Lawrence football
By: Jim Green
The Lawrence High School football team received an unexpected holiday gift last week when it learned three Cardinals had been named to the Associated Press’ all-state third team for New Jersey.
Senior quarterback Brett Brackett, senior kicker Pat Stanger and junior tight end Jim Gorski each were named to the team, providing a nice cap to a memorable season in which Lawrence went 8-2 and won the Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division title. The rest of the CVC had two total representatives, Trenton linebacker Almondo Sewell and West Windsor-Plainsboro South offensive lineman Adrien Schriefer.
"It was a pleasant surprise," Lawrence coach Rob Radice said. "We were hoping we could get a couple guys on the all-state team. When I found out three made it, I was pleasantly surprised. To get three guys on is pretty unheard of. I thought that was a great honor for the school."
The three Cardinals were nominated by football reporters from daily newspapers within New Jersey. Late last week, Radice was informed they had been named to the team by the AP.
"These are guys that have been all-conference and all-area, and the all-state is the most elite," Radice said. "We’re proud of all their accomplishments. That’s a pretty good crowd to run with. Those kids totally deserved it from what they do in the offseason, to how they approach the games, to what they do in the season those guys are totally deserving of the award."
Brackett, who will play for national powerhouse Penn State University next fall, threw for 1,569 yards and 19 touchdowns, while Gorski, his top receiver, caught 40 passes for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns. Stanger, who had a brilliant career with the Cardinals, went 43-for-47 on extra points and had 17 touchbacks during his senior season.
"I think it’s neat," Radice said of Stanger being named all-state. "I think his statistics spoke for themselves. He was all-county two years in a row. He was a good punter and place kicker, and I was hoping he would make it, but I wasn’t sure, because I wasn’t sure if, around the state, they’d ever heard of Pat Stanger."
While Radice is proud his team boasted three all-state performers this year, he doesn’t believe the fact that two were seniors is any reason to panic.
"We really like what we have coming back we bring back the whole offensive line and our linebackers and our backfield," he said. "We felt we could be a good team this year, and we feel we can be a good team next year. It’s time for other guys to step up. We’re proud of this year’s team, just as we were proud of last year’s team. Now it’s time for the younger guys to step up.
"We’ll miss Pat and Brett, but we like what we’re bringing back."
While the Cardinals will have a strong nucleus of experienced players to build around starting with Gorski they know it will take some big adjustments to continue to play at a high level in the absence of Brackett.
"I don’t know if you replace Brett you just move on and maybe modify things," Radice said. "We do have some younger kids ready to step up, and I think we’ll have good competition at that spot."
In addition to Gorski and the bulk of the offensive line, the Cardinals will return their top two running backs, junior Bayshawn Wells and sophomore Nick Cannon.
"I think it’s a great thing," said Radice, who has 63 players turning out daily in the LHS weight room. "If you’re going to graduate some talented kids, you want to make sure you still have some left. We feel like we have a lot of talented threats on offense, and we still feel like we can be very competitive. We’re very optimistic about what next year holds for them. As long as we work in the offseason, we’ll be successful."
While there is a great deal of hope for the future, this week was a time to look back on the great accomplishments of the 2005 Cardinals and their all-state representatives.
"I think it speaks volumes for how hard the players have worked and how far the program has come," Radice said. "We’re proud of the Colonial Division title, but we still feel like we have a ways to go. Until we win the whole thing, we’ll continue to work very hard."

