The 2002 Hudson Reporter All-Area High School Football Team honors the 29 finest performers that graced local football fields this fall. They compiled hundreds of touchdowns, collected thousands of yards and thrilled tens of thousands of fans. Some reached the pinnacles of their sport, winning championships and accolades along the way.
It’s only fitting that the area’s premier squad, namely three-time HCIAA champion St. Peter’s Prep, should dominate the All-Area team. Eight of the Marauders, who finished a county-best 10-1 this season, earn post-season honors.
Leading the contingent of Marauders is senior quarterback Joe Dailey, who has been named the Hudson Reporter’s Player of the Year. Dailey completed 71 of 128 passes for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also rushing for 783 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Which means that Dailey totaled, running and throwing, 2,159 yards and 32 touchdowns, leading the Marauders, ranked No. 5 in the state, to the HCIAA title. Dailey’s leadership, dedication and desire were also major factors in tabbing the Syracuse-bound signal caller as the Player of the Year.
Dailey had some serious competition, coming in the form of Hoboken’s talented running back Ira Guilford. The "I-Train" rushed for 2,261 yards and scored 28 touchdowns, helping the Red Wings reach the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group II finals, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors here.
Both Dailey and Guilford will get the chance of a lifetime Monday morning, when they attend the annual MSG Network/Jeep Heisman Trophy breakfast at the Yale Club in Manhattan, hobnobbing with some of the Heisman Trophy winners of the past, while getting a chance to meet this year’s recipient. This year’s winner, who will come from a crop of five worthy candidates, proves to be the closest ballot in the history of the ceremony, honoring the top college football player in the nation.
The Defensive Player of the Year is St. Peter’s Prep linebacker Pat O’Keefe, who collected a team-high 117 tackles, the second highest total registered at the school in head coach Rich Hansen’s 15-year tenure.
Speaking of Hansen, the Prep coach earns Coach of the Year accolades for leading the Marauders to the three-peat.
Seven players are repeat honorees on the All-Area team, namely Dailey, Guilford, St. Peter’s running back Mike Brown, St. Peter’s linebacker Richie Hansen, St. Peter’s Prep wide receiver Adam San Miguel, Emerson defensive back Manauris Arias and North Bergen linebacker Eric Macias. – Jim Hague