WESTFIELD - Ike Igbinosun and his Rahway football teammates suffered a devastating loss at home to Carteret in last year's Central Jersey, Group 2 semifinals.

The Indians reached the section's semifinals for the fourth straight year, but were turned away 19-14, falling about 25 yards short of reaching the end zone for the winning points.

Igbinosun and fellow Rahway teammates Corey Alfano and Demetrius Washington as Union County All-Stars will get a chance to stick it to several Middlesex County All-Stars such as Joe DeQuarto, Byron Lewin and Al Tampa of Carteret in Thursday night's 15th annual Home News Tribune Snapple Bowl High School All-Star Football Game between Union and Middlesex counties.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at East Brunswick High School.

The series is tied at 7-7, with the Middlesex County squad on a two-game winning streak.

Proceeds from the past 14 games have totaled more than $227,000 and have benefited the Lakeview School for Cerebral Palsy in Edison and the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and Fanwood.

Game director Marcus Borden, the head coach at East Brunswick, reported that last year’s $32,000 raised is the record so far.

In addition to Snapple and the Home News Tribune, the U.S. Army is a big sponsor.

Igbinosun, an outstanding outside linebacker and one of the more imposing players on the Union County squad at 6-3, 250, will continue at Southern Connecticut State.

"It's Division 2, but when I went there and visited, it felt like home to me," Igbinosun said. "The football team was real serious. All my brothers played in college, so I can join the tradition."

Igbinosun doesn't have to be reminded of what happened at Veterans Field last November on the Saturday before Thanksgiving when Carteret prevented Rahway from having the opportunity to play again for the school's first state championship in football since 1984.

"This means a lot because I'm playing with a lot of great players," Igbinosun said. "The thing with Carteret, I'm going to have my last revenge on them."

Rahway did rebound to knock off arch rival Johnson 27-6 at home on Thanksgiving to finish 9-2. The Indians won the Mountain Division of the Mountain Valley Conference and won nine games for the first time since last playing for a state championship in 1999 when they were in the North 2, Group 3 championship game and fell to Morristown 46-0 at Giants Stadium.

"We only lost two games, so I thought we had a good season," Igbinosun said. "We had a great team. We stayed together. Even though we lost in the playoffs we still won a game after that against Clark (Johnson)."

Carteret - guided by head coach Matt Yascko, who is one of the Middlesex County coaches - ended up winning Central Jersey, Group 2 as the sixth seed. Before and after winning at second-seeded Rahway in the semifinals, the Ramblers won at third-seeded Delaware Valley 13-7 in the quarterfinals and downed fifth-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven 20-14 in last December's final at Rutgers.

One Union County All-Star that helped his team win a state championship is linebacker Hany Elshiekh (5-10, 190) of Brearley. During his junior season in the fall of 2006, Elshiekh's play on both sides of the ball helped the Bears capture their first state championship since 1991 when they held on to defeat Verona 21-20 in that year's North 2, Group 1 final at Giants Stadium.

Elshiekh is also one of the finest wrestlers to ever come out of Brearley. He won more than 100 matches, earning his 100th victory in a big win at Roselle Park this past year. Elshiekh also captured his first Region 3 championship in 2007-2008 and was one of the top 189-pounders in the state.

More importantly, he finished ranked No. 1 academically in his senior class. He will attend Boston College, but only as a student.

"This is exciting to get one last chance to strap on some pads and get out there," Elshiekh said. "Especially with the kids out here, everybody's a great player. After having some rivalries the last three years, it's pretty cool to be on the field and play with all of these guys."

Elshiekh played in two state championship games as a Brearley football player, with the varsity going 10-2 in 2005, 12-0 in 2006 and 8-2 in 2007. Brearley only lost two regular season games in that span and was 5-2 in state playoff games.

Elshiekh can also say that he has played on the only Union County team ever to go 12-0 so far.

"I've been to the last couple of games (Snapple Bowls) to see some of my friends play, so it looks like a pretty exciting atmosphere," Elshiekh said.

Other Brearley players on the Union County roster include offensive lineman Mark Arredondo (5-11, 230), running back Steve Margolin (5-10, 170) and wide receiver Max Vazquez (5-9, 165).

"This is a big thing," Elshiekh said. "There have been a lot of great players to come out of Brearley. This is a chance to show Brearley pride."

Elshiekh disclosed that his college decision came down to Boston College and Boston University.

