Tag: Rich Seubert

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills veteran Joe Ascolese promoted from OC to head coach of Warrior football program after departure of Rich Seubert

Joe Ascolese, the Watchung Hills football team’s Offensive Coordinator who has spent nearly two decades on the program’s staff over two stints, has been named the Warrriors’ new head coach, following the recent departure of Rich Suebert.

The move was approved Tuesday night by the Watchung Hills Regional High School Board of Education, according to Athletic Director Dan Root.

The 45-year-old Ascolese has been the team’s OC since 2019, and also was with the program as an assistant from 2005 through 2015. In between, he coached split ends, tight ends and defensive backs at A.L. Johnson in Clark.

He has also been a physical education and health teacher at Watchung Hills for more than two decades, and was named Watchung Hills Regional High School Educator of the Year in 2024.

This will be his first head coaching job.

Seubert stepped down in late March after a ten-year run leading the Warrior football program. He turned the program’s fortunes around in a few years, getting the team to .500 at 5-5 in 2019, and went 5-2 in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

The Warriors’ best two seasons under his tutelage came in 2022 and 2023. The first of those teams went 7-3, while the ’23 squad went 8-3, with an opening round playoff win over Bridgewater-Raritan, just the program’s second playoff win ever. In 2023, Seubert was named Somerset County Coach of the Year by the Bill Denny/Rutgers Football Letterwinners Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.

Seubert’s squads finished 41-57 over ten seasons, and Athletic Director Dan Root says Seubert’s impact was felt more than just in terms of wins and losses, and Xs and Os on the football field.

“We were very fortunate to have him as our head coach for as long as we did,” Root told CJSR Saturday morning via text message. “He gave so much to the program, the school and the community, and for that I am incredibly grateful. I know that ultimately whatever he decides to do, he will be successful.”

Suebert was a starter on the Giants’ offensive line in their Cinderella Super Bowl XLII run that culminated with a 17-14 win over New England, the David Tyree “Helmet Catch” game. According to the Giants website, he played in 104 games for Big Blue with 88 starts over nine seasons after joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2001.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Joe Ascolese about taking over the Watchung Hills football program:

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills football coach Rich Seubert steps down after a decade leading the Warriors

After retiring from football with the New York Giants in his mid-30s with a Super Bowl ring on his finger, Wisconsin native Rich Seubert and his family moved to California for a few years, where he coached a little football at the high school level.

But eventually, he came back to the East Coast, returning to New Jersey, and started coaching the offensive line at Watchung Hills. One year later, in the summer of 2016, he was promoted to head coach.

Now, after ten years, Seubert has stepped down as the program’s mentor. Seubert said in a text message to Central Jersey Sports Radio Saturday morning that it was “just time to move on,” but notes he “loved his time coaching” and said he would continue to be around the area, since his daughter is a freshman at Watchung Hills.

Seubert inherited a 4-6 program from 2015, but the Warriors struggled early on, going 2-8, 4-6, and 0-10 in his first three seasons. Then, things turned around, as Watchung Hills got to .500 at 5-5 in 2019, and went 5-2 in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

The Warriors’ best two seasons under his tutelage came in 2022 and 2023. The first of those teams went 7-3, while the ’23 squad went 8-3, with an opening round playoff win over Bridgewater-Raritan, just the program’s second playoff win ever.

In 2023, Seubert was named Somerset County Coach of the Year by the Bill Denny/Rutgers Football Letterwinners Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.

Seubert’s squads finished 41-57 over ten seasons, and Athletic Director Dan Root says Seubert’s impact was felt more than just in terms of wins and losses, and Xs and Os on the football field.

“We were very fortunate to have him as our head coach for as long as we did,” Root told CJSR Saturday morning via text message. “He gave so much to the program, the school and the community, and for that I am incredibly grateful. I know that ultimately whatever he decides to do, he will be successful.”

