FOOTBALL

Bernards' Joey Bilotti voted Courier News Football Player of the Week

Andy Mendlowitz
@andy_mendlowitz
Bernards sophomore receiver Joey Bilotti was voted the Courier News Player of the Week.

It’s appropriate the play is called a Jet Sweep.

Because one can imagine Joey Bilotti taking the handoff, floating a few steps with smoke puffing out of the back of his knees and ankles, gaining momentum and then boom — exploding downfield.

He’s the kind of playmaker, a sparkplug, that can excite crowds and change around a game.

“He’s definitely an explosive guy,” Bernards High School coach Jon Simoneau said.

The Mountaineers sophomore sure showcased his speed in Thursday’s 35-14 win over New Providence. The slot receiver, who gets running plays in Bernards’ spread offense, rushed for 237 yards with touchdown scampers of 50 and 85 yards. He added a 60-yard run to New Providence’s 3-yard line.

For his efforts, readers voted Bilotti as the Courier News/Mid-State 37 Player of the Week in an online poll of five candidates. Bilotti was engaged in a neck-and-neck, 2000 presidential election-like vote with Westfield’s sophomore quarterback Hank Shapiro, who threw four touchdown passes in the Blue Devils 35-7 win over Watchung Hills.

In the end, Bilotti received 8,686 votes (39.3 percent of the 22,111 total votes) compared to Shapiro’s 7.863 votes (35.6 percent). The Bernards players and fans had fun with the poll, which closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

READ: Mid-State 37 football standings: Through Week 4

“They were all watching the votes as they were going up,” said Simoneau, shortly after Tuesday’s practice. “Everybody got behind him. Everybody was helping him vote. Our injured kids were checking the countdown, five more minutes. Two more minutes. So it was a good spirit at practice today.”

It’s that kind of camaraderie that is helping the players help each other to get better. Bernards (1-4) has a proud football tradition and reached last season’s Central Group II title game. But this season, the Mountaineers have just six seniors and play several underclassmen who are learning on the whistle.

“We’re a bunch of young pups,” Simoneau said “We lost three in a row, which we hadn’t done in probably like eight or nine years. And these group of kids could have packed it in. We were 0-4 going into that game. And it’s a very fight or flight. And the whole team embraced the fight part of it.”

That includes Bilotti, who is part of a fun offense with potential that includes senior quarterback Lofton Hoover and fellow hybrid skilled players junior Ethan Caldwell and freshman Cookie Desiderio.

READ: FOOTBALL RANKINGS: Courier News/Mid-State 37 Top 10, through Week 4

As a rookie, Bilotti mostly played on the junior varsity squad, but saw varsity action on special teams and recovered an onside kick at the end of a playoff game. As a sophomore, he cracked the lineup at receiver and cornerback, showing his versatility.

Against Roselle on Sept. 8, he had an interception and threw a touchdown pass to sophomore Jackson Tantleff, whose brother Matt was a star for Bernards in 2016 as a senior.

Last Thursday, Bilotti had his breakout game, starting both ways for the first time and scoring his first varsity touchdowns. In the first four games, he rushed for 138 yards. He now has 375 for the season on 29 carries and has caught six passes for 53 yards.

At 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, Bilotti isn’t going to get 30 carries a game, but he has no problems in his playmaker role.

“Obviously, I’m not going to run over someone and chuck him,” Bilotti said. “So I definitely use my speed for an advantage. … It definitely helps being small and quick.”

Bilotti said he’s always been among the fastest kids, whether it was playing with his friends during recess or in youth football. Those wheels have translated into varsity football, with the energy of the crowd and the bright lights giving him a boost.

READ: FOOTBALL: Mid-State 37 Week 4 roundup

It’s something he’s dreamed of doing.

“With the game mentality, I feel like you definitely are running a lot faster than you actually are like for practice,” said Bilotti, who also plays baseball as a center fielder and pitcher.

He has his share of moves and jukes that he improvises on the field. But on his two long touchdown runs against New Providence, Bilotti didn’t have to make any shifty moves. The line created a hole and he simply, well, outran the defense.

His personality reflects his style of play.

“He’s anything but quiet,” Simoneau said with a laugh. “He’s got a lot of energy. It makes practice fun.”

The coach notes that Bilotti has been embracing his varsity role.

“It’s making yourself coachable and he’s been doing that,” he said. “And the more and more he makes himself coachable, the better he gets. His knowledge goes up every game. He’s a spark. We’re expecting big things from him in the future. This is just scratching the surface for him.”

And Bilotti likes what he sees for the whole program going forward.

“I think our coaches are trying to see where we can play and what everyone can do,” Bilotti said. “And I think we’re still figuring that out, but I think we’re getting closer and closer.”