The 2007 ALL UNRULY TEAM

It took me a while, and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I finally put together my All Unruly Team. There were tons of great atheletes and kids with heart this year. I had to consider a lot of different factors to come up with this list.

What I did was compile all the notes from the other writers of this site, viewed video's from many of the games I did not see, asked people what they thought, looked at stats, read all the news clippings, etc. I took all that and then I said to myself, If I was going to create one team from a pool of all of the players in the Iron Hills Conference (both Iron and Hills Divisions), who would I want on my team?

Then I started to come up with names. Many of names who are not on the list below came up. But I wanted to make one team so I had figure out who to keep. Then I decided that players who were on winning teams would get extra points.

So without further ado, please welcome your 2007 All Unruly Team:

OFFENSE

QB - Dan Kellner - Morris Hills: Tooks his team to the State Finals. Pure Leader. 3,000 career passing. He is the team leader I would want.

QB - Akeem Cunningham - E.O.: Won his team a State Final. Probably the best QB in the league. Cunningham is the guy I want if Kellner goes down. Reminds me of Vince Young.

RB - Eugene Fowler - Par Hills: In my opinion highly under rated. Fowler is a pure runningback and a real football player.

RB - George Bass - Morristown: Love this kid. Suprisingly he does not have flat out blazing speed but has incredible ability to stop on a time and gun it to full speed in a blink of an eye.

FB - Joe Riposta - Mendham: Runs like a gazelle, yet will run you over like a train. Without him, Mendham does not go 7-2.

WR - Jerry Carter - Morristown: Carter and Colvin were like Manning and Harrison this year. Very deserving of this honor.

WR - Mike Agrifolio - West Essex: Very fast and a total gamer. In my opinion Agrifolio is the glue that kept the Knights together. Not that they were falling apart, but hewas just a very important part of that team and I would love to have this kid on my team.

TE - Luke Mirabella - Morris Hills: I beleive Mirabella had the most receptions for MoHills (if not he was a close number 2). He was just a big target for Kellner and did not go down easily. Very reminesent to Mark Bavarro.

OL - Adam Suckno - Morris Knolls: Suckno also gets the Tough as Nails Award for just being a bully of a blocker while playing with torn tendon in his knee all year. If we made any money at this site we would buy him a Ford F150 for being so tough.

OL - Aaron DeWitt - Mendham: DeWitt was the emotional leader of this team. Not the most talented kid in the league but I would take 11 kids with the heart he had any day.

OL - Brendan Ward - Chatham: Ward took his job seriously all year. Many times he would block three or four guys on one play.

OL - Andy Fender - Par Hills: Fender serves more pankakes than I.H.O.P. I never saw a high schooler put more kids on their back then this guy. And he had fun doing it.

OL - Andrew Sklover - Mendham: Sklover was the big man in the middle for the Minutemen. His size and ability to block down field helped to pave the way for full back Riposta to rush for over 1,000 and his QB Schermerhorn to throw for over 1,000.

Utility - Doug Dudek - Morris Hills: "The Dude", as we so effectionally call him on this site, is the perfect utility guy. This guy just has a knack for being at the right place all the time.

K - Cory Mundt - Morris Hills: Put Cory and Mundt together and you get "Money". And that is what Mundt was all year. He was the Adam Vinetieri of the Iron Hills Conference.

DEFENSE

DL - Chris Zarkoskie - Seton Hall Prep: SHP's defense began with Zarkoskie. I see big things for him in college.

DL - Chris Lloyd - Morristown: I think Lloydd had at least an assist on every tackle this year. It seemed, "Chris Lloydd on the tackle" was the most frequent phrase to come out of the Mo-Town announcers mouth. He also had 11 sacks...which is pretty sick.

DL - Nick Lusardi - Morris Hills: Lusardi was to MoHills defense what DeWitt was to Mendham's offense. This guy added so much heart into this D. The kid of guy you need to be successful.

DL - Tom Bianchi - West Essex: Bianchi's play is reminds me of Osi Umenyiora. Just a fast and vicious defender.

LB - Evan Picariello - Hanover Park: I might have to check this guy's birth certificate because he has been playing for HP for the last 5 years or so...or at least it seems it. Picariello has been playing since his sophmore year and just a fabulous talent. This guy can compete at the next level any day of the week.

