Jamar Casey, the University Charter senior who finished a brilliant football career at Lincoln High School, was asked what his reaction was when he heard that he was selected to play in the New Jersey Scholastic Football Coaches Association Phil Simms North-South All-Star Classic.
Casey’s response was classic.
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?” Casey said with emphasis. “Oh, man, that wasn’t even on my mind. I just wanted to get on the field when I first started playing. I am thrilled to receive this honor. I’m getting the chance to play with some of the best players in the state.”
Casey attended the press conference at Piscataway High School on Sunday, April 7 announcing this year’s rosters. Casey will be on the North roster with five other Hudson County products.
“I went to the press conference and looked up some of my teammates,” said Casey, the multi-talented Lincoln product who earned Hudson Reporter All-Area honors for a second time last fall. “I can’t wait for the chance to play with them. It’s like a dream come true.”
Casey will grace the North roster along with Union City’s Eddy Coronado and Zavien Guitian, Bayonne’s Azhaun Dingle, St. Peter’s Prep’s J.J. Scocco and Hudson Catholic’s Jayden Rolling. It’s a strong contingent from Hudson County, perhaps the biggest array of local stars ever selected for the game.
The North-South All-Star Game will be played June 24 at Kean University in Union. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Casey, headed for American International College in Springfield, Mass. in the fall, has to work several hours a week at a local Walgreen’s to help defray family costs. He’s an excellent student at University Charter. He played football at Lincoln because University Charter does not have a football program.
“I had a lot of smiles at school and pats on the back when they heard I made the team,” Casey said. “It was like watching one of those old football movies, although this time, it was about me.”
Casey, who played a ton of different positions in high school, still doesn’t know how he will be used in the college game.
“Maybe I’ll play a little defensive back,” Casey said. “Maybe a little bit of receiver. I’m just working out, getting ready for college. Wherever they put me, I’ll be ready.”
Rolling, the hulking two-way lineman for the Hawks, has an interesting story to tell. He commutes daily to Hudson Catholic in Jersey City from Brooklyn, a trip that takes one hour and 45 minutes each way.
“I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. every morning to get to school,” said Rolling, who signed his national letter of intent to attend Villanova University last fall. “I had to learn how to be ready for life and school every day, how to carry myself and be respectful to everyone. I had to learn about responsibility at an early age.”
Rolling is also an excellent student. He hopes to someday become a doctor and will probably major in biology at Villanova.
“I am getting the opportunity to go to college for free,” Rolling said. “It means the world to me. I worked hard the last four years trying to get recognized and show that I am one of the best players in the state. Getting picked for this game is an honor. I’m looking forward to see how the different players play, how they play on the line and how I match up against them.”
Rolling said that he looks forward to the week’s worth of training at Kean, where the players live in the dormitory and practice sometimes three times a day during the All-Star training camp, overseen by Simms, the New York Giants’ Super Bowl MVP.
“It’s going to teach me a lot about responsibility in college, getting along with the people around me,” Rolling said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for me.”
Rolling was asked what it was like to be on the team with so many Hudson County players.
“It’s an honor to be able to represent the county,” Rolling said. “I played against some of these guys for two years and I know that they are good football players here. It definitely means a lot to me.”
Rolling was also a member of the Hudson Reporter All-Area team, along with Dingle and Coronado…
One of the more interesting final scores of the first weeks of the spring season had to be the baseball game pitting rivals North Bergen and Union City, with North Bergen winning, 26-16. Yes, that is a baseball final score, not football. There’s no report of how many balls were used in that marathon or low long it took for the game to be played. A baseball game with 42 total runs? Unheard of…
Hudson Reporter H.S. Baseball Top Five: 1. Bayonne (5-0). 2. St. Peter’s Prep (4-3). 3. North Bergen (4-1). 4. Hoboken (4-0). 5. Ferris (4-2)…
Hudson Reporter H.S. Softball Top Five: 1. McNair Academic (5-0). 2. Union City (4-0). 3. Hoboken (4-1). 4. Secaucus (3-1). 5. Bayonne (5-2)…–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com
