Second draft starts with Fitzgerald, Watson
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The Feil Cabinets ran away with the first-ever Princeton Packet Sports Pod Fantasy Football League title.
With former Packet reporter Jake Uitti now across the country in Seattle, it was time to bring in the big guns to try knock off the champion. The league was expanded from three teams to four with the addition of legendary Trentonian sportswriter George O’Gorman, as well as former Trenton Times football writer Steve Tuckerson, who is now in the corporate world and serving as emcee for the weekly 12th Man Touchdown Club dinners.
There was some thought given to just dropping the league after one year. But due to popular demand, it needed to come back for at least one more year. And this time the aim was to make it tougher for Justin Feil to win another title.
The rules for the league remain the same. Each team puts together a roster of one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, a kicker and an overall team defense. Points are awarded each week and at the end of the season, the final statistical totals determine a winner.
Players picked come from the six schools in the Packet coverage area — Montgomery, Princeton, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, WW-P South, The Hun School, and Princeton Day School.
A year ago, the Feil Cabinets ran away with the league. This year the odds were stacked against him. In addition to bringing in two high school football experts, the Feil Cabinets were moved into the No. 4 draft position. O’Gorman, due to his lofty status amongst sportswriters, was given the No. 1 pick. The seven-round draft went in snake order and here is a round-by-round look at the draft.
O’Gorman’s team was dubbed the Curious George’s, while after several possibilities were thrown out there, Tuckerson went with the Mighty Tucks.
ROUND ONE
O’Gorman decided to consult Lloyd Carr for his first choice, which might have distracted the Michigan coach and taken away from his preparation for last week’s opener. Going for size and speed and the hope he catches a lot of passes around the goal line, the No. 1 choice was WW-P South’s J.B. Fitzgerald. An imposing figure on defense who also is a prime receiving target as a tight end.
Tuckerson uses a little bit of inside guidance and takes Montgomery quarterback Kevin Watson with his first pick. Not only does he get a quarterback who threw for over 2,000 yards last year, but he completely messes up the draft of the guy who picks next.
The Good Nuse Bears go scrambling with his whole draft board in disarray. Ice tea spills on the draft chart and with time winding down a pick needs to be made. Wanting to make sure the quarterback position is set, the next pick is WW-P South quarterback Connor Farrell. The hope is that the Pirates decide to go back to the old days of Air Stuart letting the ball fly and open up the passing game.
Feil closes out the first round by choosing the highest scoring returning player who was not selected in last year’s draft, WW-P North running back Darren Parrott. After going undrafted in the league last year, Parrott rushed for 1,000 yards and scored eight touchdowns for the Knights.
ROUND TWO
The Cabinets start the second round by finishing off their running game and selecting Hun tailback Kenny Howard, who scored 11 touchdowns for the Raiders a year ago. With the combination of Parrott and Howard in the backfield, the defending champion is already starting to find a place on the mantel for his next trophy.
Nuse follows with a running back selection as well, choosing Montgomery’s Devon Saunders. A year ago he ran for just over 100 yards, but reports are he’s fared well in the scrimmages and with defense focused on stopping the Cougars’ prolific passing attack, maybe that opens things up for Saunders and the running game.
Tuckerson goes the running back route as well, selecting WW-P South’s David Twamley. His hope is Twamley will pick up some of the workload of Ryan Lupo, who scored 25 touchdowns a year ago.
”Todd Smith isn’t going to stop running the ball just because Lupo is gone,” Tuckerson said. “And Twamley should emerge as the go-to guy when he isn’t picking off passes.”
O’Gorman closes out the second round by going back to his days of covering Babe Ruth baseball and chooses speedy Montgomery receiver J.T. Tartacoff. He’s now set at the receiver division and cornered the market on players with initials for names.
ROUND THREE
Feeling he needs a quarterback, O’Gorman goes for Hun post-graduate Matthew Miller. The Raiders have had some prolific passing teams in the past under Dave Dudeck, and the hope is that happens again this year. With a stable of talented receivers on hand, Miller will have plenty of targets to throw to.
