Manville High Fall Sports Awards

Football team garners most recognition

By: Rudy Brandl
   I’ve always felt that the football team sets the tone for the fall season in high school sports. Sometimes, a successful football campaign carries over into the winter and spring seasons, especially when a key group of athletes is common to certain teams.
   Manville High hopes the winter and spring bring as much excitement as the football team produced this fall. The Mustangs, under second-year head coach Brett Stibitz, posted the first winning football record since 1991. Many of the football players excel in other sports and some will be looking to make new highlights on the court and mat in a few weeks.
   Before we start reporting on the MHS winter teams, it’s time to take one final look back at the first season on the scholastic calendar in my Manville High Fall Sports Awards:
   Best Team – Football. The Mustangs rolled to a 6-0 start that had fans dreaming of a championship. That winning streak propelled the team in to the state playoffs for the first time in school history. Although the Mustangs lost their final four games to finish 6-4, their season was a huge success.
   Ned Panfile Stadium became the place to be on Friday nights in Manville. The MHS fans supported their team on the road as well, especially in the Central Jersey Group 1 playoff game at South River and season finale at Bound Brook.
   The Mustangs scored points in bunches and dominated five of their six victims to average over 40 points per game through the first half of the season. Things got tougher down the stretch, but the team played very well with the exception of the loss at North Warren. The Mustangs, who were held to 12 points for the season a few years ago, scored in nine of their 10 games and doubled last year’s win total.
   Best Coach – Brett Stibitz, football. The second-year head coach continued the program’s resurgence with a 6-4 season that ran his career record to 9-11. That may not sound like much, but consider that the Mustangs were 0-20 in the previous two seasons.
   Stibitz has restored the pride in MHS football, but his work was not confined to the three-month season. He spent countless hours preparing his troops in the off-season. The combination of increased workout time in the weight room and drills and camps for the skill players turned this group into a competitive and exciting team.
   Honorable mention goes to cross country head coach Jim O’Connor, who continued to build his program in his third year at the helm. O’Connor also made a little school history this fall by putting a full girls’ cross country team into competition for the first time ever at Manville. The combination of good recruiting and coaching made this happen.
   Best Athlete – Tommy Rock, football. The senior running back made major headlines early in the season when he appeared on the state’s list of leading rushers and scorers. For a while, Rock was averaging 200 yards per game. He eventually cooled down, but he still finished with a team-high 1,278 yards and 15 touchdowns. Rock scored 13 times on the ground and added two pass receptions for touchdowns. He also produced seven extra points combining kicks and two-point runs to finish with 97 points.
   Most Improved Athletes –Matt Zangara (soccer) and Kyle Sopko (football).
   Zangara started the season as the jayvee goalkeeper and wound up starting on the varsity squad for the second half of the season. He posted three shutouts to help the team gain its lone victory and two ties. The sophomore made the most of his opportunity with several key saves.
   Sopko emerged as the main receiving threat for the Mustangs with five touchdowns. The senior hauled in a few bombs in big games from quarterback Mike Knitowski, including one on the last play of the first half in the showdown vs. Belvidere and one that started the comeback in the playoff battle at South River.
   Best Finish – Girls’ soccer. After struggling throughout a good part of the season, the MHS girls won four of their last five to finish at 7-12. The Lady Mustangs took some lumps early but settled down and played some attractive soccer down the stretch. Head coach Erin Delaney did a nice job keeping this group focused until the end.
   Most Exciting Moments – The loss at North Warren clouded the picture, but the football team eventually learned it clinched the eighth and final playoff spot in Central Jersey Group 1 to make school history; the Mustangs had fans buzzing and sports reporters flocking to cover their games after a 6-0 start put them into position to win the Valley Division title; the Mustangs faced their only halftime deficit during the six-game win streak vs. St. Joseph’s of the Palisades in September but rallied to victory in the second half; after rarely scoring for six weeks, the boys’ soccer team exploded for seven goals to win its only game of the season vs. Somerset Vo-Tech; the MHS girls won four of their last five games, including a 4-3 thriller over Rutgers Prep; the boys’ cross country team finished in front of Keyport to avoid last place in the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships at Thompson Park; and the girls ran and competed as an official cross country team for the first time in a regular season meet at Belvidere in September.
   Best Game Performances – Tommy Rock had the performance of the season and of his life in the 41-27 win over St. Joseph’s with 250 rushing yards and five touchdowns; Rock rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a pass reception in the 45-7 romp over Dayton; Mike Knitowski tossed three touchdown passes and compiled 109 yards through the air in that game; Knitowski accounted for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) in the 49-6 rout of Bernards; senior Marzena Brozyna moved up from her sweeper position for the first time and scored four goals to power the girls’ soccer team to a 7-0 rout of North Plainfield; senior goalkeeper Marta Fabiyan made tons of saves this season in wins and losses but posted a big shutout vs. Bound Brook; and senior midfielder Roland Yakobchuk led the offense with three goals in the boys’ soccer victory over Somerset Vo-Tech.
   Toughest Losses – The football team couldn’t capitalize in the red zone and fell short at Bound Brook on Thanksgiving Eve; two trick plays produced touchdowns for South River in the CJ 1 playoff victory over Manville; and injuries kept the girls from fielding a full team at the Central Jersey Group 1 meet.
   Freshman Phenoms – Runners Andrew Franko, Alissa Teodorczy and Amanda Velez, soccer players Amy Evanylo and Cesar Mora.
   Sophomore Sensations – Football player Joe Burnett, soccer players David Brozyna, Danny Pierrot, Matt Zangara, Rebecca Burke and Angelika Lazur, runners Casey Shields, Kate Harodetsky and Arielle Mizov.
   Junior Jewels – Soccer players Samantha Aichele, Rhianna Lebedz, Monika Ozieblo, Lucy Yakobchuk, Drew Evanylo, Chris Kocur, Jimmy Lozada, Alexander Malliard, Andrew Saultz and Marvin Sosa, runners Sasa Todorovic, Erik Lubas, Jason Pfoutz, Dominika Lastovickova and Jennifer Gomez, football players Brian Rock, Dennis Petrone, Glenn Hall and Anthony Palovick.
   Senior Stars – Football players Mike Knitowski, Tommy Rock, Leo Rodriguez, Mark Manderski, Pat Horner, Matt Golen, Robert Wood, Kyle Sopko, Jon Andrade, Jack Calvo and Jamie Levine; soccer players Lukasz Bogdanowicz, Ronnie Lobo, Edyn Pineda, Roland Yakobchuk, Marzena Brozyna, Michelina Aichele and Marta Fabiyan, runners Ron Skirkanish, David Le and Amanda Bron.