CapeAtlanticLive.com teams with Lunch With Lynch for football sportsmanship, unsung hero awards

Posted: November 20th 2023

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

CapeAtlanticLive.com and the Lunch With Lynch Foundation have joined forces to honor six local high school football players.

Select players from Lower Cape May, Middle Township and Wildwood have each been given the CapeAtlanticLive.com/Lunch With Lynch Sportsmanship Award and Unsung Hero Award.

The Sportsmanship Award has been given to the player on each team who best demonstrates respect, integrity, fair play and good behavior both on the field and in the community at large.

The Unsung Hero Award has been given to the player on each team who consistently engages in acts of kindness while going above and beyond for the team without expectation of praise and/or has overcome personal adversity to become a fine contributor to the team and the community.

Winners of the awards were selected by their respective head coaches.

The following are the winners of the awards:

CAPEATLANTICLIVE.COM/LUNCH WITH LYNCH SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS

Lower Cape May - Jackson Brown (senior, WR/DB/P): Brown gave Lower Cape May solid depth at the wide receiver and defensive back positions and was one of the best punters in the West Jersey Football League. He posted 13 tackles and made two interceptions and averaged 42 yards per punt for the Caper Tigers this fall. He was a first team WJFL Royal Division all-star.

“Jackson has been the epitome of what a true teammate is,” Lower coach Lance Bailey said. “He does everything a coach could ever ask. He helps his teammates with anything and he’s always the first one in and the last one out. He was always the last one off the bus because he was usually the guy cleaning up after his teammates. He was an extension of the coaching staff on the field. He’s as steady as it gets.”

Middle Township - Mark Oliver, Middle Township (senior, QB): Oliver served as Middle’s starting quarterback for the second straight season and performed admirably, completing 43 of 79 passes for 615 yards and 11 touchdowns against just three interceptions in 2023. He also ran for two touchdowns.

“Mark was very dedicated to the quarterback position and worked very hard to improve each year,” Middle coach Frank Riggitano said. “He constantly encouraged his teammates and demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship to our opponents week in and week out. He was often the player that settled down his teammates and helped them focus. The other players looked up to him.”

Wildwood - Ryan Troiano, Wildwood (senior, WR/DB/KR): Troiano was considered to be one of Wildwood’s top players before suffering a season-ending knee injury shortly after returning a punt for a touchdown in a 13-7 loss to Bishop Eustace in the Warriors’ third game of the season. In addition to his punt return for a score, Troiano recorded seven catches for 160 yards and a touchdown on offense and recorded 10 ½ tackles on defense in just 2 ½ games.

“Ryan is everything a coach wants in a kid,” Wildwood coach Ken Loomis said. “He’s a leader and he’s dedicated. Talent aside, what he does on the field is awesome but what he does off it is tremendous.

“It was definitely a heartbreaker when he got hurt because it turned our season for the worse. I’m confident that had he been healthy our season would’ve looked a lot different. It was hard to replace him. Not just physically but with his morale, his toughness, his grit and his leadership. It was so tough for us to lose him.”

CAPEATLANTICLIVE.COM/LUNCH WITH LYNCH UNSUNG HERO AWARDS

Lower Cape May - Michael Millard (sophomore, OL/DL): Millard was pushing for a starting position and/or a place in the team’s rotation along the offensive and defensive lines until suffering a debilitating back injury in the preseason. He remained around the team as much as possible over the course of the season.

“Michael worked hard all offseason in an effort to crack the starting lineup or get on the field with some playing time until he hurt his back,” Lower coach Lance Bailey said. “After something like that happens, a lot of other kids might not stick around but he stayed involved daily. He went to practice almost every day. He had to carry a chair with him out on the field for practice so he could sit because of his back pain. He filmed a lot of our practices and filmed every game on Friday night for us. He found his niche with the program and became a major contributor even though he couldn’t be on the field.”

Middle Township - Dan Brady (senior, OL/DL): A four-year player in Middle’s program, Brady was an undersized (165 pounds) backup offensive and defensive lineman who stepped in and performed well when pressed into duty because of injuries to other players. He was also a key special teams player at the varsity level over the past three seasons.

“Danny is very intelligent and hard working,” Middle coach Frank Riggitano said. “He’s an outstanding young man who never questioned the coaches’ decisions. He just worked his tail off and always did what was best for the team.”

Wildwood - Hamdane Kaced (senior, OL/DL): Kaced came out for the Wildwood team for the first time, seeing time as a backup lineman on both sides of the ball. He had never played football prior to this season.