While Highland Park may have been Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Turnaround Team of the Year in 2024, winning six games last season after going 1-51 from 2017 through 2023, you could have put Belvidere down as “1b” in that category just looking at one year to the next.
Jordon Schreffler’s team went from 0-9 in his debut season at the tiny Warren County school to 3-7 in 2023, and then 8-2 last year, a truly impressive five-win improvement. The Seaters’ only regular season loss came to Boonton in their opener, and they made the playoffs, falling to Verona in the opening round of the North 2, Group 1 bracket.
The numbers were impressive: 1,230 passing yards from quarterback Kyle Blew, who threw for 22 touchdowns. Mason Chamberlain racked up a team-high 36 catches for 400 yards and seven touchdowns, while the ground game put together a 1,116-yard season, led by 316 yards and two TDs from Julian Dorfman in a runningback-by-committee situation.
All of them are seniors, though, and gone for 2025, as are a few key others, but Schreffler likes what he has back. That includes Elijah White, a sophomore wide receiver who only had 19 catches a year ago, but outdid Chamberlain by 21 yards (421 total) on the receiving end. He also had seven runs for 53 yards.
And then there are seniors Brayden Duckworth and Geoffrey Young, who Schreffler had with him at Big Central Media Day back on August 7th.
Both were freshmen in Schreffler’s first season. Duckworth is a two-way lineman, while Young plays offensive line and linebacker. And that could be an indication of where Belvidere’s strength lies: line play.
Three of their five starters up front on D are back, while the entire offensive line returns. Defensively, Young racked up five sacks last season, two fumble recoveries including a scoop-and-score, and an interception, while Duckworth had three sacks, 84 total tackles, and also logged two fumble recoveries, one for a touchdown.
Click below to hear Belvidere head coach Jordon Schreffler and seniors Brayden Duckworth and Geoffrey Young talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Media Day: