fundraiser – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Less than a week after suffering serious injuries in a car crash in North Jersey on the way home from a family trip, Middlesex High School senior James Matula – a member of the Blue Jays’ 2025 state championship baseball team – has passed away. He was 17 years old.

The news came out Sunday as his teammates, friends, family, and many from the Middlesex community and beyond attended a somber prayer mass Saturday evening at Our Lady of Mount Virgin church on Harris Avenue in the borough.

Teammates Chris Kozak – a pitcher who played centerfield next to Matula, who was often in left field – and Marcus Lavornia, also seniors who would have graduated with Matula this June, were among the first to post tributes Saturday night on Instagram. You can click on the images below to be brought directly to their Instagram posts.

While an official account of the accident has not been publicly made available, after the crash, Matula was flown to a North Jersey hospital, where those close to the team say he died Saturday as a result of his injuries.

Capital Craft – a restaurant and brewpub on Route 22 in Green Brook, which borders Middlesex, and has a connection to the family – has an active GoFundMe fundraiser for the family. As of late Friday night, it had raised over $13,000 toward a goal of $25,000. That number grew to well over $38,000 as of 10 pm Saturday.

*Middlesex celebrates with the NJSIAA Group 1 championship trophy after a 3-1 win over Midland Park at the Wood-Ridge Athletic Complex on June 16, 2025. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)*

“The Matula family has been a part of the Capital Craft family for 5 years,” writes Brielle Cooper, who started the fundraiser. “We have watched them grow into beautiful young adults and are so grateful to be a part of their lives.”

Matula played the outfield and hit .263 last season as a junior on the Group 1 champion baseball team, with six runs batted in 44 plate appearances and a couple of stolen bases.

Note: This story will be updated with information on services once it becomes available.

Anyone not living under a rock knows Manville was one of the hardest hit communities in New Jersey after the remnants of Hurricane Ida swept across the Northeast.

And, sadly, the Manville Youth Athletic League was not spared.

The Manville Youth Athletic League is all volunteer, offering various athletic programs for the children of the boro, and surrounding local towns, including football, cheerleading, and wrestling.

It’s headquarters at Gerber Field along Dukes Parkway East – on the banks of the Raritan River – took on several feet of water, damaging equipment, fields and the building itself.

A Gofundme page has been set up to benefit the MYAL, with a goal of $10,000. So far, $900 has been raised.

Click here to be taken directly to the Gofundme page to benefit the Manville Youth Athletic League. All donations are fully tax-deductible.

According to the page, “While our proud citizens always provide monetary donations, right now they are simply too beholden to their own personal financial hardships to contribute to M.Y.A.L. We are humbly reaching out to our neighboring towns, organizations and friends to ask for help.”

Water remained in the Manville Youth Athletic League building on dukes Parkway East following the remnants of Hurricane Ida and massive flooding in the borough. (Source: MYAL Gofundme fundraising page)

Manville was decimated by Ida’s remnants, with hundreds upon hundreds of homes and businesses damaged, many ruined beyond repair.

On the Manville high school football team alone, four student-athletes lost their homes, now a total loss. But after their teammates helped them, they all helped the rest of the neighborhood.

Listen to their story here:

And while the high school team was able to open its season Friday with a 48-6 road win at Dunellen, and now plays its next two games at Ned Panfile Stadium, its home grounds off North 13th street, things are looking bleak for the Manville Youth Athletic League.

“A few weeks ago our children were bursting with excitement as they kicked off practice for the fall seasons of football and cheer,” the Gofundme page says. “If you have the wherewithal to assist, we would greatly appreciate it and will ensure that every cent is used to rebuild and restore so that our children can continue playing their hearts out for the sports they love.”

It goes on to say, “There are more challenges and pressures today than every before for our youth and giving them access to team sports provides so many healthy and necessary benefits for them- please help us ensure our children can continue the proud tradition of Mustang pride through the M.Y.A.L.!”

Once again, pleas click here to be taken directly to the Gofundme page to benefit the Manville Youth Athletic League. All donations are fully tax-deductible.