Voorhees senior Matteo Tramutola is now the school’s all-time leading rusher, and the Week 6 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week. (Source: @matteo.tram on Instagram)
We like it when a Player of the Week nominee does more than one thing.
Last Saturday, Matteo Tramutola of Voorhees did four.
He may get most of his attention for what he does when he runs the football, but he also plays defense, and punts. Oh, and he plays baseball, too.
Last Saturday, he carried 26 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns, with the second giving his team a 21-14 lead in the rain at Governor Livingston, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. He also had seven solo and 3 assisted tackles on defense, and helped the Vikings win the field position battle with his punting, in difficult conditions.
In the process, he became the school’s all-time rushing leader with 2,726 career yards to go along with 36 career TDs. The yardage eclipses the school’s previous benchmark of 2,652, held by Charlie Rodenberger (2013-2016) according to second-year head coach John Hack, who Tramutola also credits with changing the culture in Glen Gardner and turning the program around.
From 2018 through 2022, Voorhees had just one above .500 season, in 2022. After going 3-6 last year, the Vikings are 6-1 and in 12th in the South 2 playoff standings, looking very much the part of a playoff club.
For all his efforts, but especially this week, Matteo Tramutola of Voorhees is the Week 7 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week.
The Vikings (6-1) are back in action this Friday night at home against Hillside (1-5).
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Week Six Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Matteo Tramutola of Voorhees:
The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.
Honorable Mentions:
- Geoffrey Young, Belvidere: In a 16-0 win over South Hunterdon last Friday, the senior carried 17 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns, accounting for 14 of the team’s 16 points. His second TD sealed the game with a one-yard run, then ended it for good with a sack in the end zone for a safety. He also had 12 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble at middle linebacker.
- Zahmir Moore, Bound Brook: In a 38-28 road win at Middlesex that puts the Crusaders at 5-2 – their best record since finishing the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the same record – the junior wideout caught four passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns of five and 85 yards. He also had ten tackles out of the secondary on defense, with seven solos.
- Andrew Schwarz, Hillsborough: In a 30-18 win over rival Bridgewater-Raritan at home last Friday, the senior runningback did yoeman’s work. The yards(154) weren’t as important as the carries, of which he had 36, part of the Raiders’ “offense is the best defense” strategy to keep the Panthers offense off the field. He finished the night with four touchdowns, and also a TFL on defense at the linebacker spot.
- Isaiah Bennett, Manville: The senior only carried three times in a 62-7 win over Dunellen Friday night, but he scored all three times! He went for 93 yards on the night, but then from his outside linebacker position had a 40-yard pick six, along with four tackles – two solo – and a tackle for loss in just one half of game action.
- Shaun Jackson, Sayreville: The Bomber senior went over 200 yards rushing for the third time this season, setting a new personal best with 338 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 37-28 win at Franklin on Friday night.
Other Notable Performances:
- Logan Stevens, Bernards: In a huge, 17-14, come-from-behind win over Summit Saturday, the senior runningback carried 17 times for 176 yards and a touchdown, with four catches for 20 more yards. At corner, he also notched six tackles and a TFL.
- Ben Ibach, Delaware Valley: The Terrier sophomore wide receiver had six catches for 70 yards and a rush for 13 in a 21-19 loss to A.L. Johnson Friday. In the secondary, he came up with 14 tackles.
- Grant Lorentzen, JFK: The senior wide receiver had seven catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-13 win over North Plainfield. At defensive back, he logged four tackles, 3 assists, and also had 43 return yards on three attempts on special teams.
- Justus Leitner, Metuchen: In a 53-0 blanking of JP Stevens, the Bulldog senior wide receiver had eight catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns, but what came first was a 43-yard pick six from his cornerback position on defense. His first offensive TD was a 56-yarder, and his second came on a diving catch in the end zone.
- Julius King, North Plainfield: The senior rushed 13 times for 130 yards and a score, also adding three catches for 70 yards, in a 33-13 home loss to JFK.
- CJ Griffith, Ridge: In a 28-7 home win over Hunterdon Central, he finished with 121 yards and a touchdown, the final one of the night in a battle of the Red Devils.
- Andrew Avent, Rahway: In a 49-20 win over Watchung Hills Friday that put the Indians in the thick of the playoff chase, Avent carried 10 times for 201 rushing yards – just over 20 yards per carry – with three touchdowns from 77, eight and 42 yards out. His first TD came on the first play of the game from scrimmage, and he scored on three of his first four carries in the game. Avent also had a sack on defense for -7 yards. He’s also close to several school records and personal bests that he could set in the next week or so.
- Jamir Hall, Union: The junior runningback carried 12 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the Farmers, in a 21-13 win over South Brunswick Friday night, their first victory of the season.
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