Tuckerson finishes off his rushing attack with the selection of Princeton’s Doug Borchert. The Little Tigers will be going with the running back by committee to replace the departed Alexz Henriques, and Tuckerson hopes most of the carries go to Borchert.
Nuse then closes his running back position as well by selecting Princeton Day’s Mike Shimkin for the second straight year. With a more experienced offensive line in front of him, the hope is Shimkin can return to the form that saw him rush for over 800 yards as a sophomore.
Feil then goes for his first receiver, taking Montgomery tight end Chris Garcia, who caught 31 passes a year ago and may see the ball more this year after the graduation of leading receiver Steve Watson.
ROUND FOUR
Feil starts a run on defenses with the selection of WW-P South, drawing an outcry of pain from Tuckerson. The Pirates have a tough early schedule, but with Fitzgerald anchoring the linebacking corps, a strong defensive line, and Twamley and Dempsey Page back in the secondary, the points will be hard to come by for opponents.
Nuse follows by selecting the Hun defense, hoping this is another year of low-scoring games in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League. Last year the Raiders’ defense played a huge role in helping win a league title and it should be a strength on a young team.
Tuckerson then selects Hun post-graduate tight end Matt Furstenberg, who is heading to the University of Maryland next year.
O’Gorman selects his self-proclaimed sleeper in Princeton running back Luke LaVoie, who he hopes gets some of the carries and yardage that went to Henriques a year ago.
ROUND FIVE
Curious Georges go for the first kicker of the draft, taking Hun’s Scott Demler. The senior is in his fourth season with the Raiders and is considered to be one of the top kicking prospects in the state.
Mighty Tucks follow with another pick that comes with some guidance from Montgomery, choosing Cougar receiver Andy Singley, who he hopes becomes a key target of his quarterback, the Cougars’ Kevin Watson.
The Good Nuse Bears take their first receiver in South’s Jeff Reimann, who caught just one pass last year but has been impressive in pre-season drills and scrimmages. He could emerge as the go-to receiver for Farrell.
Feil makes it three straight receivers with the selection of Hun’s Nick Williams, who caught just two passes last year but has moved into the receiver mix for the Raiders this year.
ROUND SIX
Feil opts for a kicker, going with Princeton’s David Griffin and continuing with his quest to have at least one player from each school in the area.
Nuse weighs several possibilities for his second receiver before settling on Princeton Day’s Andrew Ojeda, a four-year starter who led the Panthers in catches a year ago.
Tuckerson, needing a defense, goes with Princeton Day, hoping the Panthers’ schedule of teams from out of state isn’t filled with too many offensive powers.
O’Gorman, needing a defense of his own, goes with Montgomery. The Cougars face a tough schedule in the Skyland Conference, but also have a number of key players back with the unit.
ROUND SEVEN
O’Gorman finishes off his roster by going with WW-P North running back Sean Reed. Even though he knows Parrott will get most of the carries for the Knights, the hope is Reed gets some carries and shows some promise as a sophomore.
For the third time in the draft, Tuckerson steals a pick from the next guy and takes WW-P South kicker Greg Quinton, a football newcomer who hopes to follow in the steps of last year’s surprise kicker for the Pirates — Dan Jankoski.
Nuse scrambles for a kicker of his own, going with WW-P North’s Jack Mulhall, who had a field goal and scored 16 points as a kicker a year ago.
Feil ends the draft by getting the quarterback he figured he would get picking fourth, Princeton Day’s Clint O’Brien, who helped the Cabinets to the first championship a year ago.
DRAFT REVIEW
The Feil Cabinets came out of the draft pleased as can be, having selected four positions where they were able to get the No. 1 selection on their draft board.
The Good Nuse Bears never could quite get that ice tea stain cleared up on the draft chart, making the draft more of an off the cuff selection process.
The Mighty Tucks and Curious Georges, well, their newcomers to the league and may fall prey to the crafty drafting of Feil, who has his sights set on another championship trophy.