When National Signing Day took place on the first Wednesday in February, Eli Terry felt just a little left out.
The St. Anthony standout running back knew that he was good enough of a football player to deserve a college scholarship, but there wasn’t a letter of intent for Terry to sign.
So while his former Jersey City Recreation Jets teammates Devell Jones and Daisjon Robinson of Lincoln and Corey Caddle and David Tolentino of St. Peter’s Prep were all celebrating their respective days with college scholarships, Terry was left on the outside looking in.
“It was a little disappointing, because some of the people I used to play with got a chance to get to sign a letter,” said Terry, a standout student/athlete at St. Anthony who is a member of the National Honor Society and was the recipient last summer of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award from the West Point Society of New Jersey, receiving the award at the United States Military Academy in a special presentation last June.
“I knew I would get something,” Terry said. “I just had to find the right place.”
Enter Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The coaching staff there just happened to stumble across Terry’s highlight package, which had hit a snag.
“The cameraman who put together my highlight tape went out of the country,” Terry said. “So no one was really recruiting me until after the [National] Signing Day took place.”
Terry did everything he had to do to secure a scholarship. He had the grades, the good size and speed, the statistics to back it all up. Terry recovered from shoulder surgery in 2014 to rush for 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall, leading the Friars to an 8-4 record and the school’s first-ever appearance in the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 1 state title game.
He just didn’t have a firm offer until Sacred Heart reached out to now-departing Friar football coach Ed Stinson.
“He accepted the idea that Sacred Heart liked him,” Stinson said. “So I asked him if he liked Sacred Heart. They were aggressive later on and when I had conversations with the coaching staff, they really wanted him. He’s the real deal. There was no hidden agenda with everything. He’s a solid kid, a solid student, athletically and academically. He’s not going to embarrass you. I just don’t think he was on their radar until late.”
Terry went on an official visit to the school three weeks ago and fell in love.
“When I went to the campus, all the people I met were so great,” Terry said. “The other players told me what it was like to be there. They have nice facilities and a winning tradition right now.”
Sacred Heart has captured the last two Northeast Conference championships and earned a berth into the NCAA Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA) Playoffs.
“I was a little worried at one point that I might not get anything,” said Terry, who was also considering partial offers from schools like Central Michigan, Bryant, Wagner and Delaware State. “But Sacred Heart was the best.”
It was Wagner that gave scholarships to the two Hoboken grid standouts Daniel Clifford and Josh Mercado. But it was Sacred Heart that won the services of Eli Terry, who signed his national letter of intent with the school (where former Mets manager Bobby Valentine is the athletic director) last Wednesday morning.
It might have been six weeks later than everyone else, but a letter signing day ceremony is the same any way you slice it.
“It’s exciting to know that I’m getting a chance to play Division I football,” said Terry, who will play running back at Sacred Heart. “It was the goal all along when I first came to St. Anthony.”
Terry knew that Stinson had sent many of his former players to major college football over the years.
“This is always a kick,” said Stinson, who resigned his position as head football coach at St. Anthony two months ago and was just recently replaced by Matt Gallo. “It’s absolutely a thrill to be involved with this young man, who has been a credit to the school and the program.”
There was only one downside to Terry’s big day Wednesday. Eli’s brother and St. Anthony teammate Devin, a standout on the gridiron in his own right, will not get the chance to continue to play with Eli in college.
“It’s going to be hard, because when it came to competition, my brother always had my back and I had his,” Eli Terry said. “We made each other better. But he’ll be playing some place in college. I know it.”…
Speaking of former local players moving on to Division I football, former Lincoln standout Teddy Spann will take his talents to Houston Baptist in the fall. Spann had been playing junior college football and gets a chance to move on like former Lincoln teammateRonald Butler did before going to Utah State…
What started as just a little idea to do something nice for those in need has blossomed into a full-fledged baseball tournament in a couple of weeks.
Weehawken head baseball coach Anthony Stratton realized that local baseball scout Mike Garlotti of the Colorado Rockies holds a tournament every year to raise money to help autism awareness, so Stratton decided he wanted to do something locally for the same cause.
So Stratton made a few phone calls to coaches in Hudson and Bergen Counties and the result was a 16-team, two-day baseball festival, called the Autism Awareness Challenge, to be held at Weehawken Stadium April 18-19 with all the proceeds of the weekend going to Garlotti’s Teamwork Unlimited Foundation.
Garlotti has a son who is autistic. The idea hit close to home because Weehawken youth coach Sal Mendez, Sr. has a daughter with the disability. Former Weehawken High All-State pitcher Sal Mendez, Jr. is currently pitching in the Texas Rangers’ organization and is in spring training.
“I just contacted a lot of coaches and they were all for it,” Stratton said. “I never thought I was going to be able to get 16 teams, but everyone just jumped on board. They were all excited to do it.”
The schedule for the Weehawken Autism Awareness Challenge is a great one.
On Saturday, North Arlington will face St. Anthony at 10 a.m., followed by Secaucus against Hasbrouck Heights at 1 p.m., then Dickinson against River Dell at 4 p.m. and capped off with host Weehawken facing Park Ridge at 7 p.m.
On Sunday, it’s Hoboken against McNair Academic at 10 a.m., followed by Ferris against Dumont at 1 p.m, then Indian Hills against Union City at 4 p.m. and capped off with a real barnburner, namely St. Peter’s Prep against St. Joseph of Montvale, two sure-fire state-ranked foes, at 7 p.m.
“I thought we might only get Saturday, but once we opened to Sunday, everyone wanted to play,” Stratton said.
Stratton said that each team is being asked to bring a representative, someone either with autism or has a family member with the disability, to throw out the first pitch for their respective games. Admission for the games is just $2 with raffles to take place during the course of the day as well.
Stratton said that he received solid support from Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner and the Township Council, which has provided special shirts for the teams to wear. The council also provided food for a welcoming reception for coaches and some players last week at the Weehawken Elks.
“It’s getting great response from other coaches,” Stratton said.
Maybe they’re all on to something that might become an annual occurrence, all to draw awareness to one of the nation’s biggest and growing disabilities. It should be a great weekend of great baseball, pitting Hudson County’s finest against some of Bergen’s top squads. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.