Manville’s Collin Shimp (middle) was one of more than three dozen football student-athletes from Middlesex County honored at the 55th annual Bill Denny/Rutgers Football chapter of the National Football/College Hall of Fame dinner at the Pines Manor in Edison on March 1, 2026. (Source: @manvillefootball on Instagram)
More than three dozen high school football players from Middlesex and Somerset Counties, along with several coaches, administrators, educators and officials were honored Sunday at the 55th annual awards dinner of the Bill Denny/Rutgers Football Letterwinners Chapter of the National Football/College Hall of Fame at the Pines Manor in Edison.
The local chapter also awarded several scholarships, now having given out more than $380,000 in funds to deserving Middlesex and Somerset County Scholar-Athletes, over a span of nearly six decades.
The ceremony was presided over by Fred Roselli, chapter president, with awards presented by Tom Bara and Frank Noppenberger.
Read on to learn more about all the honorees.
Distinguished American: This award went to South River’s Rich Marchesi, the longtime Rams’ skipper and alum who will be heading into his 39th season this fall. Marchesi’s record is 228-154, with four Central Jersey Group 1 titles, in 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2001. He also played with with future Penn State All-American and NFL standout Kenny Jackson on the vaunted 1979 undefeated team as a senior, which went undefeated and was a state champion, ending the season ranked No. 3 in New Jersey. A five-time Bill Denny Coach of the Year, he is the winningest coach in South River football history, eventually surpassing Denny. Marchesi was inducted in the the New Hersey Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001.
Edward “Red” Losiewicz Distinguished Official: Given to the official who has “demonstrated sportsmanship, integrity and character in interscholastic athletics,” Tim McDonald was this year’s recipient. An East Brunswick resident, he started officiating football in 1997, and also has been an official for lacrosse, softball and basketball.
Chester Zdrodowski Distinguished Educator (Middlesex): Old Bridge Athletic Director Dan DiMino was the recipient of this award, A Monroe resident, he was named AD in 2016 and has overseen an athletics program that was won 31 division titles, 26 conference championships, 14 NJSIAA sectional crowns, and nine New Jersey state titles. DiMino also is on the Greater Middlesex Conference Executive Committee, and manages scheduling for the entire league. Among several charitable endeavors, DiMino helps lead the Old Bridge Holiday Knight Toy Drive around the holidays, partnering with the Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
Chester Zdrodowski Distinguished Educator (Somerset): This one goes to Michael Hoppe, the Athletic Director at Bernards. Hoppe is a Mountaineer through and through, an alum who has been at his old stomping grounds since graduating from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) in 19984. Starting out as a teacher and coaching three sports, he has been the AD for the last 26 years.
Coach of the Year (Middlesex): Matt Donaghue just wrapped up his fourth season as the Old Bridge football coach, promoted to the head job after Anthony Lanzafama stepped down. At 25-17 in that span, this past fall was a breakout year, following a 6-4 campaign in 2024, as the Knights went all the way to the “Central Jersey” Group 5 final, where they fell to Washington Twp. out of South Jersey. Donaghue also is the head coach of the baseball team at Old Bridge, which won the Central Jersey Group 4 title in 2023, and was a finalist a year ago.
Coach of the Year (Somerset): Montgomery’s Sean Carty takes home the award in his first year on the job, after being promoted from Offensive Coordinator under Zoran Milich, who stepped down as the school’s first and only football coach after the 2024 campaign. The Cougars went 8-4 this past fall, with signature wins over Somerville and Sayreville, and went all the way to the North Jersey, Section 2 Group 4 title game – their first ever – where they fell to defending champion Phillipsburg. A Rutgers graduate and four-year letterwinner, he played for his father, Hall of Fame coach Kevin Carty, at Somerville. His brother, Kevin Jr., is the head coach at neighboring Hillsborough, with his other brother, Ryan, is the head coach at the University of Delaware.
Sporstmanship School of the Year: Highland Park, Bridgewater-Raritan
STUDENT-ATHLETE HONOREES:
Rutgers: Jai Patel (South Brunswick)
Middlesex County:
- Jonathan Hughes, Carteret
- Dylan Chiera, Colonia
- Jackson Portik, Dunellen
- Noah DeJesus, East Brunswick
- Robert Roma, Jr., Edison
- Stamatis Hantsoulis, Highland Park
- Grant Lorentzen, JFK
- Esteban Reyes, JP Stevens
- A.J. Crisci, Metuchen
- Sean Hughes, Middlesex
- John Lawless, Monroe
- Jeffren Paulino, New Brunswick
- Zachary Cipot, North Brunswick
- Mark Fultz, North Plainfield
- Brody Nugent, Old Bridge
- Sebastian Medina Moreno, Perth Amboy
- Brady Gallogly, Piscataway
- Joseph Curbelo, Sayreville
- Jacob Walczyk, South Brunswick
- Kenneth Young, South Plainfield
- Filipe Granadiero, South River
- Gavin Pereira, Spotswood
- Tom Myers, St. Joseph-Metuchen
- Anthony Perez, Jr., St. Thomas Aquinas
- Josh Allen, Woodbridge
Somerset County:
- Justin Simpson, Bernards
- Moaaz Abdelmonem, Bound Brook
- Stephen Pikulin, Bridgewater-Raritan
- Francis Flores, Jr., Franklin
- Shane Khurana, Hillsborough
- Bo Almeida, Immaculata
- Collin Shimp, Manville
- Michael Bellamy, Montgomery
- Ryan Moye, Pingry
- Anthony Valera, Ridge
- J. Griffin Kaye, Somerville
- Jake Herring, Watchung Hills
Pop Warner (Middlesex): Daniel Crowley, Edison Jets
Pop Warner (Somerset): Vincent Sandomenico, Watchung Hills Wolverines
Discover more from Central Jersey Sports Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.