North Hunterdon's Griffin Honthy voted Courier News Football Player of the Week
The play is called the Wild West, and it was the talk of the Mid-State 37 Conference.
Last Friday, North Hunterdon High School beat Bridgewater-Raritan 21-14 on a hook and lateral that covered 75 yards late in the game. The gutsy Lions pulled out the victory after trailing 14-0 in the fourth quarter against a powerhouse team that reached the North 2 Group V final the last two seasons.
Right in the gut of the comeback was junior slot receiver Griffin Honthy. The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder caught touchdown passes of 17 and 59 yards, and acted as the middle man in the trick play. Honthy snagged a 5-yard pass from quarterback Matt Busher and deftly tossed it to Connor McMahon, who scampered for a 70-yard touchdown.
For his efforts, Honthy was voted the Courier News/Mid-State 37 Football Player of the Week in an online poll, garnering 62 percent (23,337 votes) of the 37,769 votes cast for the five candidates.
There’s a definite buzz these days about North Hunterdon football. The Lions started 4-0 for the first time since 1986. Those 31 years can seem like a near-eternity for high school students. Additionally, North Hunterdon (5-0) already has clinched the Mid-State 37 Raritan Division title, the program’s first conference title since 1993.
READ: FOOTBALL RANKINGS: Courier News/Mid-State 37 Top 10, through Week 5
In the North 2 Group IV power points standings, North Hunterdon sits second with 70 behind Phillipsburg’s (5-0) 71 points. Dating back to last season, North Hunterdon has won seven games in a row.
Honthy has been a big part of North Hunterdon’s resurgence.
“He doesn’t have any fear,” Lions coach Jared Mazzetta said. “I mean, he catches the ball well on punts and he’s our kick returner. And if his number’s called to go across the middle for anything, he’ll do that as well. He’s not afraid to stick his nose in there and block. That’s something Coach Krebs, our receiver coach, really preaches in getting downfield and making blocks. ... He’s more of a lead by example guy. He just comes and puts his hard hat on every day and just goes to work.”
Honthy’s versatility and hard-work approach is the opposite of anything resembling the Wild West. The play — which is part of the team’s series of plays called “back against the wall” — is not like the Tombstone of football calls, an equivalent of all 11 Lions freelancing around.
In other words, everything is by design.
The plays are meticulously practiced every week and everyone knows their assignments. Just like Honthy knew what it took to get better after cracking the starting lineup at receiver as a sophomore in 2016. He gained about 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason and fine-tuned the nuances of the sport. All that doesn’t happen by accident.
READ: Mid-State 37 standings, through Week 5
“He’s definitely a lot better,” Mazzetta said. “And once you get one year of experience underneath your belt learning the route system that we have and learning the offensive plays and just being out there—being able to perform on Friday nights with the experience that he gained from last year—it was really big for him this year. He hit the weight room hard in the offseason. Really prepared himself physically for this upcoming season and he’s doing a great job so far.”
Honthy is part of a talented group of skilled position players, including receivers P.J. Adomako (8 catches for 100 yards), Luke Ingenito (12 catches for 182 yards, TD) and Jared McMahon (22 catches for 415 yards, 3 TDs), as well as running back Luke Wain (338 rushing yards).
READ: North Hunterdon’s trick play completes rally over Bridgewater-Raritan
Busher optimally runs the spread offense and has completed 54 percent of his 123 passes for 1,152 yards. Friday, Honthy had his breakout game with seven catches for 118 yards. He now has 10 catches for 182 yards this season.
Honthy isn't just a possession receiver as Mazzetta notes, “He’s a little bit of both. He can stretch the field. He runs a 4.54 (40-yard dash). He’s a fast kid. So he can stretch the field.”
That was evident against Bridgewater-Raritan when he caught the 59-yard touchdown pass in stride.
But his biggest play might have come when he hit the ground. It's one thing practicing a hook and lateral. It's another thing executing it under pressure when it counts. Simply, Honthy was Mr. Unfrazzled on the two-part play.
He said after the game, “I got hit as I tossed it, and luckily he grabbed it – even though it was a little low – and he just took it to the house. Nothing was better than getting tackled after tossing the ball, looking up and seeing him run down the field and everyone going crazy.”