GMC well-represented in Phil Simms North-South All-Star Game - MyCentralJersey.com

Greg Tufaro Bridgewater Courier News

Published 10:44 PM EDT Jun 22, 2019

A quartet of Home News Tribune first-team All-Greater Middlesex Conference selections highlight the six players who will represent the league in the 41st annual Phil Simms North-South All-Star Classic at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium on Monday night.

The contest, which kicks off at 7 and features recently graduated high school seniors, is the state’s longest running all-star game, dating back to 1978.

“The North-South is the premier all-star game in the state of New Jersey,” said MyCentralJersey.com football analyst Marcus Borden, an NJSIAA and NJFCA Hall of Fame mentor. “It’s had some tremendous and great players that had the opportunity to go on and play in the NFL, so it’s exciting for the players in the GMC to be participating, getting together to showcase their talent.”

L.J. Smith of Highland Park is among more than a dozen NFL players who participated in the North-South game. Other North-South alumni who went on to play in the NFL include Kareem McKenzie, Irving Fryer, Jim Jeffcoat, Dan Klecko, William Green, Alonzo Spellman and Ricky Proehl.

The North-South game has gained more cachet since Simms, a 15-year NFL veteran and MVP of Super Bowl XXI, lent his name to it six years ago.

Nearly 90 players from more than 87 schools were selected to play in this year’s All-Star game with participants coming from as far north as Sussex County and as far south as Cape May County.

The GMC’s representatives in the game will suit up for the South squad, whose 44-man roster features 19 players from the Shore Conference, which encompasses Monmouth and Ocean County.

The South All-Stars, who have won the last two meetings, including a convincing 38-16 victory a year ago, lead the all-time series 20-18-2.

The last victory for the North was a 7-0 blanking of the South in 2016. The shutout was the game’s first in seven years and only the seventh in the series’ history. The seven points matched the second fewest ever scored in the event.

Following is a capsule look at how the GMC’s participants in this year’s North-South game fared during their senior seasons.

Jose Andujar (Middlesex)

The best two-way performer in the Gold Division, Andujar was the glue to a once injury-riddled Middlesex squad that enjoyed a spectacular second-half turnaround. He led the Blue Jays with 91 tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a sack. The key player in a triple-option offense, Andujar rushed for 748 yards and 11 touchdowns on 140 carries. He played through a shoulder injury and fractured finger in the season finale.

Jacari Carter (Sayreville)

Carter amassed 866 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns in a balanced offense for the reigning Central/South bowl champions. The slot receiver took snaps as a Wildcat and as a true quarterback. He also returned punts. Carter recorded four interceptions and recovered a fumble as a defensive back. He recorded 52 tackles. He also caused a fumble and recovered a fumble.

Devon Fowlkes (J.P. Stevens)

Fowlkes was a dynamic playmaker for a J.P. Stevens squad that enjoyed a resurgence, winning more games in 2018 (four) than the Hawks won since 2013. Fowlkes rushed 46 times for 298 yards and caught 34 passes for 459 yards. His 757 all-purpose yards ranked second on the team to Kasi Hazzard.

Will Hronich (Metuchen)

Best known as a quarterback, Hronich will line up at safety in the North-South game. As a signal caller, Hronich completed 67 of 142 passes for 872 yards and three touchdowns for a shorthanded and injury-riddled team a year ago. Hronich was the conference’s fourth-leading passes as a junior, completing 84 of 163 attempts for 1,013 yards and nine touchdowns.

Juwan Jackson (Piscataway)

A three-year starter and the second-leading rusher in school history (behind four-year starter Elijah Barnwell), Jackson rushed for a conference-leading 1,886 yards and 31 touchdowns. He averaged 10.6 yards per carry. Jackson’s 33 total touchdowns and 216 points scored are also single-season school records. As a linebacker, Jackson recorded 41 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He was the Home News Tribune’s 2018 Offensive Player of the Year.

Noah Stansbury (Edison)

Stansbury, who led the state with nine interceptions, helped anchor a defense that limited eight opponents, including reigning Central/South bowl champion Sayreville, to two scores or less (Stansbury had a pick and a scoring grab in that 13-12 loss to Sayreville). He posted 43 tackles. A wideout, he also paced Edison with 17 receptions for 217 yards and was tied for the team lead with five touchdowns.

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