Bishop Ahr High School running back Kenny Virden gets past an opponent during his junior year season last winter. Bishop Ahr High School junior running back Kenny Virden has always had a flair for the dramatic. So, it wasn’t a surprise that he saved his best performance for the last game of the football season.
Bishop Ahr lost to Monroe, 34-24, but Virden cut and slashed his way for 204 yards and added to his total of five games in which he eclipsed the century mark. His two touchdowns elevated his season tally to 14.
The question this fall, as Virden enters his senior campaign, is what can the 6-1, 170-pound flash do to top his end-of-year performance?
That will begin to be answered when Bishop Ahr opens the season hosting Neptune on Sept. 9. Virden is a prime reason that optimism reigns in the land of Troy, but so, too, is the arrival of former East Brunswick star Don Sofilkanich replacing Ron Hilliard as head coach.
Sofilkanich’s credentials are impressive. He replaced Hilliard after a thorough search spearheaded by Athletic Director Mike Wolfthal, who directed a committee that screened over 30 candidates. Sofilkanich arrives from, coincidentally, the team that Bishop Ahr hosts in its opener. Before that, the South Amboy resident coached Asbury Park to sectional titles in each of the three seasons he was there (2007-2009). Sofilkanich served as head coach at Holmdel in 1999 and was an assistant at his alma mater, Colonia, as well as Roxbury and New Brunswick. Virden is eager to help the Sofilkanich regime get off to a positive start, but he doesn’t forget how his former coach, Ron Hilliard, who coached the Trojans for 12 seasons, and his assistant, Jay Frabs, helped with the running back’s development.
“Their coaching helped me become a better player,” Virden says, “and they provided guidance that made me a better person. Their impact is something I’ll never forget.”
Virden, a Piscataway resident, remembers when he first played football as an 8- year-old for the local Pop Warner team. The shifty back and lockdown cover corner proved to him and others that he could be an impact player as he progressed through the Pop Warner levels.
When the time arrived for Virden to decide to play for his community’s vaunted team, considered among the top public school programs in the state, or at an area parochial school, Kenny says there wasn’t a choice to be made.
“I was invited to a Prospective Freshman Day at Bishop Ahr,” Virden says, “and was accompanied by an alumnus, Mike Gallant. He and others made me feel welcome and I immediately knew I wanted to become a part of the BishopAhr community. In retrospect, I’m happy with my decision.”
Virden’s parents, Sherman and Norine, have three other children, Jared, Lynn and Sherie, all older than their brother.
In addition to Virden’s exploits on the football field, he has been a key contributor to the Trojans’ basketball team. As a small forward, Kenny averaged 10 points per game, but this winter will be his last season on the hardwood.
Division I football programs, including Connecticut, Wisconsin, Boston College and James Madison, and Division I Football Subdivision Fordham, have expressed interest in Virden. Where he goes depends on a couple of things: how he performs in his last season, and where he best fits. Virden will rely on the same instincts that drew him to Bishop Ahr when deciding where he ends up.
“School has always come first,” he says. “I do my schoolwork and study best before practices and games. I’m serious about time management when it comes to balancing school and sports.”
Virden looks forward to his last season but remembers how he felt when he scored his first touchdown.
“I was a sophomore and can still picture crossing the goal line,” Virden says. “It’s a memory I’ll never forget.”
Bishop Ahr fans are hoping that Kenny Virden scores enough touchdowns this fall that they never forget.