Win over Pope John highlights Vernon football season

VERNON — Student-athletes who take the sport of football seriously and prepare themselves as well as they can during practices and scrimmages to get ready for games know that it can be, at times, a struggle.

All the conditioning drills, weight training and the process of learning plays can certainly be difficult and may lead a player to question whether it is worth all the hard work.

Then there comes that one game where the dedication and determination given to the sport shines through en route to a big victory that will be remembered by players and coaches alike for years and years.

For the Vernon High School football program this season that game occurred on Halloween night when they face off with Pope John. The Vikings fought hard versus a quality Lions team and ultimately won, 24-17.

In the win over Pope John, Vincent Rapisardi and Tyler Soltes scored on touchdown runs and Brandon Lockhart returned an interception for a score. Chris Ross kicked a field goal in the winning effort.

“We have beaten them twice in the last four years and that feels good," Vernon coach Chuck Tepper said. “It will be a memory that the seniors will have for a long time."

The Vikings finished the season with an overall record of 5-5. Last season the Vikings had a mark of 2-8. In the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference American Division, they had a record of 4-3.

“We had many leaders but none more impressive than Luke Venskus, Morgan Murphy, Nick Rapisardi and Soltes," Tepper said. “They were awesome leaders and great kids. James Freeman was our most impressive receiver and he continued to get better all season."

The graduating class of 2015 will most assuredly be missed by the Vernon football program, but Tepper has optimism in terms of how well his team can perform next season.

"We were very happy with the improvement [from 2013 to 2014] and the program is going in the right direction," Tepper said. “We have 29 juniors that will be seniors next year and a lot of returning players."

NOTES: The Vikings opened the season with back to back losses to Mendham and Parsippany Hills then rebounded to win games over High Point and Morris Hills. Besides the big win over Pope John, Vernon also defeated Chatham and Mount Olive.

— Photos by George Leroy Hunter