Suebert was a starter on the Giants’ offensive line in their Cinderella Super Bowl XLII run that culminated with a 17-14 win over New England, the David Tyree “Helmet Catch” game. According to the Giants website, he played in 104 games for Big Blue with 88 starts over nine seasons after joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2001.

by Alec Crouthamel

Team Rocky wins second annual Shaun O’Hara Bowl over Team Otto, to benefit the Shaun O’Hara Foundation

With graduation on the horizon, many of the top senior football players from across Somerset and Hunterdon counties came together to lace ’em up one last time at the high school level, and benefit a great cause.

The second annual Shaun O’Hara Bowl came and went at Hillsborough High School, where O’Hara’s No. 66 jersey number is retired. Team Rocky took down Team Otto 28-0 for their second straight victory, but the biggest impact in the game was not made on the scoreboard.

The team names give plenty of Raider history, as well. Otto Gsell was a longtime football coach at Hillsborough, becoming an assistant in 1987 and serving as defensive coordinator on state title teams in 1973 and 1980. He was head coach from 1988 to 1993, then moved back into an assistant role and head freshman coach under Mantz. He passed away in 2000, and was inducted into the Hillsborough Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

Rocky Forte was inducted into the Hall in 2011. He was Athletic Director from 1978-2003, also serving as head wrestling coach for several years, but mainly oversaw the Raiders’ successful growth from a Group 2 athletic program in 1978 into a Group 4 by 2003, as the population in town exploded over several decades. He passed away in 2009.

The game made its second straight appearance after taking over for the Basilone Bowl, the game benefits the Shaun O’Hara Foundation, which “focuses on creating awareness of life-threatening diseases for which there is little funding, helps to raise funds to support other 501(c) (3) organizations’ health and education initiatives”, with a focus on supporting research and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.

As for the game itself, both teams took a bit of time to get going, with neither team reaching the red zone until late in the first half.

Both defensive lines got off to hot starts, taking down the opposing quarterback and stuffing the run game.

Late in the first half, however, Team Rocky took its first swing.

Aided by multiple defensive penalties and fourth-down conversions, they got on the doorstep of the red zone. One play after converting on a fourth-and-three, Bound Brook quarterback Jeremiah Norwood found Watchung Hills wide receiver Brayden Kelly down the sideline for a 24-yard score to strike first. Kelly also notched a highlight-reel tip-drill interception on defense earlier in the half.

Team Otto was forced to punt with seconds left on the clock, and Team Rocky went into the locker room with the lead. At halftime, O’Hara addressed the crowd, giving thanks to all the supporters, coaches and parents. A special announcement followed, with Shaun O’Hara Foundation executive chair and Hillsborough alum Jim Ruh learning he was the newest inductee into the Raiders Athletics Hall of Fame, in the class of 2026.

After a Team Otto punt, Team Rocky got back to work. Once again close to the red zone, Norwood found Kelly for his second score of the game, this time through contact.

Three plays later, Kelly cemented his game MVP status, intercepting another pass near the sideline. It immediately turned into another score, as one play later, Norwood found Bridgewater-Raritan running back Nick DiEsso open in the scramble drill for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Team Rocky added another score late in the fourth quarter, with DiEsso springing to the outside for a 75-yard rushing score.

After the game, the teams met at midfield and were addressed by O’Hara and both coaches, who presented the MVP awards, one for offense and one for defense, to each team. For Team Rocky, Norwood earned offensive MVP honors for his work in the passing game, throwing for four touchdowns. Kelly was given defensive MVP for his two interceptions.

For Team Otto, Hillsborough running back Jackson Jankowicz was named offensive MVP for his work in the running game and for helping kickstart the team’s passing attack with multiple tough catches over the middle. Raiders defensive lineman Garrett Meyer earned defensive MVP honors for his work getting into the backfield and disrupting Team Rocky’s running game.

In all, both teams got the opportunity to play one last game with their high school teammates, and even competed with some of their biggest rivals. The joy of football, paired with the charitable cause benefiting the Shaun O’Hara Foundation, shadows any numbers on the scoreboard.

