The Sayreville High School football team, regarded as Middlesex County’s best, according to the Home News Tribune’s preseason rankings, will be collecting monetary donations for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation at all of its home games this year.
The Bombers, who finished 8-3 last season, open the campaign at home Friday against Phillipsburg, another perennial state power which USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey ranks No. 23 in its statewide preseason Top 25 poll.
In its return to prominence under highly respected head coach Chris Beagan, Sayreville reeled off eight consecutive victories last season before falling to Middletown South in the North 2 Group IV semifinals.
“That young team lost its first two games but was highly competitive in both. You could see the promise. They maintained confidence because of all the positives that Beagan was able to point out, yet they were also ticked off enough to light a fire. The Bombers improved quickly and dramatically,” said sportswriter Mike Kinney, who covers the Big Central Football Conference for NJ.com. “Beagan draws all the best qualities out of his players year after year.”
The Bombers are laden with talented players including junior running back Zaimer Wright, who rushed for 1,401 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago. Wright was recently named to USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey’s preseason All-State first team on offense.
MyCentralJersey.com football analyst Marcus Borden named Sayreville’s Wright, Aiden Gilbert (defensive line) and Caiden Holmes (defensive back) to his preseason All-Middlesex County team.
An incumbent Star Ledger All-Group defensive back, Holmes and Wright anchor a secondary that is among the Big Central Football Conference’s most experienced.
Veteran quarterback Michael Colonello, who amassed 871 yards from scrimmage last season, directs an offense that promises to be more diverse.
Borden also lists Sayreville’s Connor Walsh among his top Players to Watch. A returning two-way starter up front, Walsh anchors a defense that held five opponents to nine or fewer points last season.
Sayreville’s home schedule also features games against Edison (Sept. 16), Franklin (Oct. 7) and Piscataway (Oct. 14).
The Bombers will face New Brunswick (Sept. 9), North Brunswick (Sept. 23), East Brunswick (Sept. 30) and Woodbridge (Oct. 21) on the road.
Since its inception five years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated a quarter of a million dollars to assist pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has also spearheaded multiple community initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies and other items for donation upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, the foundation has awarded $26,500 in college academic scholarships to 38 Middlesex County high school graduates, including Libby Dobrzynski, a 2019 Sayreville alumnus.
The nonprofit has also presented an additional 13 scholarships for Middlesex County middle school and elementary school students to attend a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
Student-athletes and coaches from Sayreville’s soccer, basketball, golf, bowling, swimming, wrestling, cheerleading, and baseball teams are among those from the high school who have joined the football squad in supporting The Marisa Tufaro Foundation over the years.
“The entire Greater Middlesex Conference has been The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s biggest supporter and Sayreville War Memorial High School has played a huge role in helping our nonprofit fulfill its mission,” said Cyndi Tufaro, the foundation’s executive director.
“So many student-athletes and coaches from Sayreville and countless other conference schools have selflessly worked together over the past five years to profoundly impact the lives of children in need. We are eternally grateful to everyone and honored beyond words that the Sayreville football program and school-community is conducting this fundraiser on our nonprofit’s behalf.”
Marisa Tufaro, who would have graduated last year from Edison High School, survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer (post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder) 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, Marisa was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.
“It’s hard to express what a class act and how generous Sayreville is by collecting money and paying forward the kindness of others, especially in these economic times when everybody knows money is an issue,” said Frank Noppenberger, executive director of the Greater Middlesex Conference and a member of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees.
“It brings a tear to my eye that a school-community would do such a thing.”