LB - Anthony Hayek - West Essex: No name exuded more fear than Hayek's. Just saying his name to opponents gave them goose bumps. And he didn't dissappoint. He had a great year and a marvelous varsity career (which started as a freshman). Hayek walks away with three State Championship rings. Not too shabby.

LB - Keion Wade - E.O.: Wade is a sheer talent. One of the biggest reasons E.O. has a ring this year. He will be playing big time college ball.

DB - Dan Thomsen - Randolph: 50 years from now they will be talking about all of the interceptions Thomsen had this year. I think he had 25 picks...I don't know, who's counting anyhow. Dispite a dismal season for his team, Thomsen had one of the best years of any kid in the state.

DB - Phil Gatti - Hanover Park: Gatti is another one of those guys who I would want on my team. He blocks punts, catches passes, intercepts passes, runs the ball, causes fumbles, recover fumbles, etc. You name it, he does it.

DB - Daniel Stover - E.O.: Stover deserves this better than anyone. He plays like a pro and I would want this guy on my team in a heartbeat.

KR - Rason Vines - Weequahic: Vines reminds me and plays like Devon Hester of the Bears. He is also as deadly as him on the return. Problem is, teams stopped kicking to him because he was so dangerous. Any single player who gives his team good field position by not even touching the ball will earn a spot on my team any day.

TEAM AWARD: I am giving this award to Dover. The Tigers has a dismall season going 1-9. That much losing would kill the spirit of any team. But they did not quit on themselves or their coach. That says a lot about the character of those kids. I see Dover suprising a lot of people next year.

PHOTO CREDIT goes to www.mchss.net. They have the best photo's at the most reasonable prices in the Iron Hills. They do a fabulous job of taking pictures and video's. They are really great people and extremely reliable and easy to deal with.

Tyson Ambrose and His Dream

A STORY OF A MAN'S DREAM OF MAKING IT TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL...AT 33 YEARS OLD

Do you remember the story of Rudy Ruettiger? Of course you do, but I am going to remind you anyhow. That was the story of a 26 year old iron worker from Ohio who decided to quit his job and chase his dream of playing football for Notre Dame. Of course, they made a movie out of it called Rudy and it is probably the best movie ever made.

If you remember, he was declined admittance to Notre Dame two times and played on their practice squad for four years until his coach put him in on the final play of his final game. He ended up sacking the quarterback on his only play and to this day he was the only Notre Dame player to be carried off the field.

If you liked that story, sit back because you are in for a real treat. This is a story of a 33 year old Bernardsville resident who is a father of three and has spent the last 12 years in the automobile industry who, and get this, is trying to make it into Major League Baseball. And get what else? He hasn’t played baseball since he quit his sophomore year of high school.

Many long time Morris County residents might remember the name Tyson Ambrose. He was an All-County basketball player who graduated from Bayley Ellard in 1992. Ambrose was famous around in Morris County for having blazing speed and for being able to make his 5’4” frame dunk a basketball...and without much effort. He was just a stellar athlete.

But after a respectable two year career at Brown Mackie College in Salinas KS (a Division 1 Junior College), Ambrose decided it was time to start working. He began at car dealerships, learning how to operate and manage service centers. In the past 12 years he has worked for companies like SAAB and Infinity have a successful career managing the service centers at these companies.

But all the while, Ambrose had a slow burning fire inside him that he couldn’t put out. It was his dream of becoming a Major League Baseball player. Then two years ago, while sitting at the car dealership, he made a decision that would change the course of his life. It was the decision stop working and dedicate himself to make it to professional baseball. “A few years ago, I just woke up and knew I needed follow my heart.” Ambrose said about his moment of clarity. “I felt if I was going to do this the time was now.”

But Ambrose’s dream doesn’t come out of the clear blue sky. His story actually starts a long time ago. In fact, at one time, many people thought Ambrose had the natural ability, drive and smarts to be a hot prospect for the majors. In fact, he was even being groomed from a young age to do so.

You see, Ambrose is actually the son of Victor Ambrose, a former 2nd basemen for the Cleveland Indians. Baseball is part of the Ambrose family. “I grew up watching my dad play in major league baseball stadiums. There was no question that I was going to play baseball too. It was just what I was going to do.” Ambrose said about his youth.

“As a small kid I would be on the baseball field before games throwing the ball with major leaguers. I even remember being woken up one time by Chris Chambliss of the Yankees who was my dad’s friend.” Ambrose said about growing up with a pro-baseball dad.

Ambrose grew up in Morristown. In Little League he was dominant and brimmed with confidence on the field. “Most kid’s dads were just regular guys tossing the ball to their sons in their backyards. My dad was a professional second baseman playing for the Cleveland Indians.” Ambrose said about his early years. “I would come home from Kindergarten and my dad would be there with a bat, hitting me ground balls. And they would be hard too.”

Ambrose excelled at baseball. He was a nifty hitter, and a great fielder. But his real talent was his speed. For High School he went on to Bailey Ellard for High School and the baseball coach was licking his chops at the idea of having Tyson Ambrose on his team.

But during the early high school years, things started to change for Ambrose. His parents divorced and Ambrose grew defiant. Right in the middle of his sophomore year, Ambrose quit baseball all together.. “When you get older you can look back. Baseball was me and my dad’s connection. So when they divorced, quitting baseball was my way of acting out.”

Ambrose decided to focus all his energy on basketball. “My father didn’t know much about basketball so it was a way of putting distance between us. I always liked it. When I was in high school I told myself that the first sport I get a (college) letter for, I will go to college to play that sport.” Sure enough, a letter came from a college basketball coach interested in Ambrose and baseball was all but forgotten.

But basketball did not come as natural to Ambrose as baseball did. Being 5’4” did not help, but Ambrose immersed himself into the sport. “I focused all my energy to be the best basketball player I could be.” His hard work paid off too, because he received All-County honors and was went on to play at a Divion 1 leve in college.

However, all this time he was focusing on basketball, he was ignoring the promise of a possible pro baseball career. “My father thinks that if I never quit baseball that I would be on a major league baseball team as we speak, enjoying a long career.”

But Ambrose took another path. And now, with his physical ability still in tact, he is trying to go back in time to correct the past. Ambrose actually thinks he has a good 3 to 5 years to perform at a high level. “I don’t have any wear and tear on my body so I still feel like I am in my early 20’s physically. Right now I am in the best shape of my life.”

Ambrose’ enthusiasm could light a room. His energy and drive is so inspirational that you just don't doubt that he will fullfill his dream.

When Ambrose made a decision to follow his dream, people started to come out of the woodwork to help him. “It’s funny, when I decided to follow my dream, all of these guides started came into my life.

The first was Lee Rousan, former New York Giant football player. “Lee just came into the dealership one night and we hit it off.” Rousan, who happens to help people follow their dreams gave Ambrose some much needed advice. “He asked me, ‘Do you know who you are?’ He said, 'don’t answer that question to me, but answer it to yourself.'”

Then Rousan told Ambrose a story about a player he met at a High School All-Star football game back early 80's. He said he went up to him and asked him who he was. The boy responded by saying, “I am the best wide receiver of all time.” Rousan told Ambrose that player was a young Jerry Rice, who ended up being the NFL’s all time receiving record holder.

On His Talent

When Ambrose was in high school he had the speed that major league teams salivate over. Florida Marlin scout Brian Guilianna says, “In high school Tyson was running right around 6.5 in the 60 (yard dash). The league average is 7 seconds. That is Jose Reyes speed. If Tyson played in high school he would have definitely been recruited by a major D1 school, no doubt.”

Ambrose has been working really hard and believes he still has the speed and the skill to play baseball at a very high level. For the last year he has been working out hard for 6 hours a day, seven days a week. “I actually was timed right around 6.5, 6.6 in the 60 a few months back.” Ambrose says of his physical condition. “I have been working really hard so that if I do make it, I will be in the condition of playing the grueling schedule of baseball.”

“Physically, I can do anything. What hurts me not playing all these years has been the lack of repetitions needed to build a good skill set.” Ambrose actually had a few tryouts last year with the Reds and Brewers. “I got a lot of good feedback and encouragement there. The one thing that I lacked was the reps.”

“I don’t just want to play, I want to be successful. If I make it onto a team, I will do everything I can to help myself get better. I will be the first guy at the ball park and the last guy to leave. I will study film, whatever I need to do, I will do.”

“I would like to make it to a pro team. But even if I make it into an independent league to start, that will be great.” If he does make it to an independent league, a guy with his speed could be picked up by a pro team mid season.

Guillianna thinks Ambrose is good enough to play baseball at a high level. “Tyson is in unbelievable shape right now. Do I think he could make it to the pro’s? I think he could get picked up in an independent league at this point. He needs the structure of playing to develop his arm.”