Hillsborough defensive lineman Garrett Meyer earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl defensive MVP honors with Team Otto and Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)
Watchung Hills cornerback Brayden Kelly earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl defensive MVP honors with Team Rocky and Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)
Bound Brook quarterback Jeremiah Norwood earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl offensive MVP honors with Team Rocky and Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)
Hillsborough running back Jackson Jankowicz earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl offensive MVP honors with Team Otto and Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

Click below for postgame reaction from Team Rocky head coach Rich Seubert and all four game MVPs, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Seubert
Team Otto MVPs RB Jackson Jankowicz and DL Garrett Meyer (both Hillsborough)
Team Rocky MVPs QB Jeremiah Norwood (Bound Brook) and CB Brayden Kelly (Watchung Hills)
Watchung Hills QB Mason Kelly gives the touchdown signal with Zach Esposito under the pile in the second half against South Brunswick on October 5, 2024. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
by Mike Pavlichko

It’s all Watchung Hills:  Warriors blank South Brunswick 33-0 in Saturday matinee

Mason Kelly threw three touchdown passes Saturday afternoon as Watchung Hills blew past visiting South Brunswick 33-0 to improve to 5-1 on the season.

The Warriors built a 13-0 halftime lead on a Jake Arakelian fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first quarter and a 13-yars touchdown pass from Mason Kelly to Christian Warnicke 1:38 before the break.

Zach Esposito added a one-yard touchdown in the third and Kelly followed with a five-yard run of his own the period to give the Warriors a 26-0 lead.

In the fourth, Kelly hit Jonah Weisholtz from a yard out with 10:35 to go to make it 33-0, activating the running clock rule for the remainder of the game.

Senior Brayden Kelly – Mason’s cousin – had an interception in the game, his fifth of the season in a half-dozen games.

Watchung Hills hosts Rahway (4-2) next Saturday night at 7 pm due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, while South Brunswick falls to 3-3 – suffering its third straight loss after a 3-0 start – and will try to snap the skid against winless Union (0-6) at home Thursday night at 6:30.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Late Montclair field goal does in Watchung Hills, spoils bid to reach first title game since ’78

“One game does not define a season.”

That was one of the parting words from Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert to his team after a gutting 24-21 loss to Montclair in the North 1, Group 5 semifinals Friday night at Tozier Field in Warren.

In a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, the second-seeded Warriors overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit and two interceptions by quarterback Aleks Sitkowski to make it a ballgame, but in the end, the visiting third-seeded Mounties were three points better.

Ben Price’s 27-yard field goal with three seconds left put Montclair (8-3) ahead 24-21. One second ticked off on the ensuing kickoff, and a last-ditch effort with a trio of laterals as time expired didn’t go Watchung Hills’ way.

Hills trailed 13-0 after one half, where they left several points on the board, having first-and-goal on two separate possessions, coming away empty-handed each time.

But the Warriors roared back in the second half on two touchdown catches from senior Jack Clintock, who scored the first on a five-yard screen pass, then got the second in triple-coverage over the middle of the field at the 20, going 43-yards in all for a score that gave Watchung a 14-13 lead.

Montclair went ahead 21-14 with a touchdown and two-point conversion to make up for a missed PAT on their second score, but Watchung Hills answered to tie it at 21-all.

The Mounties then came down field and got within field goal range, right in the middle of the field, to cue Price’s big moment.

Watchung Hills falls to 8-3 with the loss.

Click below for postgame reaction from Watchung Hills coach Rich Seubert, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills just 48 minutes away from first finals appearance since 1978

Last week, Watchung Hills won its first playoff game since 1978. Eighth-year head coach Rich Seubert got his first win as the Warriors’ skipper.

This week, the program can take it even one step further. If 2nd-seeded Hills (8-2) can beat third-seed Montclair (7-3) in Friday night’s North 1, Group 5 semifinals, they’ll be in the title game for the first time since that year they last won a playoff game: 1978.

