Tag: Shawn Harrison

by Mike Pavlichko

Highland Park entertains Roselle Park Friday with very different playoff implications for both

Friday night, when Roselle Park travels to Highland Park for a Big Central Conference Freedom Division game, both certainly need a win. But the effect on the playoff race for both teams will be markedly different.

Their records aren’t much different. The Owls are 2-3, with the Panthers are 3-2. But Roselle Park – despite the better record – is sitting at 24th place in the North Group 1 supersection, eight spots out of a playoff berth. Highland Park is in 14th in South Group 1.

It might not even be that one section is stronger than the other. Even though only seven teams in North Group 1 have an OSI over 40, and the first 14 are all 40 or higher in the North, Roselle Park would still be in a similar situation in the South.

Of Roselle Park’s three wins, two are over winless teams in South River and Dunellen, whose SI values average around 25. In fact, Dunellen is under 20, which kicks in the NJSIAA rule that – for OSI purposes – no team can be awarded fewer than 20 points for a win, and ten for a loss (Dunellen’s SI is calculated as 20 for playoff seeding purposes).

Fortunately, they have better competition this week. They’ll probably have to win at Spotswood to get in on Cutoff Weekend, but … one game at a time.

For the Owls, they also need wins. They finished 6-3 last season at the cutoff, but didn’t make it. If they keep winning, they should be able to fend off the teams behind them.

But Friday’s game – the first in a “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving twin-bill this week – is all that matters now. Both teams need to win.

The Owls have a new quarterback with the graduation of Markos Hantsoulis, but his cousins Kosta and Stamatis remain, and new QB Marcus Smith – a junior – has looked good, passing for 526 yards and five touchdowns through five games. Defensively, they have six sacks, led senior defensive end by Matthew Adamczyk-Zapor with two.

For Roselle Park, they’re more a run-heavy team, with three ball carriers in triple digits, led by junior Nick Salas (75 carries, 459 yards, and a team-best 17 touchdowns). Senior QB Anthony Damiano has thrown for 351 yards on the year and four TDs. He’s not turnover prone – with just one pick – but they just don’t throw it a lot. He’s only attempted 32 passes this season, and doesn’t run it a lot either. He lets the backs do that.

Defensively, though, they get after it. Damiano has two interceptions on the year, one for a touchdown, and is one of three players with two sacks apiece, while senior Jose Candelaria leads the Panthers with three.

You can hear Friday night’s game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau on the call. Kickoff is at 7 pm, pregame at 6:45. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear preview interviews from both head coaches:

Highland Park head coach Shawn Harrison with Mike Pavlichko
Roselle Park head coach Greg Dunkerton with Vin Ebenau
by Mike Pavlichko

Highland Park broke out in 2024, now Owls look to keep it going with one more goal in mind

The Highland Park football program has come a long way under Shawn Harrison, who inherited a team in 2021 that hadn’t won a game since beating arch-rival Metcuhen in their 2016 season finale, a Turkey Day rivalry victory.

Wins didn’t come right off the bat.  It took a lot of hard work, dedication and preseverence, but they finally got one at Point Pleasant Beach in their 2023 finale.

Good things and success take time.

Then came 2024, when the Owls not only won their opener, but took their first three games,putting them on a four-game win streak overall.  And though they narrowly missed finishing in the top 16 for the playoffs, Highland Park finished the year 6-3, their first .500-or-better season in almost a decade.

This year?

Highland Park has clear expectations:  keep winning.

Though they lose quarterback Markos Hantsoulis to graduation, his cousins, twins Kosta and Stamatis return, as do a host of others who have been through the battles without seeing immediate results, then were rewarded greatly last year.

So, why not again for the Owls?  After all there’s one more goal still out there for the taking.

A playoff spot.

Click below to hear from Highland Park head coach Shawn Harrison and seniors Stamatis Hantsoulis and Jared Matos with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

After breaking their long skid, six-win season makes Highland Park CJSR Turnaround Team of the Year for 2024

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:

by Chris Tsakonas

Improved Highland Park gears up for rivalry matchup against Metuchen Saturday afternoon

After snapping a 51-game losing streak in the final game of the 2023 season, Highland Park has taken a big step forward through the first half of the year.

They won their first three games of the season, giving them a four-game winning streak going back to last year, their longest stretch of success since starting 4-0 in the 2008 season.

After taking their first defeat of the year last week at the hands of Spotswood, the Owls are currently 3-1 with a 2-1 record in the Big Central Conference Freedom Gold Division, with a chance to get the fourth win of the year in a cross-divisional rivalry game against Metuchen (3-2) on Saturday afternoon.

Offensively, Highland Park is led by senior dual-threat quarterback Markos Hantsoulis, who has already recorded 12 total touchdowns – six each passing and rushing – through the first four games of the year. The Owls’ run game also features running back Zyaire Holland, who has 40 rushes for 232 yards and a touchdown. Wide receivers include Kosta Hantsoulis (seven catches for 187 yards and four touchdowns), Jaylin Adams (three catches for 72 yards) and Stamatis Hantsoulis (five catches for 39 yards).

It’s also been a strong start for the Highland Park defense, which has allowed an average of 10.5 points per game through the first half of the season. In each of the Owls’ three wins this year, the defense has allowed no more than seven points.

You can catch Saturday’s “Big Central Game of the Week” – presented by Bellamy & Son Paving – between Metuchen and Highland Park with pregame at 12:45 on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Kickoff is at 1 with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas on the call. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Highland Park head coach Shawn Harrison talk about the Owls with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas:

by Mike Pavlichko

Highland Park isn’t letting foot off the gas as Owls embark on new season coming off win

The last time the Highland Park football team won a game before last year was Thanksgiving, 2016. They had beaten arch-rival Metuchen 35-7 in front of their home crowd to cap a successful 6-4 season.

The Owls would lose their next 51 games, slowly building into the state’s longest active losing streak, before a game scheduled at the last minute. Head coach Shawn Harrison wanted one more opportunity for his guys. He could see the team’s improvement. Just one more shot.

And they made it count.

The final was 46-29 on November second down in Point Pleasant Beach. Owls over the Garnet Gulls in a battle of the birds. The streak was over.

Highland Park head coach Shawn Harrison and assistant – and former longtime head coach and standout – Joe Policastro celebrate the Owls’ first win in 52 games on November 2, 2023 at Point Pleasant Beach. (Photo: Marcus Borden)

Now, as Highland Park gets set to embark on its 2024 season in a couple of weeks with a Friday night, September 6th game at Dunellen, it’s all looking forward. Key players are back. Numbers are as good as or better than they’ve been, and a weight has been lifted from everyone’s shoulders.

After all, the Owls are starting a season coming off a win for the first time in seven years.

Click below to hear from Highland Park head coach Shawn Harrison and senior quarterback Markos Hantsoulis:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2024 GMC/BCC Camp Caravan: Highland Park looks to build on season-ending win

Preseason practice for the 2024 high school football season opened Monday across New Jersey, and Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden has kicked off his 2024 GMC/Big Central Conference Camp Caravan with an afternoon visit to Highland Park.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Shawn Harrison, along with seniors Markos Hantsoulis (QB), Zyaire Holland (RB/LB/RET), Brian Mahoney (G/LB) and junior Konstantinos Hantsoulis (WR/DB).

You can now watch all the 2024 Camp Caravan videos on YouTube by clicking this link!

by Mike Pavlichko

Highland Parks keeps chugging as Owls search for elusive “W” to end streak

42.

That’s the number for Highland Park, and one which the Owls hope grows no bigger. That’s the number of games in a row they have lost, a streak that began in 2017.

32.

That’s another number for Highland Park. That’s the number of players Shawn Harrison has available a week before the season. That’s a number the Owls do hope grows, as it will increase the chances of that first number staying right exactly where it is.

READ PAST COVERAGE: Rebuilding Highland Park a labor of love for “program guy” Harrison

Harrison, and alum and head coach, continues to spend almost as much time finding players as he does coaching them: in the halls, in the town, anywhere he can. The thing is, he hasn’t always found kids with experience. But that’s beginning to change.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Media Days with Highland Park head coach Shawn Harrison and senior TE/DE Jowuan Keyes:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rebuilding Highland Park a labor of love for “program guy” Harrison

When the head coach of your football team is an alum, there’s a special connection to the program, the student-athletes, the fans, the parents, and the whole town. Even if Highland Park is struggling to regain its former glory.

The Owls have won more New Jersey state championships – 23 – than all but one other school: Montclair, which has won 26.

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But of late, it has been real hard times. Due to low numbers, they could only manage five games in 2018. They didn’t field a team at all in 2020. Highland Park has the longest active losing streak in the state at 33 games, ten ahead of JP Stevens, which has lost 23. But with some seasons with fewer games, it’s been way longer since the Owls won a game: Thanksgiving, 2016, against Metuchen.

This year, as many schools, that Turkey Day rivalry is at the beginning of the season. And the two will square off next Saturday (August 27, 1 pm) in the 2022 season opener on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

This may be the Owls’ best chance yet. They come into the season with 34 players, their best numbers in years. Head coach Shawn Harrison has been working hard to boost the numbers in and outside the program. With no feeder league like Pop Warner, Harrison has instituted flag football for younger kids in town, at least to help them grasp the concepts of football and its plays, even if they can’t tackle.

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talked with Harrison as preseason camp opened up in early Augsut. Click below to listen:

This Sunday, be sure to check out cjsportsradio.com for a sit-down interview with Joe Policastro, the legendary former Highland head coach, who remains an assistant with the team he played for in the late 1950s. He’s been in the program for over 60 years.