Pirate linemen set for Sunshine Classic
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Eric Davis and Mitchell Ngai lined up next to each other on the football field all throughout high school.
Tonight, the former West Windsor-Plainsboro High South teammates will get one more chance to play alongside each other on the offensive line when they take part in the Sunshine Classic at The College of New Jersey.
Davis and Ngai are two of the six former Pirates who will play for the West team in the annual game staged by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation. The game benefits the Sunshine Foundation and kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
The West roster also includes former WW-P South players Tom Efstathios, Andrew Murray, Brian Schoenauer and Pat Boyle. Former WW-P North players Peyton Randolph, Tom Tantillo and Tyrone Parker, as well as Princeton High’s Zach DiGregorio and the Hun School’s Chris Cardinali, Quashee Hendryx and Gordon DeGeorge are also on the West roster.
”I have been going to this game and watching since I was in eighth grade,” said Davis, an offensive lineman who will attend Williams College. “I loved going out to the game and I have always wanted to play in it. So I feel fortunate that I got picked to play.
”Being able to play one more time with the guys I have played with the last four years will be a lot of fun. After we lost to Middletown South to end our season we were upset. To get one more time where we can play together will be fun.”
And it will be one last time for Davis to line up next to Ngai. The two have been starters on the offensive line for South for the past three years. After starting on the right side as sophomores, they have been on the left side the last two years.
”It has been great lining up with him the last three years,” said Ngai, who will play at the University of Rochester. “We know each other’s strengths. The whole game is about having fun and raising money for charity. We’ll try to win, but it is fun for us just to be with these guys on the field.”
This will be the 17th edition of the Sunshine Classic and is annually an event that the players and fans enjoy.
”The competition will be high and that is what we’ll see in college,” Davis said. “It will be good to get a little football in before we go to camp. It will be a little funny the first day putting on pads. I leave August 25th, which is a little later than most. I am very excited and can’t wait to see what it is all about playing at that level in college. I have been talking to the coaches and they are excited.”
Ngai will head to Rochester a few days before Davis heads to Williams. But he also looks at the Sunshine game as a chance to get prepared for the college season that is just around the corner.
”I know I am going to miss playing with my old teammates, so I am looking forward to getting the opportunity one more time,” Ngai said. “Just being with my old teammates and practicing for the game is going to be a lot of fun. I’ll miss them. They are a great group of guys to play with.”
Davis, who also relishes the chance to play with the other former Pirates, will build on the game as he prepares to play at Williams.
”I think we’ll be in good shape,” he said. “We have been working out for college and this will help for college. I am looking forward to getting to Williams. That is a dream school for me. I am really excited that it all worked out great.”
Ngai figures to use his first year at Rochester as a year to get better physically and be ready to play down the road.
”I might not play much my freshman year,” he said. “I know I to have to gain some weight. But I hope to get better with my conditioning and we’ll be lifting to get stronger.”
Before all of that, however, is one last chance to suit up and represent the Pirates on the football field. And that is something that has both Davis and Ngai very excited.