First Marisa Rose Bowl practice showcases Middlesex County football talent

As players gathered at North Brunswick High School Monday night to commence practice for the Bellamy and Sons Paving Marisa Rose Bowl, the abundant talent on the field was quite evident.

Among those gifted players is quarterback Matt Stanton of Woodbridge, who will guide Team Rose against Team Marisa in the intra-county charity all-star football game featuring recently graduated seniors from Middlesex County high schools.

All proceeds from the event will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to assist pediatric patients and children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

Formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and Autoland Classic, the contest has generated $715,000 for charity since its inception in 1994.

Stanton’s high school head coach, Joe LaSala, is serving as offensive coordinator for Team Rose, which will be running Woodbridge’s scheme in the game on July 21st at North Brunswick’s Steve Libro Field at 7 p.m.

“It’s definitely an advantage,” LaSala said of having Stanton at the controls. “He was in the system for an entire year. He knows everything inside and out. He’s like having another coach out there. Matt’s a good leader. He’s able to talk to those guys and get them in the right places.”

As LaSala was spoon-feeding the offense to his new charges, Stanton could be seen pulling aside teammates, helping them understand positioning within the intricacies of the offense.

“I obviously know the offense very well,” Stanton said. “Whenever somebody has a question, I do whatever they ask of me and help them out. With the group of guys we have, I don’t think it’s going to be really hard. Everyone is grasping it real quick, so I think we’ll be fine.”

After practicing four days this week, the players will practice twice more next week and have a walk-through prior to the big game.

“The good thing is these are all upperclassmen and they are all all-stars, so they pick up everything fast,” LaSala said. “We’ll see what they can handle. After the first day, you kind of get a gauge on how much they are going to be able to take in on a daily basis, but you also don’t want to get ahead of it too much where it’s sloppy.”

Isaiah Allen will line up at slot to receive passes and handoffs from his former Woodbridge teammate. Allen said Team Rose will benefit from having Stanton line up behind center. Both players were named first-team Home News Tribune All-Middlesex County last season.

“The quarterback is the general of the whole offense and the fact that Matt knows and I know, we can help the other guys,” Allen said. “It’s more of a (run-pass option) offense. It’s designed to stop the defense.

“Whatever the defense does, we have a counter for that. If they want to load the box and we are running the ball, it’s always a designed pass with it so you can always throw outside.”

Stanton completed 115 of 159 attempts for 1,663 yards and 18 touchdowns with just five interceptions for a 130.6 quarterback rating. Allen also benefited in the offense, leading the Barrons with 1,482 all-purpose yards, including 753 through the air and 483 on the ground.

“There’s some good players out there so I’m excited to see where this goes,” LaSala said of Team Rose’s offense. “I’m looking forward to getting them the ball in space and have that loosen up some things for inside the tackles. It all starts at the line of scrimmage.”

As the cheerleaders, who were simultaneously practicing on an adjacent field, made plenty of noise with chants clearly audible from the gridiron a couple of hundred yards away, the Marisa Rose Bowl players were comparatively quiet.

Their silence, however, should be interpreted as focused and attentive and not at all construed as a sign of being lackluster. The new teammates on both squads were getting to know one another and figuring out their collective strengths.

“The goal for today was to get our offense together,” said East Brunswick head coach Andy Steinfeld, who is running that side of the ball for Team Marisa.

“We want to see where the kids are going to be playing and get all the offensive plays in. (Tuesday) we’ll get the defensive side of the ball going and all through the week we’ll just continue on offense and defense and just keep working at it until we get it right.”

Carteret lineman Jehu Andrews, another first-team Home News Tribune All-Middlesex County selection, broke the ice on the final repetition of Team Rose’s practice Monday night, slicing through the line of scrimmage to get a hand on Stanton, tagging the quarterback while saying with a hearty laugh, “Gotcha, Matt.”

The talented Andrews’ playfulness seemed to carry over into the postgame huddle, sparking some competition and also bringing some much-needed levity to players who share mutual respect but are just getting to know one another.

“Everybody is just kind of waiting and seeing who is going to go ahead and take the lead,” LaSala said. “Like anything else that hasn’t been played in a while, it started off slow. But just being around the game again, we got it going.

Players are going into player mode, just getting back into football, and it all goes from there.”

Bellamy and Sons Marisa Rose Bowl

When/where: July 21, North Brunswick High School, 7 p.m.

Who/what: Recently graduated football players and cheerleaders from Middlesex County high schools will participate in an intra-county charity all-star game with all proceeds benefiting the Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

About the game: Formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and Autoland Classic, the contest has raised $715,000 for charity since its inception in 1994.

Practice schedule: Practices will be held at North Brunswick High School July 11-14 and July 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on July 18 at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A walk-through for July 20 is TBD.

Game Tickets: Can be purchased for $10 at the gate on game night or at any of the practices.

About The Marisa Tufaro Foundation: Since its inception less than five years ago, the nonprofit has donated a quarter of a million dollars to assist pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area. The foundation has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value. The nonprofit has awarded $26,500 in academic scholarships to 38 Middlesex County high school graduates.

About Marisa Rose Tufaro: Marisa survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old. Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, she lived a vibrant life that inspired.

Marisa Rose Bowl Banquet: Will be held at the Pines Manor in Edison on July 20 at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: First Marisa Rose Bowl practice showcases football talent