"Boston College doesn't have a wrestling team, so I just decided to go to school," Elshiekh said. "Boston University, if I went there I was thinking of possibly wrestling, but I just decided to go to BC."

Elshiekh visited both schools.

"BC's finance department is good," Elshiekh said. "The campus is real nice and it's five minutes out of the city, so you get the best of both worlds."

Cranford's Chad Faulcon (5-11, 175), listed as a running back on the Union County roster, will remain in the Garden State and continue playing at Montclair State University for head coach Rick Giancola.

"A lot of seniors graduated in the secondary, so I'm going to play safety," Faulcon said.

Other Cranford players on the Union County roster include defensive tackle Robert Foster (5-11, 235), offensive lineman Sean Scanlon (6-2, 250) and safety Simon Smith (6-4, 190).

"This means a lot because it will be the last time I'll get to play with these guys and we have four from our team," said Faulcon, who helped lead the Cougars to a 6-4 record his senior season.

Cranford concluded its 2007 winning campaign with a convincing 34-6 win over Matawan in a Central Jersey, Group 2 consolation game. The Cougars were just two power points shy of qualifying for the state playoffs in the section as the eighth seed.

"Every year we came really close to making the playoffs, but fell just short," Faulcon said.

Union County has not won this game since 2005 and all of the All-Stars, including Faulcon, are aware of that.

"This is a big game," Faulcon said. "The series is tied at 7-7 and it's time for us to win it again."

Brearley head coach Scott Miller is the Union County squad's General Manager. Union County head coaches on the coaching staff include second-year mentors Reggie Robinson of Plainfield and Ken Wiggins of Roselle.

"Once you get here and you start practicing, some things look sloppy, but we've got a good group of kids," said Miller, who coached in last year's game and, once again, coached in this year's North-South Game at Rutgers won by the North 31-25. "As coaches, we ask that you nominate a kid that's a good kid and a good football player."

Miller, a 1987 Brearley graduate who went on to play at the University of Pittsburgh, has been at the helm of Brearley since 2002 and has an impressive record of 54-11 (.831). His resume at Brearley includes six winning seasons in six years, six playoff appearances, two state championship game appearances, one state championship (the school's first in 15 years) and a 6-5 playoff mark when it's the toughest time to win.

He is the only coach so far to guide a Union County team to a 12-0 season, doing so in 2006 when Brearley captured North 2, Group 1 for the first time since 1991. His past three teams have lost only two regular season games combined.

Miller would love to be part of a coaching staff that halts Middlesex County's two-game winning streak in the series before he embarks on his seventh season in charge of the Bears.

"So far in the first two days of practice it looks like we have a good group of kids that listen and practice well with each other," Miller said. "We've got some pretty good players. It's just a matter of what happens when game time comes."

Middlesex County played pretty well in the second half of last year's game to win a 17-10 decision at Kean University in Union. Union County led 7-3 at the half, with the game interrupted in the second quarter when the lights went out and did not come back on for another 35 minutes.

Middlesex County halted Union County's three-game winning streak with a 13-7 win at South Brunswick in 2006. Middlesex County has never won three games in a row in the series.

"We understand that this is an All-Star Game, but the reasons why we're doing this game is the stuff we do at the children's hospitals," Miller said. "That's important. That's what this game was set up for.

"Beside showcasing some of the talent that Middlesex County has and we have, we're really about raising money for the hospitals. We bring the players over there and they're able to interact with the kids."

Coaches like Miller stress that that kind of interaction is even more important than scoring a touchdown on Thursday night.

"If the kids can't make the commitment to attend all of the functions we have, then they can't play in the game," Miller said. "It's important for the kids to be at the hospitals so they can see why we're raising this money and the reasons why we actually have this game."

The first Snapple Bowl was contested at Union High School in 1994, patterned after the Monmouth-Ocean All-Star Game that is held on a Friday night in July. One of the reasons why the Snapple Bowl was made a Thursday night game was so everyone involved could still go down the shore or do other things the following night of that week.

A number of the bit more polished Division 1 players from both Union and Middlesex counties will compete in the New Jersey-New York Classic or the North-South All-Star Game. However, players from Union and Middlesex counties that compete in the Snapple Bowl are also very talented and highly-competitive.

To say the Snapple Bowl has stood the test of time would be accurate.

"Marcus Borden from East Brunswick does a tremendous job and the Snapple Bowl is a premier All-Star Game," Miller said. "You just look at the sponsors that we have. When you go to the game you see the things that are done; the pageantry of Snapple being involved, the U.S. Army now getting involved and the Home News Tribune.

