JERRY WOLKOWITZ Marlboro’s Peder Von Harten signs his national letter of intent to play football at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, on Feb. 6.
Peder Von Harten is the youngest of seven children. Growing up, while his brothers and sisters were playing varsity sports for Marlboro High School, he was always the skinny little brother.
Last week, Von Harten got one up on his siblings when he became the first in the family to earn an athletic scholarship to college. The Marlboro High School quarterback signed with Monmouth University, West Long Branch.
"It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time," he said. "This is for my family."
Von Harten was a 5-11 wide receiver with the Marlboro freshman football team. He had a growth spurt as a sophomore and was the team’s backup quarterback that year. He got playing time that season including Marlboro’s state playoff game. By his junior year, he won the starting position. At camps last summer, he attracted the attention of college scouts and coaches.
Several colleges had expressed interest in the strong-armed, 6-4 Mustang. He had narrowed his decision down to two schools, Kutztown State in Pennsylvania and Monmouth. A visit to the West Long Branch campus convinced him that Monmouth, which plays in the Northeast Conference, was the one for him.
"I like the [offensive] system; it’s pass-oriented," said Von Harten. "I liked the coaches and players. The coaches went out of their way to help you.
"Another factor was baseball," he added. "I’ll be able to play both at Monmouth. Football is the No. 1 priority."
Monmouth, which went 7-3 last year and tied for second in the NEC, has just the kind of offense that Von Harten likes.
"It’s wide open," he said. "They have a one-back backfield with three or four wide receivers. It’s a quarterback friendly offense."
Marlboro’s run-oriented offense didn’t give Von Harten a lot of opportunities to air it out, but colleges liked his size and arm strength. At Monmouth, Van Harten said that the Hawks head coach Dave Callahan told him that he will get to compete for the starting job this year.
"The position is wide open," he said. "I love to compete, and I look forward to competing for the job."
Even though he didn’t throw the ball a lot (84 times last year, completing 54 for 513 yards and seven touchdowns), Von Harten credited the work that head coach Tom Mulcahey did with him during practices, preparing him for what it takes to throw the ball all over the field in a pass-oriented offense.
"One day a week Coach Mulcahey worked with me on drop-back passing," Von Harten said. "We worked on three- and five-step drops, and we down game film a lot. It really helped me."
Von Harten, who began playing football with the Marlboro Pop Warner League, also credited his Pop Warner coach Al May with helping him develop as a football player and ultimately to a college-caliber quarterback.
Although it didn’t tip the scales for Monmouth, ex-Mustangs head coach Larry Zdilla, still a counselor at the high school and someone Von Harten knows well, coaches the defense backs at Monmouth.
Having a familiar face on the staff you can relate to is always helpful.