Tag: Chet Parlavecchio

by Mike Pavlichko

Three more TD runs from Munn send New Providence into first sectional title game since 2010, with 21-14 win over Hasbrouck Heights

Run, Munn, Run.

That’s the mantra for the New Providence football team, as the second-seeded Pioneers beat third-seed Hasbrouck Heights Friday night in the North 2, Group 1 semifinals, 21-14, and advanced to a sectional final for the first time since 2010.

The Pioneers will play at top-seed Cedar Grove (11-0) next Friday night; the Panthers beat fourth-seed Verona in the other semifinal in the section, 42-14.

Senior quarterback T.J. Munn was nearly impossible to bring down on several occasions, running unofficially for 128 yards and three touchdowns, staking his team to a 14-0 lead at halftime.

The Pioneers actually led 21-0 with 4:23 in the third before Hasbrouck Heights started to make it close. A two-yard run by Jake Summers less than a minute into the final quarter got the Aviators within two scores, then they punched another one in with 1:22 to play on a 12-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a nine-yard TD pass from Daniel Amendola to Michael Napolitano, their stud runningback, who took several snaps in a wildcat.

But Hasbrouck’s on-side kick attempt was recovered by New Providence, which came up with big plays when the needed them in the win, and the Pioners were able to run the clock out.

It’ll be the first sectional finals appearance for New Providence under eighth-year head coach Chet Parlavecchio, Jr., who won his 50th game as head coach in last Saturday’s opening round against Boonton.

Junior runningback A.J. Whitehead finished with 73 yards on 17 carries for the Pioneers.

Click below for postgame reaction, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

It was a big year for Barth, and he’s looking for an encore – and then some

Not many people came close to what Somerville’s Cookie Desiderio – the Central Jersey Sports Radio Offensive Player of the Year – did on the football field in 2020.

Of the few who did, Charlie Barth was one of them. And as CJSR’s Two-Way Player of the Year, the New Providence standout showed he could excel on both sides of the football.

READ MORE: When does he rest? Charlie Barth of New Providence is Two-Way Player of the Year

Plenty of football players come onto the field for offense and defense, but usually excel at one side more than the other. Not so with Barth, who led the Big Central, and was 4th in the state in rushing with 1,702 yards in a shortened seven-game regular season that included two weeks of “postseason.” He notched a touchdown every 7.4 carries, second in the league to Desiderio, and reached the goal line 25 times. On defense, he led the Big Central with 115 tackles, the tenth best total in the Garden State.

We caught up with Barth as we presented him a commemorative football for his efforts, while his former lacrosse teammates practiced behind him. Barth played lacrosse as a freshman, and didn’t have a season last year due to the COVID-19 shutdown, but is sitting out this year to spend more time in the weight room getting ready for what hen hopes will be a big senior season on the gridiron.

New Providence standout Charlie Barth and his head coach Chet Parlavecchio talk about Barth’s excellent 2020 season, and look ahead to 2021.