"We have a tremendous amount of support from our sponsors. I know Marcus every year is working on making it bigger and better and he does a great job. Over the years, the dollar amounts that we have been able to raise for both hospitals is phenomenal. It's amazing what this game has turned into in terms of being a great event for, not only both counties, but also for the hospitals.

"This game is definitely a premier All-Star Game."

On Thursday night players from both teams will attempt to tackle whoever is carrying the ball. They have it easy compared to the children in the hospitals who have to tackle far more difficult tasks on a daily basis.

"When I was at Pitt and when I played at Pitt, we would go every month and we would visit the children's hospital in Pittsburgh," Miller said. "As I got older I actually became in charge of getting the players to go.

"These kids don't understand or maybe they just don't realize how fortunate they are to be able to do simple things like running and catching a football or throwing a football and being able to play football or basketball or whatever they do.

"When they go to the hospital it kind of awakens them on how fortunate they are. We're going to see kids in that hospital that are paraplegic or they can't get out of bed or their brain function doesn't allow them to do things with their limbs, so it's definitely eye-opening for the kids, but it kind of makes you feel good when you're there. You're helping the kids and helping the hospital and you're understanding what a good cause this is for.

"Our kids, when we leave there, really have a good understanding of how fortunate they really are."

LONGTIME HILLSIDE ASSISTANT COACH ZAPPULLA LOVES THE COMPETITION

John Zappulla's first season as an assistant coach at Hillside was in 1963 when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was President of the United States.

This is the eighth Snapple Bowl he's coaching in.

After Thursday night's game, he will continue to assist first-year Hillside head coach John Power in what will be his 46th season as an assistant for the Comets.

"I enjoy working with all the coaches from the county and also working with all the different players from all the schools," said Zappulla, who is always praised by the people he works with for his dedication to the sport. "To see the camaraderie and everyone working together is just great."

Hillside's head coach in 1963 when Zappulla first came aboard was Jim Taigia, who passed away in February of this year, Zappulla said.

"John (Power) is the 13th head coach I've worked for at Hillside," Zappulla said. "John is a great coach and the kids like him. Jim Hopke (head coach from 1999-2007) was also a great coach and did a fine job."

When asked what keeps him going year after year, the 69-year-old Zappulla simply said, "I just enjoy doing it."

NOTES: The Middlesex County squad began practice at East Brunswick on July 7, while the Union County team began Saturday at Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield and continued Sunday.

A Comedy for Kids show was scheduled for Sunday from 1-6 p.m. at Prime Time in Sayreville.

The Union team was to visit the Fanwood facility of the Children’s Specialized Hospital Monday morning and then continue practice in the afternoon.

The Middlesex squad was to visit the Lakeview School for Cerebral Palsy Monday and then continue practice afterwards.

Both squads will also practice Tuesday and then the annual banquet at the Pines Manor in Edison will follow Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Union County is 4-1 in games played at East Brunswick, winning in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2004 and losing in 1999.

This will be the first Snapple Bowl contested at East Brunswick in four years.

The last time Middlesex County hosted the game - which was in in 2006 - it was at South Brunswick.

The only other Middlesex County site was Sayreville in 1995. Union County sites have been Union and Kean University.

There have been 15 MVPs selected so far - two were chosen in 2005 - and all the MVPs have come from different schools.

The road team is 10-4 so far, while Middlesex County has outscored Union County 255-213.

Union County has the only shutout, that being a 13-0 win at East Brunswick in 2003.

The first home team to win was the Middlesex County team in 1999 when it captured a 28-7 decision at East Brunswick behind an MVP effort from Perth Amboy wide receiver Jeff LeSeur.

