North Hunterdon's Matt Busher voted Courier News Football Player of the Week

While the situations might seem frenetic and tense, for Matt Busher they’re no different than fishing for bass with his buddies on a hazy summer afternoon. Mr. Cool at quarterback simply goes about his business like it’s no big deal, focusing in the moment.

Three weeks ago, Busher helped North Hunterdon High School rally from 21 down in the fourth quarter to beat power Bridgewater-Raritan. Last Friday against Hillsborough, Busher connected with Griffin Honthy for a 52-yard touchdown with 11.4 seconds left for a 38-31 win to remain unbeaten.

So the Lions had to drive 62 yards with 31.3 seconds left in a 31-31 game -- no big deal.

“It kind of felt like we were just going on another drive,” Busher said, “and it was just another play because making plays like that is something that we do all game.”

The dream season just keeps rolling for the Lions and Busher, who threw for 288 yards with three touchdowns and 94 rushing yards and two more scores against Hillsborough.

READ: FOOTBALL RANKINGS: Courier News/Mid-State 37 Top 10, through Week 7

READ: Mid-State 37 standings, through Week 7

READ: North Hunterdon outslugs Hillsborough to stay undefeated

For his efforts, he was voted the Courier News/Mid-State 37 Football Player of the Week. The senior garnered 52 percent (14,523 votes) of the 28,152 votes cast in a six-player online poll that closed Tuesday night.  

Busher’s the second North Hunterdon voted Player of the Week, joining Honthy who received the honor after the Bridgewater-Raritan game. That’s nearly 40,000 votes between the two players. The Lions fans and students are enjoying the shared ride.

“There is a buzz,” Busher said. “You just got everybody saying congratulations on the win or good luck Friday night. I mean, it’s everyone."

North Hunterdon (7-0)  already  has captured the Mid-State 37 Raritan Division title, its first conference title since 1993.

Friday, the Lions travel to Phillipsburg (6-0). In the NJSIAA North 2 Group IV power point standings, North Hunterdon holds a 128-103 edge over Phillipsburg for the top spot with he postseason beginning Nov. 10.

Busher has been a big part of that success, guiding North Hunterdon’s spread offense. The Lions have averaged 31 points a game.

“He’s very level-headed and he stays very calm in pressure situations,” North Hunterdon coach Jared Mazzetta said. “He has the ‘it’ factor. I will definitely say that. … Matt is a competitor to the T and it’s nice when he has the ball in his hands in the fourth quarter, you always have a chance. He understands the offense very well. He’s a leader out on the field and the kids lean on him in pressure situations, and he comes through.”

That was evident from his first varsity game as a sophomore. Busher entered at halftime and helped North Hunterdon rally for a win over Montgomery. He’s been the starter since then. Busher, who’s been playing quarterback since the third grade, said he soaked up tips as a freshman from the then-Lions senior signal caller Ryan McDonald.

Mazzetta noted that Busher has progressed each season and has been able to understand the nuances of the spread offense.

“He’s a very intelligent football player,” Mazzetta said. “He’s able to pick up plays that we throw at him and he’s able to pick them up pretty fast and learn. He puts a lot of time and effort into preparing for the games.”

Mazzetta, the team’s offensive coordinator, meets with the quarterbacks and some receivers before school every Wednesday to watch film, bringing doughnuts. (For the record, Busher is a jelly doughnut fan.)

It’s all been working. The 6-foot, 187-pounder has thrown for 1,601 yards and completed 53 percent of his 164 passes with 356 rushing yards. In 2016, he threw for 1,386 yards and rushed for 594. For all his football glory, he’ll be pitching next season at Old Dominion University. While baseball and football are clearly different, he’s able to draw some similarities between the sports.

For one, football has helped build his arm strength in baseball. He also enjoys controlling the pace and the energy of the game. A bulldog. Instead of a table setter, he’s like a tone setter.

Mazzetta said, “He’s confident, but he’s not overconfident. He stays grounded.”

That’s why he didn’t panic during crunch time against Hillsborough.

“It felt like we had enough time,” Busher said. “The way that we’ve been putting drives together, I know just one big play can really spark our offense or getting a completion can lead to something, because you know like they say sometimes in baseball that hitting is contagious? I think completions are contagious. I mean once you get one, you can keep it rolling.”

Especially with his receiving sparks, including Honthy (302 receiving yards, five TDs), Jared McMahon (team-high 31 catches for 581 yards, five TDs), Luke Ingenito (255 yards), P.J. Adomako (139 receiving yards) and Connor McMahon (90 receiving yards, 2 TDs). Running back Luke Wain has rambled for 551 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

He’s playing with friends since elementary school, some of the same guys he’ll fish with in downtimes. In short, he’s really enjoying his senior year.

“The fun that we’ve been having definitely attributes to the way our team is,” Busher said. “I really think it’s just a bond that us seniors share. Even with some of the juniors and the sophomores, we share a bond with each other. We share a bond with the coaching staff. I think that really just allows us to play for each other. When you win, you have fun. And lately, we’ve been doing a lot of winning and a lot of having fun.”