Football preview: Braves prepared for new season, coach says

Newton High School’s 38-strong varsity football team is ready for the 2025 season, head coach Matt Parzero said in a recent interview.

The Braves will play Sussex Tech in their first game Friday, Sept. 5 at home.

Parzero was very happy with how prepared the team was two weeks into the preseason, which started Aug. 11.

He credits this to many things - mainly the variety of optional training that the program organizes during the summer.

“We did much more than we’ve done in the past,” he said.

That includes 7-on-7 scrimmages with teams such as Mount Olive and Mendham, weight training throughout July, and 20 players attending the 21st annual Jason Garrett Starfish Charities Football Camp, a one-day camp in Princeton.

Parzero was extremely impressed with what the players were able to accomplish, both as a team and as individuals, at the football camp.

Two Newton players received awards there. Senior quarterback and defensive back Matt Ellsworth earned the Make a Difference Challenge Scholarship for an essay he wrote about improving his community, and junior wide receiver and defensive back Hunter Wolfe earned the overall camp Most Valuable Player award.

Those players and their awards exemplify the technical and personal maturity that Parzero says is necessary for returning players to provide to the team.

Returning players

He’s very impressed with the returning players in general. “They’ve stepped into leadership positions, which is outstanding.”

Senior running back and linebacker Nick Kurilko, senior tight end and defensive linemen Max Faye, and junior running back and defensive linemen Joey Melillo are other returning players who Parzero is sure will have a large impact this season.

The team’s main priority is dominating and hopefully winning its division: the Super Football Conference’s American Blue Division, the coach said.

The Braves were co-division champions with High Point last season; both had 4-1 records in division play.

Newton’s overall record was 5-4. Seeded seventh, it lost to second-seed Hanover Park, 27-14, in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 Tournament.

Parzero is confident that the players this season coupled with some tactical adjustments will allow the team to continue its dominance in the division.

Strong, consistent defense

A strong and consistent defense will be important so the veterans have the space to take control, he said.

For Parzero, coaching is about becoming aware of what each player is capable of, then devising a strategy that puts them in as many positions to dominate as possible.

The defense must remain flexible and dynamic, focusing on creating uncomfortable situations for the opponent that lead to turnovers, he stressed. “We want our offense to feed off of our defense.”

This approach is designed to threaten the opponent, making it possible for the team to exploit any mistakes and turn them into momentum for the offense.

It’s also designed to complement the strengths of players such as Ellsworth and Wolfe while instilling a tough and flexible attitude in the team as a whole.

Setting the tone and atmosphere for a game is vital to Parzero, which is why he hopes to continue cultivating the community around the team.

The Braves recently received $5,000 from T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights, a $4 million national initiative created to support high school football programs in small towns and under-resourced communities.

Parzero said the program is extremely grateful for the funds and plans to use them for a new scoreboard and to renovate the press box.

The improvements not only will help the football program but every sport that uses the turf field.

He hopes the improvements will help make football games more of a community event. “That’s a big part of what we do. We try and make it a community event and pack those stands on a Friday night.”