GMC Football Camp Caravan analysis through Aug. 20

​Following Saturday’s quad scrimmage in Woodbridge, the 2016 edition of the @MyCentralJersey.com GMC Football Camp Caravan has some feedback after visiting 13 of the 24 teams that play football in Middlesex County.

These are just random thoughts or observations having viewed eight practices, a two-team practice and a controlled quad scrimmage with three of the teams representing the Red, White and Blue divisions.

READ: GMC CAMP CARAVAN ROLLING AT WOODBRIDGE

Old Bridge has the most efficient fast-paced practice that I have seen the last three years. They topped themselves this year with the use of the stadium game clock to designate the practice period and time allotted.

This was my second year covering the practice between South Plainfield and Middlesex. It is another example of using the NFL idea of practicing together while servicing each other in multiple ways. There even is time to correct your players while getting reps for all the kids.

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It was nice to get to see three teams from the GMC’s three divisions compete along with Columbia (former Rahway coach Gary Mobley is the coach) at Woodbridge. The intensity level was only matched by the temperature of the FieldTurf playing surface. All three GMC teams showed a glimpse of who the play makers will be both on offense and defense.

Rugby tackling seems to be on the rise as Edison used a circle pad as well as half dummies to teach the form tackle. Old Bridge focused heavily on the technique and Metuchen did an outstanding team sequence of tackling drills. Many schools continue to run tackling circuits which emphasize the various types of tackles made during the game.

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Monroe and St. Joseph were the only two schools that practiced in the late afternoon, 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively. Old Bridge had the earliest practice at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday. With the heat that we have experienced since Aug. 10, I can say that I prefer the earlier time slots.

With two turf fields at East Brunswick, not including the baseball field, the Bears started their 8:30 a.m. practice on the adjacent grass field next to the lower turf field. Since Monday, Aug. 15 was the date for the other sports to start, the football team transitioned to the turf field after about an hour.

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While visiting Spotswood I couldn’t help but notice again the large number of players out for the team. While interviewing players, they reminded me that they can’t wait to play in front of their raucous fans that will now be seated in a refurbished stadium with a new track, home stands and fencing.

There are many great players out there but these guys caught my eye:

Jon Sot WR/P/PK, PJ Barr OL/DL (St. Joseph)

Devin Miller TE/DE, Justin Briggs LB/FB (Metuchen)

Justin Turner QB/DB, James Stewart RB/DB, Lance Rice DE/G (Edison)

Artur Sitkowski QB, Nick Sodano RB/DB (Old Bridge)

Kyle Wiggins RB/DB, James Schuld QB (East Brunswick)

Ryan Szatkowski WR/P/PK, Jack Keenan RB/LB (Spotswood)

Naeem Morgan WR/DE (Middlesex)

Zach Delvecchio FB/LB, Jean Sapini TE/DE (South Plainfield)

Josh Baynes WR/DB, Carlton Coleman RB/LB (Monroe)

Michael DeSantis QB, Jaryn Bullock OLB (South River)

Andrew Brazicki RB/LB, Josh Minnick RB (Bishop Ahr)

Jah’bree Jeffery QB/FS, German Pimentel WR/LB, Curtis Revan TE/DE (New Brunswick)

Da’Avian Ellington RB/DB, Keshaun Henry RB/ATH/DB (Woodbridge)

This week’s schedule is as follows:

Monday, Aug. 22 at Perth Amboy, 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 23 at Sayreville vs. Carteret, 10 a.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 24 at J.F. Kennedy, 8 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 25 at Colonia, 7:45 a.m.

Friday, Aug. 26 OPEM

Saturday, Aug. 27 at Piscataway, 9:30 a.m.