve DiGregorio, Nutley
Team of the Year: Cedar Grove

2019: Offensive Player of the Year: Frankie Riggio, Verona
Defensive Player of the Year: Mikai Gbayor, Irvington
Coach of the Year: Kevin Batty, Verona
Team of the Year: Verona

2018: Offensive Player of the Year: Zakee Swann, Irvington
Defensive Player of the Year: Joe Cullen, Livingston
Coach of the Year: Bob Breschard, Livingston
Team of the Year: Shabazz

2017: Offensive Player of the Year: Danny Webb, Montclair
Defensive Player of the Year: Willie Matthews, Montclair
Coach of the Year: Chris Benacquista, West Essex
Team of the Year: Montclair

2016: Offensive Player of the Year: Danny Webb, Montclair
Defensive Player of the Year: Paul Theobald, Seton Hall Prep
Coach of the Year: Brian Logan, Weequahic
Team of the Year: Weequahic

2015: Offensive Player of the Year: Zach Keller, Seton Hall Prep
Defensive Player of the Year: Sam Cummings, Verona
Coach of the Year: Lou Racioppe, Verona
Team of the Year: Verona

2014: Offensive Player of the Year: Elijah Robinson, Montclair
Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Allen, Montclair
Coach of the Year: Darnell Grant, Shabazz
Team of the Year: Montclair

2013: Offensive Player of the Year: Elijah Robinson, Montclair
Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Gopre, Weequahic
Coach of the Year: Halim McNeil, West Side
Team of the Year: Montclair   

2012: Offensive Player of the Year: Mike Carter, Jr., Bloomfield
Defensive Player of the Year: Kamani Odrick, Montclair
Coach of the Year: Mike Carter, Bloomfield
Team of the Year: Montclair

2011: Offensive Player of the Year: Khalif Herbin, Montclair
Defensive Player of the Year; Stephaun Marshall, Montclair
Coach of the Year: Ed Sadloch, Cedar Grove
Team of the Year; West Essex

2010: Offensive Player of the Year: Kevin Monangai, Seton Hall Prep
Defensive Player of the Year: Connor Wujciak, Seton Hall Prep
Coach of the Year: Ken Trimmer, Caldwell
Team of the Year: Seton Hall Prep

2009: Offensive Player of the Year: Patsy Caggiano, Cedar Grove
Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Woods, East Orange Campus
Coach of the Year: Dave Curtin, Columbia
Team of the Year: Seton Hall Prep

2008: Offensive Player of the Year: Joshua Evans, Irvington
Defensive Player of the Year: Carlo Calabrese, Verona
Coach of the Year: Bill Tracy, Livingston
Team of the Year: Livingston

2007: Offensive Player of the Year: Joshua Evans, Irvington
Defensive Player of the Year: Tahron Green, Montclair
Coach of the Year: Brian Logan, West Side
Team of the Year: West Essex

2006: Offensive Player of the Year: Mike Canfora, Verona
Defensive Player of the Year: Amara Kamara, Weequahic
Coach of the Year: Al-Tarik White, Weequahic
Team of the Year: Weequahic

2005: Offensive Player of the Year: Julian Cruz, Montclair
Defensive Player of theYear: Alex Wujciak, Seton Hall Prep
Coach of the Year: Darnell Grant, Irvington
Team of the Year: Irvington

2004: Offensive Player of the Year: Alex Carlough, Caldwell
Defensive Player of the Year: Mike Geftic, West Essex
Coach of the Year: Ed Sadloch, Cedar Grove
Team of the Year: West Essex