Corey Alfano, (6-0, 210), LB, Rahway

Mike Alleman,(6-1, 285), OL, Scotch Plains

Russ Anderson,(5-9, 175), WR, New Providence

Mark Arredondo,(5-11, 230), OL, Brearley

Jason Boff,(6-5, 220), DE, Scotch Plains

Charles Brown, (6-1, 190), S, Union

Matt Carbone, (5-11, 225), OL, Summit

Michael Chervenyak, (5-10, 190), QB, Scotch Plains

Dan DiCocco, (6-0, 190), LB, Dayton

Oreal Douglass, (5-11, 220), DE, Plainfield

John Dugan, (5-11, 205), DE, Westfield

Hany Elshiekh, (5-10, 190), LB, Brearley

Chad Faulcon, (5-11, 175), RB, Cranford

Robert Foster, (5-11, 235), DT, Cranford

Matt Fullowan, (5-10, 180), CB, Gov. Livingston

Tyler George, (6-5, 190), QB, Gov. Livingston

Joe Gilfedder, (5-11, 220), LB, Gov. Livingston

Timothy Green, (5-11, 210), LB, Scotch Plains

Jim Griffith, (6-3, 170), WR, New Providence

Keith Hood, (5-11, 225), LB, Roselle

Ike Igbinosun, (6-3, 250), OL, Rahway

Sean Kroeger, (5-10, 160), P/PK, New Providence

Jerelle Louis, (5-9, 165), WR, Linden

Steve Margolin, (5-10, 175), RB, Brearley

TJ MacDermant, (6-2, 195), TE, Roselle Park

Anthony Miller, (6-2, 270), OL, Elizabeth

Mike Mullin, (5-11, 225), LB, Johnson

Jalil Oates, (5-10, 200), LB, Elizabeth

Jake Parrott, (6-1, 200), DE, Johnson

Kenny Ridley, (5-10, 170), CB, Hillside

Matt Ruark, (6-0, 210), RB, Summit

Sean Scanlon, (6-2, 250), OL, Cranford

Simon Smith, (6-4, 190), S, Cranford

Max Vazquez, (5-9, 165), WR, Brearley

Robert Walker, (5-11, 235), DE, Plainfield

Tommy Wansaw, (6-3, 300), OL, Westfield

Demetrius Washington, (6-4, 180), WR, Rahway

Stefaun Whitehead, (5-9, 170), WR, Union

Gerod Whitted, (6-1, 235), OL, Roselle

Coaching staff: Ken Wiggins, Roselle. Lonnie Stevenson, Roselle.

Joe Martucci, Jr., Elizabeth. John Zappulla, Hillside.

Carmen Scuderi, Johnson. Dave Pinto, Hillside.

Jim Young, Johnson. Reggie Robinson, Plainfield.

Casey Ransone, Elizabeth. Eugene Brown, Roselle.

Kevin Coleman, Plainfield. Ed Cumming, New Providence.

