By Jeff Appelblatt
Perhaps Middlesex County was never truly a Snapple Bowl dynasty team; new players fill the roster every year. But for the players who represented Middlesex in Snapple Bowl XXIII, it had to be disappointing to lose to the team from Union County for the first time since each of them was in middle school.
Middlesex’s 33-13 victory last year was the team’s fourth win in a row, giving the club 14 wins in 22 chances. But in the most recent game July 21, Union’s defense outdid that of its opponent en route to a 13-7 win.
In the long run, finishing on the winning or losing side of the field at the Snapple Bowl charity all-star football game will have much less of an impact on the players involved than the events that led up to the game. Before game day rolled around, the Middlesex team visited one of the main beneficiaries of the game, Edison’s Lakeview School. Meanwhile, Union’s team went to the other — Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.
The 2016 high school graduates who were going to play in the all-star game not only had the chance to see the establishments that motivated Marcus Borden to create the Snapple Bowl more than 20 years ago, but they also got to meet the kids at each. That was motivational for the players entering into game day.
Snapple Bowl XXIII was the lowest scoring game of its type since July 20, 2006, when Middlesex won by the same score, 13-7. The low scoring that day at South Brunswick High School had no impact on the donations, however. A record $28,000 was raised that year for the Lakeview School and the Specialized Hospital.
And 10 years later, the score was the same, but the money passed on was much greater. With a spark for the second year in a row from Woodbridge High School’s Jonathan O’Halloran, the annual game supplied the beneficiaries with about $50,000. O’Halloran, winner of the Debbie Ganz Spirit of the Game Award this year and last, was responsible for about $4,000 in 2016.
When Middlesex finally started to get the offense going in this year’s game, it was motivated by a few players who were most familiar with Woodbridge’s Nicholas A. Priscoe Stadium — Woodbridge’s own Tracy Fudge and James Modica. With less than three minutes left on the clock and Middlesex trailing, 13-0, Fudge found Modica deep for a 41-yard touchdown pass.
That ended up being the only score for the Middlesex team. The team had another chance. Fudge, who will be attending Stevenson University in the fall, hoped he could get the ball into the end zone one more time. But from the middle of the field, with 55 seconds remaining, a pass to the outside was picked off by Union High School graduate Kyle Boyd.
Only one touchdown thrown in the game, it was clear Fudge was smothered by the defense throughout. Hillside High School’s Osaheni Omokaro was the quarterback’s biggest challenge from the start, which earned the defensive lineman the Joe Poli MVP trophy.
No matter how things finished off — a good game, a good cause — Woodbridge head coach Kevin Coleman is ready to have Woodbridge host the Snapple Bowl more often.
“I think [the Snapple Bowl] is something we should try to keep in Woodbridge,” he said before the game.
The Barrons’ athletic director, Joseph Ward, likes the idea, but he isn’t sure how realistic it is.
“We’re honored to host this game and would love to get it every two years,” Ward said. “But we know we have some competition with the likes of South Brunswick and other Middlesex County schools.”
The only things that are certain going into Snapple Bowl XXIV next year are that one of the Union County schools will host the game, that Middlesex will be eager to recover from this year’s loss and that the kids from the Lakeview School and Children’s Specialized Hospital are eager to see another game played in their honor.
