SPF Football Brings Home Three Super Bowl Victories
Scotch Plains Fanwood PAL
November 19, 2023 is a day that will be recorded as one of the finest in the history of the Scotch Plains Fanwood (SPF) PAL football program.
It was on this cool and sunny Sunday at Foley Field in Bloomfield when the SPF Raiders completed a hat trick by winning three Super Bowl trophies in the New Jersey Suburban Youth Football League (NJSYFL) division playoffs.
The A (8th grade), B (7th grade) and D (5th grade) SPF Raiders each won the Super Bowl in its grade level in the National Division Super Bowl title games.
The day began when the Raider D team defeated Clark, 24-12, in the championship game. The SPF B team held off Clark to win 6-0 and the Raider A team capped this monumental day with a 30-19 victory over Kenilworth.
The fourth SPF Raider team that competed in the Super Bowl title games on November 20, the Raider C team (6th grade), fell in a heartbreaker, 7-6 in overtime, to Bloomfield.
The NJSYFL American Division Super Bowls were played on Saturday, November 18, in Old Bridge.
The Super Bowl trophies are the first since 2019 when the Raider D team won the championship in its division final.
The previous Super Bowl title for SPF came in 2011 when just one Super Bowl was contested per grade level and not two Super Bowls such as the present playoff format. In 2011, that legendary SPF Raider D team capped an 11-0 season with its Super Bowl championship.
In the opening game on Super Bowl Sunday, the Raider D team were sparked on offense by touchdowns delivered by shifty and gifted runners MJ Podell and RJ Robinson. Jackson Spieler and Elliot Sobo also contributed to strong play on the offense.
Podell and Robinson also both shined on the defensive side of the ball with Luca Barretta, Darius Lewis and Luca Kresge as they helped long-time coach Shawn Johnson, who is the President of the SPF PAL, win his first Super Bowl trophy.
The Raider B team drove down the field and scored on the first series of the game when Julian Monroy plowed into the end zone from five yards.
That was all the scoring in the Super Bowl for an SPF team that completed an incredible turnaround.
Just one year ago, these Raider 7th graders went winless on the C level.
But coach James Monroy (Julian’s father) and the SPF PAL rebuilt the coaching staff and they teamed up to guide these players to a Super Bowl title one season later.
“It’s pretty incredible,’ said Coach Monroy. ‘’The boys played their hearts out.’’
On Super Bowl Sunday, those boys included Joey Reaves, Kayden Vazquez and Julian Monroy who all delivered key performances on offense against Clark and a sturdy defense that was anchored by Joe Kelly, Brendan Wilson and Daren Louis.
The Super Bowl for the A level did not go off too well at first for the Raiders.
Kenilworth jumped to an early 13-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Raiders rallied.
Sebastian Assuncao plowed into the end zone with a short run after quarterback Marcus Schomberg set up the TD with a key 30-yard pass completion to Ryan McCann. Schomberg and McCann hooked up again later for a 10-yard TD pass when the Raiders took the lead in the third period.
Gabriel Gutierrez burst nine yards to the end zone for a touchdown later in the third quarter when the Raiders began to pull away.
On defense, Jayden Johnson, who called the crucial shifts to the offensive front line and made his way to apply the hits, spearheaded a defense that was also led by Sam Schinesthul, who came up with a critical interception that he returned 51 yards to set up another scoring burst by Assuncao that helped ice the game—and the Super Bowl for the Raiders.
Noah Brown, Tommy Anico, Tyler Doyle and Henry Jacobsen all contributed to the Raider defense that shut off Kenilworth after the first period. And Colby Martin connected on three PAT kicks to assist in the victory.
“The boys showed great resilience and battled back,’ said A team Coach Plato Schomberg, the father of the quarterback.
In the Super Bowl on the C level, SPF and Bloomfield played to a scoreless tie that forced overtime.
The Raiders struck first and scored on a short run by Ethan Klaskow but Bloomfield tied the game at 6-6 before it won when the QB avoided numerous tackles and hit his receiver in the back of the end zone for the winning PAT point.
Raider Coach Darion Gonzales cited that his entire offense and defense were the stars of the game in which SPF played their hearts out in a losing effort.
“This was a memorable day for our program,’’ said Bruce Moran, the Vice President of the Scotch Plains Fanwood PAL. “These players and coaches have now set the tone for what may be many more memorable days and Super Bowl championships.’’
Courtesy photos