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Samiyah Brown, Union

Amy Bulger, New Providence

Amber Byleckie, Roselle Park

Brynn Conway, Cranford

Caitlin Ferraro, Westfield

Natalie Herrera, Summit

Alexus Joseph, Rahway

Chelsea Lusk, Scotch Plains

Jonay Miller, Linden

Genna Mirenda, Governor Livingston

Jennifer Peterson, Johnson

Ashley Planko, Brearley

Caitlin Quagliato, Dayton

JacQuia Reid, Elizabeth

Niyala Shaw, Roselle

Janal Spicer, Plainfield

Head coach: Nikki Savino, Cranford

• •

Davon Adams, (6-0, 165), DB, North Brunswick

David Amrhein, (6-0, 220), DE, South Brunswick

Scott Barton, (6-3, 250), C, South Plainfield

Larry Belotta, (5-10, 185), SS, Bishop Ahr

Jeremy Bennett, (5-10, 200), LB, Perth Amboy

Ray Bryan, (6-0, 192), DE, East Brunswick

Rahson Cooper, (5-10, 175), QB, Piscataway

Jarvis Crandell, (5-10, 195), RB, South River

Joe Creighton, (5-7, 14), DB, Iselin Kennedy

Joe DeQuarto, (6-0, 225), DT, Carteret

Ryan Don Diego, (5-10, 210), LB, Colonia

Keith Downs, (6-2, 254), OG, New Brunswick

Nick Farriella, (6-1, 190), FS, Middlesex

Kyle Gigliello, (5-11, 205), TE, Monroe

Jonathan Grasso, (5-10, 290), C, Colonia

Charles Greene, (6-1, 170), WR, Metuchen

Jovan Harrison, (6-2, 230), TE, Highland Park

Nick Hewitt, (5-9, 240), OT, Dunellen

Adams Issaka, (6-3, 220), DE, Woodbridge

Michael Knight, (5-8, 170), SS, Sayreville

Jordan Leitner, (5-8, 200), QB, Metuchen

Byron Lewin, (5-10, 185), RB, Carteret

Dan Litz, (5-11, 285), DT, South River

Chris Luma, (6-4, 220), DE, Bishop Ahr

Kyle McMahon, (5-11, 190), LB, South Plainfield

Dontre Merricks, (5-10, 175), CB, Cardinal McCarrick

Ryan Meseroll, (6-0, 210), RB, Monroe

CJ Mooney, (5-11, 190), LB, Spotswood

Kevin Norris, (6-0, 223), OT, East Brunswick

Frank Olexson, (6-2, 260), OT, Monroe

Reinaldo Rodriguez, (5-11, 170), WR, Sayreville

Chris Scerbo, (6-0, 245), OG, JP Stevens

Augustine Sesay, (6-2, 220), DT, Sayreville

Chris Suozzo, (6-1, 185), FS, Old Bridge

Al Tampa, (6-4, 205), QB, Carteret

Zach Tivald, (6-0, 195), RB, Edison

Frank Velardi, (5-8, 180), LB, Sayreville

Anthony Viola, (5-9, 175), WR, Woodbridge

James White, (5-11, 185), LB, Piscataway

Josh Williams, (6-0, 190), WR, Edison

Coaching staff: Ben LaSala, Colonia. Bob Molarz, Monroe.

Matt Yascko, Carteret. Keith Kopinas, Carteret.

Justin Muniz, Carteret. Billy Hamilton, South Plainfield.

Brian Russo, Woodbridge. Chris Beagan, Monroe.

Rick Kondrak, Colonia. Jim Collins, Colonia.

Nick Ruta, Colonia. Andy Cianfano, Colonia.

Managers: Marissa Geenstein, East Brunswick.

Caitlin Darra, East Brunswick.

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Kristin Brennan, Colonia

Susan Caputo, Carteret

Ashley Carlino, North Brunswick

Jaclyn Cassidy, Spotswood

Alisha Davidson, Woodbridge

Sondra DeLuca, Edison

Danielle Durso, Perth Amboy

Kimberly Emslie, Old Bridge

Sydney Gentile South Plainfield

Alexia Giordano, Sayreville

Erica Gullo, Monroe

Candice Howard, New Brunswick

Jodi Mayer, Middlesex

Allyson Molchan, South River

Samantha Olcott, South Brunswick

Carly Ronca, Dunellen

Francesca Rovito, JP Stevens

Kimberly Stiver, Bishop Ahr

Lucinda Toto, East Brunswick

Jocelyn Werner, Piscataway

Allison White, Iselin Kennedy

Head coach: Colleen Meyers, Spotswood.

2007: Middlesex 17, Union 10

MVP - Aireil Adams, New Brunswick, wide receiver

At Kean University in Union

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2006: Middlesex 13, Union 7

MVP - Herbert Nieves, Sayreville, defensive end

At South Brunswick High School

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2005: Union 21, Middlesex 14

UC MVP - Chris Drechsel, Cranford, quarterback

MC MVP - Matt Mariano, East Brunswick, quarterback

At Kean University in Union

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2004: Union 19, Middlesex 7

MVP - Jan Cocozziello, Westfield, quarterback

At East Brunswick High School

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2003: Union 13, Middlesex 0

MVP - Mike Vicci, Johnson, quarterback

At East Brunswick High School

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2002: Middlesex 28, Union 20

MVP - Zack Earvin, South River, running back

At Kean University in Union

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2001: Union 17, Middlesex 16

MVP - Brandon Bracey, Linden, defensive back

At East Brunswick High School

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2000: Union 27, Middlesex 21

MVP - Billy Gilbert, Elizabeth, running back

At Union High School

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1999: Middlesex 28, Union 7

MVP - Jeff LeSeur, Perth Amboy, wide receiver

At East Brunswick High School

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1998: Middlesex 33, Union 7

MVP - Luke Cianello, Dunellen, quarterback

At Union High School

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1997: Union 28, Middlesex 7

MVP - Louis Campbell, Rahway, quarterback

At East Brunswick High School

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1996: Middlesex 21, Union 6

MVP - Kenny Rogers, South Brunswick, running back

At Union High School

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1995: Union 17, Middlesex 15

MVP - Jamie Allen, Summit, wide receiver

At Sayreville High School

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1994: Middlesex 35, Union 14

MVP - Khamisi Jackson, Monroe, running back

At Union High School

•

Series lead: Even 7-7

Home team: 4-10

Road team: 10-4

Most points: Middlesex, 255

Least points: Union, 213

Shutouts: 1 - Union County, 2003