By Jeff Appelblatt
Kevin Coleman hasn’t been the head coach for Woodbridge High School’s football team for a single game yet, but the new coach is eager to make Woodbridge’s Nicholas A. Priscoe Stadium the permanent home of the Snapple Bowl every other year when it’s Middlesex County’s turn to host.
The Snapple Bowl, an annual all-star game, is a charity event with proceeds going to the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and the Lakeview School, a program of the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities, in Edison. Snapple Bowl XXIII is slated for July 21 at 7 p.m.
“I think [the Snapple Bowl] is something we should try to keep in Woodbridge,” the coach said. “We have the new stadium, a lot of space — it would be good to keep it [in Woodbridge].”
No promises yet on if he’d be around to coach next year’s Snapple Bowl, but he’s happy that the Barrons’ former coach, Bill Nyers, will be one of the coaches at this year’s game.
“It’s great he’ll be coaching at the upcoming game,” Coleman said about his predecessor. “I tried to talk him out of leaving [from coaching Woodbridge], but he said he needed to step down because of his health.”
Nyers coached the Barrons to a 21-20 record the last four seasons, which included a 6-4 record in the fall. His continued battle with kidney cancer made him realize he just wasn’t in the position to remain on the sidelines.
“As much as I wanted him to stay, I couldn’t argue with his decision,” Woodbridge’s new coach, an assistant the last few years under Nyers, said.
Of course, though he left from coaching because of health concerns, Woodbridge giving Nyers the chance to coach at Snapple Bowl XXIII is far from a pity offer. Not only did Nyers keep the Barrons competitive during his recent four-year stint, but he also led the team to a sectional title in 1997 during his eight-year run as coach from 1994-2002.
And Woodbridge’s athletic director, Joseph Ward, anticipates thinking of Nyers and Woodbridge football, hand in hand, for an extended period of time no matter how many coaches hold the position.
“He’s still going to be associated with Woodbridge football forever,” Ward said in December when Nyers stepped down as coach.
Playing for Nyers in Snapple Bowl XXIII will be more Barrons that will no longer be on the sideline for Woodbridge next year. Recent graduates David McDevitt, James Modica, Nathan Lanier and Tracy Fudge will all play in their final game before college.
Edison High School will also add Ben Baez and Mike Diakunczak to the Middlesex roster, while Jarett Sims will be the lone representative on the field from Metuchen High School. Joe Papa will represent Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen.
The Middlesex County team has defeated its opponent from Union County in 14 of 22 games so far and enters this year’s game as winners of nine of the last 10.
Each team is eager to pull in a victory, but nothing is more important for everyone involved than providing help and entertainment for the kids from the Children’s Specialized Hospital and the Lakeview School. Following the record-number $50,000 raised last year, the Snapple Bowl festivities have resulted in a total of $535,000 in donations.
