The build to 2024 was a long one, but the hard work paid off.
Toiling through years of teams with barely two dozen players, the Highland Park football team ended up with more Owls on the varsity roster at the end of the season than they had at the beginning.
Now, that’s saying something.
But first, the Owls made a statement. The did last year, and all the years before, when they refused to quit. Last year, with an 0-9 record, they said “Why not?” to one more game, down at Point Beach.
After 51 straight losses, more than anyone else in the state at the time, they finally got a win, and beat the Garnet Gulls.
This year? They won their first three to give them a four-game winning streak, then finished the year 6-3.
And that has earned them Turnaround Team of the Year honors for 2024 from Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Highland Park senior Markos Hantsoulis and head coach Shawn Harrison:
