The 2011 Hudson Reporter All-Area High School Football Team features several players who have earned the honor for a second straight season.
North Bergen’s Vin Ascolese, Memorial’s Chris Gomez, Weehawken’s Damien Corredor, and St. Peter’s Prep’s Brandon Napoleon, Michael Giacone, J.R. Robinson and Marquise Watson have all been selected to the All-Area team for a second straight year.
It is a sign that these fine football players were able to live up to their expectations and earn the honor for a second straight time.
Once again, St. Peter’s Prep, the area’s top team for the 13th straight year, earns the highest number of honorees with 11 players selected. The NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV state champion North Bergen Bruins placed five members on the team. Union City has four members on the team, followed by Hoboken and Memorial with three each.
Napoleon was named the Offensive Player of the Year as well, passing for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing for 680 more and scoring five times. The University of West Virginia-bound Napoleon continues the legacy of Prep players earning Offensive Player of the Year honors, following in the footsteps of two-time honoree Savon Huggins, currently at Rutgers.
The Hudson Reporter Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors go to North Bergen’s Vin Ascolese, who led his team to the Group IV state title, the school’s first state title since 1997.
Ascolese was a standout two-way performer, but earns high praise for his play on the defensive side of the ball. He collected an astounding 140 tackles, 11 sacks, forced six fumbles and had two interceptions. Offensively, he rushed for almost 400 yards and scored three touchdowns, including the huge game-winning touchdown in overtime against Passaic County Tech in the opening round of the NJSIAA state playoffs.
Ascolese has yet to declare his intentions for college, but has several major Division I colleges vying for his services.
Is there any other choice for Hudson Reporter Coach of the Year? After leading his team to the state championship in thrilling fashion in his final game, the Coach of the Year honors go to North Bergen’s Vince Ascolese for a second straight year and for the final time. There has never been a better ambassador for the sport of high school football in Hudson County than Ascolese and now he gets to retire in a proper place, on top as a true champion in every sense of the word. – Jim Hague
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