TASTY TIDBITS

Hoboken’s Anderson shines at North-South game; Hudson Catholic postingWhen Stephon Anderson was informed by Ed Stinson, his head coach at Hoboken High School, that he was selected to participate in the New Jersey Scholastic Football Coaches Association’s annual North-South All-Star Classic at Rutgers, Anderson was more than excited.
You see, it was not only a chance for Anderson to experience a slice of the tradition that his cousins, Ravon Anderson and Tyrell Dortch, enjoyed before him, but it was also one last opportunity to showcase his talents, before he heads off to a Connecticut prep school with the hope of impressing a college football recruiter.
“I definitely felt like I had something to prove,” Anderson said about being chosen to play in the game last Saturday, won by Anderson’s North squad, 26-21. “I only had 1,300 yards last year and that’s nothing compared to Hoboken standards. I went there, not only representing Hoboken and the tradition of players who had been there, but I also represented Hudson County. It’s definitely an honor to be selected.
Anderson added, “I was definitely excited to get picked. I didn’t think I had a chance to get picked for the game. When I heard I was going to the North-South game, I was very happy.”
Anderson said that he enjoyed the experience of working out with the North team for the week of preparation at Rutgers, joining fellow Hudson County participants Tom Rodger of St. Peter’s Prep, Cosimo DePinto of Bayonne and Nabil Salim of Emerson.
In fact, Anderson was placed in the same dormitory room with Onelio Perez of Becton, which was the team that knocked Hoboken out of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I playoffs last year en route to the sectional title.
“The whole team had a bunch of cool guys,” Anderson said. “Perez was a great guy, but he kept bringing up that game. I got used to the atmosphere pretty quickly down there, although we were practicing three times a day all week before the game.”
Anderson said that he had no problem getting physically ready for the game, considering that he had been working throughout the off-season, lifting weights and running.
“I’ve been working with Coach Stinson all year,” Anderson said. “As you know, it’s an 11-month program. We work out all year, lifting weights four days a week and running every once in a while. But I was prepared for the game.”
Anderson was selected to play cornerback and return kicks for the game.
When he entered Rutgers Stadium, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I never played in a stadium like that, in front of so many people, with all the best players in the state,” Anderson said. “I could feel the adrenalin pumping.”
Anderson returned one kickoff for about 35 yards and returned a punt for little yardage. He made eight tackles during his stint at cornerback and felt he made a positive impact in the game.
“It was a good feeling to be out there and contributing,” Anderson said. “I thought the speed of the game would be different and that I might have to worry about that, but it was fine. After the first few snaps, things came pretty naturally.”
Anderson said that he was hoping that someone was watching his performance with keen eyes. While people like Rodger (Harvard) and Salim (University of Maine) have their college plans mapped out, Anderson will head to Milford Academy in Connecticut next month with the hope of hooking on with a good four-year collegiate program.
“That was the whole purpose of playing in the game and going to the prep school,” Anderson said. “I haven’t spoken with any schools recently, but I know Connecticut and Rutgers were interested. I’ll go there (Milford) for one semester, play there and see what happens.”
There was one good quality about the game. The North won. So Anderson’s final high school football game was a victory.
“It definitely was a good experience for me all around,” Anderson said. “It’s definitely prepared me for what I’m leading up to. I bonded with some different guys from all over the state. I got a chance to prove myself a little. It definitely was a good thing all around.”…
Although it was once reported here that Dickinson High School was about to hire former Bayonne football coach John Rickard as its new coach, it is now believed that former Dickinson, Hudson Catholic and Snyder coach Eric Piccolo will return to Dickinson this fall as head coach. Piccolo previously spent six seasons with the Rams in the late 1980s and has been the head man at Snyder for the last three seasons. Former Ferris and Rutgers University standout Keith Price has already been named as the new head coach at Snyder…
Found it very interesting that John Valentin was upset that he was passed over without an interview for the Seton Hall baseball coaching job, a position that was rightly given to Rob Sheppard earlier this week.
Nothing against Valentin and his contribution to baseball, including his fine 11-year career, mostly with the Red Sox, but the Jersey City native and former St. Anthony High School standout has to coach somewhere else first before he can aspire to become a college baseball coach. You just can’t walk into a big-time college coaching job with no prior experience, major league player or no major league player.
If Valentin’s serious about getting into coaching, then he would be more than welcomed back to his old stomping grounds, where he can work with some of Jersey City’s youngsters…
It was also interesting to see that Hudson Catholic was advertising for a new head baseball coach last week, even before Derek England had made any decision about going to St. Peter’s College. The kids from the defending HCIAA Coviello champs didn’t need to hear about a possible coaching change by reading a job replacement ad in the local papers….
Hudson Catholic has also hired a new hockey coach in Bob Smith, a veteran coach who has had some excellent credentials as the coach at Christian Brothers Academy, Pope John of Sparta and the County College of Morris.
Smith once guided CBA to the overall No. 1 ranking in the state in 1983 and was a two-time New Jersey Coach of the Year during his 11-year tenure at the Lincroft school….
Hudson Catholic is also looking for a new soccer coach. Tom Burns, who was the head coach the last two seasons, has not been rehired…