You can hear Friday night’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with coverage beginning at 6:45. Kickoff is at 7 with Mike Pavlichko on play-by-play and Edison coach Matt Yascko serving as guest color commentator. Click here to listen.

A win won’t be easy. Montclair is historically one of the top public school programs in the state, having won eight state titles in the playoff era alone, and many more pre-1974. They’re a physical football team.

But so is Watchung Hills, and while they also had a solid team last year – going 7-3 – one of the big differences has been the addition of Aleks Sitkowski, the team’s starting quarterback who transferred in after moving to the district from Piscataway.

Aleks – the younger brother of former Rutgers and Old Bridge standout Art Sitkowski – has thrown for 1,470 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. But the kid can also run it.

He’s the team’s leading rusher, with 566 yards and 15 touchdowns. Montclair head coach Jermain Johnson called him a “man child.” And he’ll be Target Numero Uno for the Mounties’ defense.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe talk with Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert about the Warriors’ season and their semifinal matchup with Montclair:

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills notches first home playoff win since 1978, beats Bridgewater to advance to North 1, Group 5 semis next week

All second-seed Watchung Hills knows about next week is they won’t be getting on a bus to go anywhere.

Oh, and also the Warriors won their first home playoff game since 1978 Friday night. It was a 33-26 come-from-behind victory that tested the nerves of everyone in brown and gold, but as Doc Emrick might say, “They had ’em. All. The. Way.”

The Panthers (3-7) scored first on a nine-yard run by Frankie Verano, and after a Hills field goal by Byron McCann cut it to 7-3, they took a 13-3 lead on a 40-yard touchdown reception by Joe Spirra.

That was the first of four scores in the second quarter – two for each team – that went back and forth, sending the home team into the locker room down two at 19-17. (Bridgewater missed two point after tries, a kick and a two-point conversion.)

The game was decided in the third quarter. Watchung Hills got a two-yard TD run from senior QB Aleks Sitkowski, who also ran in the two-point try, to take a 25-19 lead. Then after a big 51-yard TD pass from Jack Bray to Anthony Confalone, Kelly Brayden caught a 35-yard TD pass from Sitkowski to make the it 33-26 Watchung Hills, with nobody getting on the board in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors had only won one home playoff game in their history. They were the top seed in the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs in 1978, which included a four-team field, and won their opening game against fourth-seed Matawan, 14-7, before falling in the finals to third-seed JP Stevens by the same score.

That year was their first and only sectional finals appearance. Now, they’re a win away from getting back.

Watchung Hills (8-2) will play host next Friday night to etiher 6th-seed Columbia or 3rd-seedd Montclair. That game is tomorrow in Montclair at 1 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction from Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert:

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills climbs with Seubert, Martini, but still seeks peak

by Mike Pavlichko

They acknowledge the turnaround, but say they’re not done yet.

Soon-to-be-graduating Chad Martini had a stellar career at Watchung Hills by any measure. The pure stats for the Cornell-bound quarterback are eye-popping:

In a seven-game COVID-shortened season, Martini threw for 1,430 yards on 120-of-185 passing, a whopping 65 percent completion rate, with 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions, en route to a 5-2 record.

To put that in perspective, he threw for 1,544 yards and nine touchdowns, in a ten-game season last year that saw the Warriors go 5-5.

But there is always more to a story, and this case is no exception.

There was a wild, come-from-behind win over Phillipsburg this year, the first-ever over the Stateliners in Watchung Hills’ history.

And then there’s the little thing about Watchung Hills’ slow, but steady turnaround under head coach Rich Seubert, a Super Bowl champ with the New York Giants. After going 6-14 his first two seasons, the Warriors were 0-10 in 2018, but got back to .500 last year on the strength of a solid first-half of the season, and this year went 5-2 with that signature win they were looking for.

Martini and Seubert spoke to Central Jersey Sports Radio about their season, turnaround, and the turning point for that turnaround. Click below to hear their comments:

Senior QB Chad Martini

Head Coach Rich Seubert