SUMMIT, NJ — Summit High School’s football team had a season much better than its final 5-4 record.
The No. 1 premise in that argument is that, after a 4-0 start, which included double-digit wins against eventual playoff teams Hillside and Cranford high schools, the Hilltoppers ran into one of the toughest schedules in all of New Jersey.
First was a game at 5-0 Somerville High School. Summit lost 41-0, which was the score at the break. Somerville went on to win the Big Central Conference’s Liberty Silver Division championship outright at 4-0 and then captured the Central Jersey, Group 3 state crown. In the Group 3 semifinal at Somerville, the host Pioneers were edged by South Jersey, Group 3 state champ Mainland Regional High School, 36-35, in overtime.
Next for Summit was 6-0 Bernards High School in Bernardsville. The Hilltoppers were much more competitive in this contest before falling by a touchdown, 29-22. Bernards went 11-1, after losing at home to Malcolm X Shabazz High School, 28-14, in the North 1, Group 2 final. Bernards won North 2, Group 2 last year for its first sectional state championship in the playoff era.
Then the Hilltoppers faced a 7-0 Woodbridge High School squad at its own Tatlock Field. The Barrons of Middlesex County prevailed, 28-17, to put Summit’s record at 4-3. Woodbridge concluded at 10-1, losing its final game to visiting Northern Highlands High School, 26-7, in a North 2, Group 4 semifinal.
So Summit went from being 4-0, winning all four games by double digits and averaging 35 points, to losing in consecutive weeks to teams that were 5-0, 6-0 and 7-0 and made deep runs in their section playoffs.
The Hilltoppers did rebound to win a rare Friday night game at United Gold Division rival Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School, 44-7. As a result, Summit captured the United Gold Division championship outright with a perfect 4-0 mark. Its other three division victories were against second-place Cranford High School, 3-1 in division; third-place Hillside High School, 2-2; and fourth-place Carteret High School, 1-3.
Scotch Plains–Fanwood finished 3-7 overall and 0-4 and in last place in the United Gold Division.
Summit junior quarterback Cole Sabol completed 56 of 118 passes for 957 yards, 10 touchdowns and just one interception.
Summit senior wide receiver Oscar Marx led the Hilltoppers in receptions with 23, receiving yards at 470 and touchdown receptions with six.
For their outstanding seasons, Sabol and Marx were two of eight Hilltoppers to earn All United Gold Division First Team honors. The others were senior lineman Sam Henry, junior running back Alex Schwark, junior lineman Ben Cohen, senior running back-linebacker Ethan Lawton, junior wide receiver-defensive back Connor Gawronski and senior placekicker-punter Sam Morris.
Summit Second Team selections were sophomore linebacker Matt McKeever, junior defensive end Anthony Trujillo and junior offensive lineman Luke Dolan.
Summit qualified again for the North 2, Group 3 playoffs and faced Cranford in the section for the first time since 2013.
In that perfect 12-0 season in 2013, the first for present head coach Kevin Kostibos, Summit defeated Cranford twice.
This year, there was to be no sweep for the Hilltoppers, as Cranford won the first-round playoff game, 27-22, at Cranford, after Summit won the regular season game at Summit earlier in the year by the score of 21-7.
Despite not finishing strong record-wise, Summit’s 2024 playoff-qualifying campaign was still one that was filled with numerous special moments in victory and one that also, hopefully, serves them well for the future.
Summit Hilltoppers
Big Central Conference
United Gold Division
football selections
First Team
Oscar Marx, senior, WR-SS
Sam Henry, senior, OL-DL
Alex Schwark, junior, RB
Cole Sabol, junior, QB
Ben Cohen, junior, OL-DL
Ethan Lawton, senior, RB-LB
Connor Gawronsor, WR-DB
Sam Morris, senior, kicker-punter
Second Team
Matt McKeever, sophomore, LB
Anthony Trujillo, junior, DE
Luke Dolan, junior, OL
Photo by JR Parachini