The 2009 Hudson Reporter All-Area team features a host of talented players, including four performers who make return appearances on the All-Area team.
Secaucus’ Betim Bujari, Ferris’ Bryant Worts, Lincoln’s Lamar McKnight and St. Peter’s Prep’s Corey Davis all earned All-Area honors for a second straight year.
In the case of talented defensive back Davis, he becomes only the ninth player ever to receive All-Area honors for three straight seasons, quite an accomplishment for the young man.
To no surprise, the Marauders of St. Peter’s Prep once again dominate the All-Area team. The area’s best team has 12 honorees on the squad, followed by Lincoln, who has five honorees, and Secaucus, which has three.
The Hudson Reporter Offensive Player of the Year is Secaucus’ Joe Impreveduto, who led the Patriots to their best season ever at 11-1 and the school’s first trip ever to Giants Stadium and the state championship game. Impreveduto rushed for more than 1,400 yards and scored a county-best 25 touchdowns. He was the spark in an offensive attack that averaged almost 40 points per game this season.
The Hudson Reporter Defensive Player of the Year is St. Peter’s Prep senior linebacker Kevin Innis, who was the chief mainstay on the area’s best defensive unit. Innis collected more than 70 tackles this season and made big play after big play. Also a standout wrestler with state championship aspirations, Innis will be an athlete to watch through the winter months as well.
The Hudson Reporter Most Valuable Player for 2009 goes to St. Peter’s Prep junior running back/defensive back Savon Huggins, who led the Marauders in rushing with more than 1,000 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. Huggins also set the school’s all-time single game rushing mark with 312 yards against St. Joseph of Montvale and eclipsed the 200-yard mark on three occasions.
Huggins already has carved his niche as perhaps the best running back among a litany of great Prep backs and will be certainly the premier player to watch in the area in 2010. Several major colleges are already clamoring for Huggins’ services and the list should grow in the coming months.
The Hudson Reporter Coach of the Year is Sean Fallon of St. Anthony, who took over the Friars’ program this season. He had to take it over after it suffered from several problems: the alleged use of an ineligible player, the forfeiture of three victories, and the firing of the previous coach. Fallon calmed the storm, righted the ship, and led the Friars to a 6-3 record and the school’s first-ever NJSIAA state playoff berth.
All in all, it was a great football season, highlighted by the appearance of two local teams in their respective state championship games. – Jim Hague
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