“Tyson is a really inspirational guy. I think no matter what, Tyson could really make a career out of helping young athletes stay on the right path. He could be an inspirational speaker.” Guillianna said about Ambrose.

That would be fine for Tyson too, because according to him he does not seeing himself returning to the automobile industry anytime soon. “I will never work behind a desk ever again.”

“I hope my story inspires young kids to stick with what they are doing. When I was young, I didn’t know that my actions would affect my life down the road. If someone sat me down and told me of the impact of not sticking with baseball, I might have made a better choice.”

Ambrose’s Son

Life has a funny way of repeating history. Ambrose was given the gift of having an athletically gifted son as well. Ambrose’ son, Sean David Ambrose, is only five years old and is glowing with the talent that reminds dad of himself.

Even pro athletes have taken notice of Sean David. “I have never seen a kid, at such a young age, have that much talent.” Said Sam Garnes, former New York Giant and Jet who works out at Parisi Gym where Ambrose works out as well. “Tyson will hit the ball hard to him, and his son gets right in front of it with his whole body and makes a perfect throw. I have never seen a kid with talent like that at such a young age.”

“He is one of my biggest inspirations.” Ambrose says about his son. “One of my biggest goals is for him to see me with my uniform on in the setting of a major league ball park.”

Ambrose’ big test starts in a few weeks. January will begin workouts and tryouts in front of scouts and teams. He will find out if all of his hard work will take him to the next level. And just like Rudy, nothing seems to be getting in the way of Ambrose of at least giving it his all!

Mendham H.S. Fencing Team Poised for Successful Season

The Mendham High School Fencing Team seeks to build upon an impressive third year as it begins its fourth season. The program had humble beginnings three years ago with much enthusiasm. The girls’ team had one win and the boys team none in the first year. In the second year there was tremendous progress with the girls 6-6 and the boys 5-7. Last year was the breakout season for the team with the girls 10-2 and ranked third in the State and the boys 8-4 and ranked in the top ten in the State. With much hard work in the off season by many team members, they are looking to build on this success.

The team continues to be coached by Laura Pelizzoni, who has generated enormous enthusiasm for the program. She is supported by three volunteer assistants who have considerable fencing experience: Tom Tishman, who once trained with the Olympic team, Dr. Steve Dultz who fences all three weapons, and Meimee Persau, who has fenced foil.

Leading the girls’ team is Janelle Krannich, captain of the saber squad. Janelle is a D rated fencer in foil, the only team member who is nationally ranked and was second team all State last year. She will be supported by new starters E rated fencer Julia Melvin and Genele Streitz.

The foil squad should be strong, led by Shannon Cooley and E rated foil fencer Ryan Western. Alice Jacobson who was a strong part of the squad last year rounds out the starting trio.

The entire starting epee squad from last year has graduated. New varsity ans starting fencers are Kimberly Morsch, Alexis Grant and freshman Megan Wallace.

The boys team has several returning rated fencers, with at least one at each weapon.

The saber squad boasts two rated fencers. Chris Bonner is a D rated saber fencer who has been very active in the off season and should have a major impact on the team’s success. Brian Stellingwerf is an E rated fencer and returning starter from last season. They will be joined as starters for the varsity by Will Bruno.

The foil squad also has a strong foundation with two rated fencers. Andy Jung is a C rated foil fencer – the second highest rated fencer on the team. And foil squad leader Michael Striano is a D rated fencer. Both return from outstanding seasons last year. They are joined on the starting team by Adam Brozynski.

Salim Short heads the epee squad. Salim is a B rated fencer – the highest rated fencer on the team and has the top position or A strip in epee for the third consecutive season. He is joined by starters Tim Hains and Hao Du.

Each team will have challenges. The girls’ team lost two top fencers Jill Mahen and Jess Wallace to graduation and their loss will be felt. Janelle Krannich has enjoyed tremendous success in the off season and she will be looking to help lead this year’s team to similar success.

The boys’ team has some very stiff competition in its conference and district including a number of perennial powers starting with State Champion Columbia High School and the previous year’s State Champion Bernards High School. The boys’ team has five rated fencers – Short, Jung, Bonner, Striano and Stellingwerf. Still, it will need support from all other members of its squads if it seeks to improve upon last year’s top ten rating.

That the teams are even in a position to seek such success in only the fourth season is the result of the effort of Coach Pelizzoni and a very knowledgeable and supportive trio of assistant coaches.