UNION COUNTY, NJ — Union High School junior wide receiver Renick Dorilas hauled in 35 passes for 550 yards and five touchdowns, the longest one covering 80 yards.
Linden High School senior middle linebacker Myles Hamilton was credited with 155 tackles, 36 of them solo and 119 assisted. To say he was all over the field for the Tigers would be an understatement. Not too many ball carriers got past him.
Summit High School senior running back Carter Shallcross rushed for 1,483 yards on 189 carries, nearly an eight-yard average, and reached the end zone on 15 of those attempts.
These three standouts, who helped lead their teams to one playoff victory, were among the best gridiron standouts in Union County for the just-completed 2023 campaign.
Although Union in Group 5, Linden in Group 4 and Summit in Group 3 all fell one game short of playing for a sectional state championship, those teams were among the best in their sections, in large part due to the outstanding efforts of those three players chronicled above.
Dorilas, Hamilton and Shallcross were also among a large contingent of players from Union County schools honored by the league in which they starred, the Big Central Conference.
The BCC just released their All-Division teams, honoring the best players in the conference for 2023.
Here’s a look at all of the Union County All-Division selections from the 17 Union County-playing schools situated in the BCC:
American Gold Division
Union, Elizabeth, Westfield
First-Team
Union High School: Kordal Hinton, Renick Dorilas, Zach Menon, Babadara Olowe, Bryan Accinot, Mehki Best, Dallas Trulis, Darius Vallderruten.
Frank J. Cicarell Academy, Elizabeth: Ibn McDaniels, Josue Blanco.
Westfield High School: Max Cho, Jullia Montez, Max Romano, Enzo Ferrero.
Second-Team
Frank J. Cicarell Academy, Elizabeth: Arique Fleming, Isaiah DeRosa.
Westfield High School: Jack Martin, Chris Rosseti, Steven Csorba.
Freedom Gold Division
David Brearley, Jonathan Dayton, Roselle Park
First-Team
David Brearley High School: Mike Kollarik, Gavin Marranca, Kristian Janeczko, Guiseppe Lombardi, Matt Resende, Anthony Flowers.
Jonathan Dayton High School: Alex Altemus, Barndyn Bernknopf, John John DeSarno.
Roselle Park High School: Adrian Palacios, Xavier Padilla, Jake Swirz, Matthrew Drada.
Second-Team
David Brearley High School: Ryan Obidzenski, Carter Stein, Anthony Pacheco.
Jonathan Dayton High School: Declan Vesey, Nick Apicella.
Roselle Park High School: Tyler Signorello, Eathan Jones, Manuel Mazuelos.
Liberty Gold Division
Linden
First-Team
Linden High School: Myles Hamilton, Tequn Tomas, Tyrone Hinton, Devon Chavis, Alex Donic.
Second-Team
Linden High School: Shahad Brown, Joe Mesco, Davon McClintock.
Liberty Silver Division
Plainfield
First-Team
Plainfield High School: Josue Cordoba, Joel Cordova, Alameen Watkins, Keiwan Kirkland.
Second-Team
Plainfield High School: EJ Brown, Al-Khabir Bethune.
Patriot Silver Division
Hillside, Arthur L. Johnson, New Providence, Abraham Clark
First-Team
Hillside High School: Tahbi Kaba, Al Jamir Davis, Darvins Tunis, Leo Harris, Zion Risher, Darren Ikinnagbon, McNally Erminal, Diego Rodriguez.
Arthur L. Johnson High School: Emilio Menicuccui, Vittorio DeMartins, Sean Joy, Aaron Tapia, Ryan George, Robert Gallagher.
New Providence High School: Matt Botvinis, Jackson Zarinko, Sean Donnelly, Jack Verbaro.
Abraham Clark High School, Roselle: Timothy Porter, Ajani Phillips, Owen Delice.
Second-Team
Hillside High School: Kendrell Gordan, Chibugo Chigozie-Nwosu, Yai Cajuste.
Arthur L. Johnson High School: Mark Hansen, Carlos Pina, Joshua Maltez-Torres, Ryan Volmut.
New Providence High School: Eric Dowden, Matt Perillo, Ben Gullo.
Abraham Clark High School, Roselle: Rahkeim Sheppard, Brandon Puryear.
United Gold Division
Cranford, Rahway, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Summit
First-Team
Cranford High School: Ryan Carracino, Lucas Caldwell, Justin Hoeffler, Dylan Jones.
Rahway High School: Andrew Avent, Marquis Diggs, Trevor Delapara.
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School: Noah Ricca, Callum Fynes.
Summit High School: Tyler Kessel, Carter Shallcross, Leo Hasselmann, Sam Henry, Shane Walsh, Jack Bronikowski.
Second-Team
Cranford High School: Niko Aloi, Michael Scotti, Amari Petgrave.
Rahway High School: Ray Giacobbe, Mikal Stephenson.
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School: Anthony Romano.
Summit High School: Seamus Browne, Jake Procaccini, Oscar Marx.
United Silver Division
First-Team
Governor Livingston High School: Jack Dally, Owen Chait, Michael Geertsma, James Campbell, Matt Shaffer.
Second-Team
Governor Livingston High School: Patrick Kingsley, Lucciano Santamaria, Noah Brown.
Union and Hillside won division championships.
Union captured the American Gold Division crown with a perfect 4-0 league record, beating St. Joseph High School, Metuchen; Westfield High School; Somerville High School; and Frank J. Cicarell Academy, Elizabeth.
Hillside won the Patriot Silver Division title with a perfect 4-0 league slate, downing Arthur L. Johnson, New Providence, Abraham Clark and Metuchen. This was the sixth straight season that the Comets either won a division title outright or shared one.