Football preview: Wildcats aim to surpass success of 2024

After reaching the semifinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 Tournament last year, the High Point Regional High School football team is aiming to surpass that success this season.

“We bring back a slew of juniors and seniors from last year’s squad,’’ head coach Bill Percey said. “The kids have a ton of experience and we are looking to build on last year’s success.

“We achieved our goals from last year and would like to surpass them by qualifying for the state playoffs again and hopefully advancing further than we did last year.’’

The Wildcats finished with a 9-2 overall record last year and tied for division champions with Newton; both teams had a 4-1 record against division opponents.

High Point is slated to open the regular season with a road game at Jefferson on Saturday, Aug. 30. The first home game will be Friday, Sept. 12 against Kittatinny.

Among the key returning players are seniors Gio Dureny (running back and defensive line), Jack Kithcart (offensive line and defensive line), Jerron Martress (running back and linebacker), Slade Muller (wide receiver and defensive back), Jayden Rupall (running back and linebacker), Jacob Woods (wide receiver and linebacker), Conner Hemmer (offensive line and defensive line), Brandon Kent (offensive line and defensive line), Brendon Lehman (wide receiver and defensive back), Caden Nardone (wide receiver and defensive back) and Ruben Rivera (offensive line and defensive line); juniors Alex Conway (offensive line and defensive line), Colten Hornayk (running back and defensive back), Mark Leach (wide receiver and defensive back), AJ Sampson (running back and defensive line) and Landon Sorensen (tight end and linebacker); and sophomore Kaleb DeFalco (offensive line and defensive line).

Promising newcomers include seniors Thomas Holder (offensive line and defensive line), Spencer McLoughlin (tight end and linebacker), Rioghnan Wood (tight end and defensive line), Jacob Xirouchakis (wide receiver and defensive back), Justin Mujica (wide receiver and linebacker) and George Orellana (offensive line and defensive line); juniors Chase Conklin (running back and linebacker), Gavin Gailums (running back and linebacker), Hayden Hines (offensive line and defensive line) and Kingston Brown (wide receiver and defensive back); and sophomores Tyler Brarman (wide receiver and defensive back), Joey Elko (quarterback and defensive back), Jerry Empirio (quarterback, full back and linebacker), Zach Longcor (offensive line and defensive line) and John McCarthy (offensive line and defensive line).

The team captains are Gio Dureny, Jerron Martress, Jayden Rupall and Ruben Rivera.

“Hopefully they can build on the great culture that we put in place last season,’’ the coach said.

The Wildcats again will compete in the American Blue Division along with Kittatinny, Hackettstown, Newton, Lenape Valley and Sussex Tech.

“I believe that we can compete with all of the teams in our division,’’ Percey said. “Hopefully, we can be a contender to repeat as conference champions.’’