By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
Jared Senerchia and Brandon VanDoren enjoyed being a part of the Hillsborough High School football team’s best season in a decade, but they’re also happy to have one more game.
The graduating seniors are part of a huge Raiders contingent selected to play for the Devil Dogs all-star team against the Leathernecks in the third annual Basilone Bowl tonight at Somerville High. Also selected to the game from Hillsborough are: Scot Levonaitis, Ed Trimpert, Andrew Patrizio, Mike D’Alfonso, Kyle Bergen, Matt Pellicane, John Mcdonald, Victor Del Rio and Isaac Reaves. Tickets are available at the door.
“To me, it’s a pretty big deal,” said Senerchia, who will focus on his studies at Penn State University. “I’m not going on to play college football. It’s my last chance to play with some of the guys from my town and some of the guys from our league. It’s a chance to have a good time.”
VanDoren is in the same situation. He will be studying criminal justice at Stockton University, which does not have a football team.
“Football is a great spot,” VanDoren said. “I love it. Being able to do it one more time makes it that much better.”
Patrizio (Sacred Heart), Mcdonald (Monmouth), Bergen (Stevenson), Del Rio (Salisbury), Pellicane (RPI) and Trimpert (RPI) will be continuing their careers in college. Both Senerchia and VanDoren are passing on that chance, and can treasure their final chance even more after having injuries that limited their time on the field. VanDoren missed his entire junior year after suffering a concussion.
“It was heartbreaking,” VanDoren said. “Going out and not being able to play, it was hard. I made up for two years in one.”
VanDoren came back to be a standout in the defensive backfield for the Raiders this season. He helped the defensive secondary, and is looking forward to another chance to compete. The Raiders haven’t played since advancing to the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals, where they lost to Manalapan, 28-6, to finish their season 9-2.
“That is just awesome,” VanDoren said. “We finished on a bad note. To come out and finish on a good note, it’d be something nice to end on.”
He is looking forward to the chance to influence the Basilone Bowl by showing just how strong Hillsborough’s seniors were. They helped to turn around the Raiders during their careers.
“From the beginning, we knew we were a great squad,” VanDoren said. “Once we were seniors and the biggest men on the field, we knew something would go well.”
It was a special season that no one wanted to miss any part of. Senerchia played through an injury over the final month of the season. He tore his labrum, and had to have it surgically repaired after the season.
“Right now, I’m definitely a lot stronger than I was right before the surgery,” Senerchia said. “I’m not at the stature I was at the beginning of the season, but it’s a lot better than it was before the surgery.”
Senerchia is looking forward to a return to the field to display what was missing in that final month. While he was still a steady contributor defensively as linebacker and safety, he couldn’t do the same things offensively due to his shoulder.
“It affected my offensive production,” he said. “I couldn’t get my arm above my head whatsoever. I had a pretty big brace on it to make sure I didn’t injure it any further. Physicality wise, I still played physical. I tried to block it out as much as I could. When you’re in the moment and have adrenaline running through you, you can block it out.”
Senerchia is back on the road to full strength, and he has been using the chance to play in the Basilone Bowl as motivation to get through his physical therapy.
“At one point, I didn’t know if I’d be able to play,” Senerchia said. “The healing process went well. I had a great doctor. I went to physical therapy and everything was awesome.
“Playing was definitely in the back of my mind. When it first happened, I didn’t think I’d be able to play. As I started the healing process and started feeling better and better, there was the opportunity in the back of my head that I could play again and still see what I have.”
The Raiders will be able to do so with plenty of support from their fans. Hillsborough brings one of the biggest representations in the game.
“It’s great for them,” said Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty Jr. “It makes it more fun for them that they’re playing with more of their friends. And it’s more fun for Hillsborough to watch.
“It’ll be fun,” he added. “It’s the guys that will be handling the ball. We get to see our guys make more plays.”
While the past two years have been dominated by lineman and defensive selections, this year’s Hillsborough representatives are some of the more dynamic players in the game.
“We have some great offensive and defensive specialists,” VanDoren said. “We know on both sides we have a lot of great players. We’re going to see what they can do.”
Senerchia and VanDoren will be on opposite sides. VanDoren moved his focus to defense in high school, and Senerchia was forced to focus on defense for the end of the season though he’s thrilled to return to offense for the Basilone Bowl where he’s hoping to team up with Trimpert, one of the Devil Dogs quarterbacks, for a highlight or two.
“Especially I’m excited to play one last time with Eddie,” Senerchia said. “I’ve had a pretty close relationship with him, particularly through high school with him throwing me the ball and stuff.”
He would love one more chance to haul in a Trimpert strike for a touchdown. It could go a long way in helping him exit his career with a win.
“After the way we ended last year,” Senerchia said, “I think I need one more game.”
It’s the final game in a career that started with flag football when he was only 6 years old. VanDoren, too, has been playing most of his life. They have the opportunity to finish their careers with an all-star appearance.
“Those guys were such great players,” Carty said. “They love playing football, so it’s fun to coach those guys.”
Carty will be on hand to watch a group of seniors that helped lift the Raiders to new heights in his tenure. It was a breakthrough season that could help motivate others, just as the selections to the Basilone Bowl will inspire future Raider seniors.
“They can take as many guys that are good enough and ready,” Carty said. “I thought there might be a couple that there might not be room for, but I think everyone respected how good they were and they were recognized for it with being picked.
“I think it’s a lot of fun,” he added. “I think the kids respect the tradition of it. We’ve had nice crowds. Now kids are looking forward to playing in it. I know our guys are really excited for it. I like it as a celebration of Somerset County football.”
Senerchia went to last year’s game to watch. He’s happy to be playing in it this year with some of his longtime teammates.
“It’s a lot of guys I’m pretty close with — Patrizio, Eddie, Scot — a lot of guys I’m close with the whole season,” Senerchia said. “It’s definitely going to make a difference to have them out there with me.
“I know we’re playing with Bound Brook too. Danny Leinbach goes there, and I grew up playing with him. It’ll be fun to play with him on the same field.”
The game brings together friends and rivals for an all-star game that is held in honor of Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, who grew up in Raritan Borough. Basilone earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic acts at Guadalcanal. He was killed on D-Day. VanDoren was at the first Basilone Bowl held two years ago.
“It’s an honor,” VanDoren said. “It’s a pretty prestigious all-star game. I’ve seen the players that have gotten into it. It’s no easy task to get into it. It’s pretty monumental.
“It’s a great atmosphere,” he added. “It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait.”
