Victories Over Orange And Jefferson, Chatham Football Kicks Off A Promising 2-0 Season

CHATHAM, NJ - The Chatham High School football team has opened the season undefeated with a familiar face at the helm.

Evan Picariello, who was Chatham’s defensive coordinator for three years, has taken over as head coach. He previously spent five years at Hanover Park as an assistant coach.

Chatham is currently 2-0. The team defeated Orange, 43-7, on Sept. 4 and posted a come-from-behind 28-21 victory over Jefferson on Sept. 11.

“This team has been performing well so far, and we are lucky to have multiple players contribute to the early success,” Picariello said. “So far, the highlight has been coming back to beat Jefferson after getting off to a slow start and being down 14-0 six minutes into the first quarter.”

Up next for the Cougars will be West Morris Mendham on Friday.

“Mendham is a tough team, and they run an offense that is very difficult to prepare for,” Picariello said. “They have beaten us in the last five head-to-head matches.”

While the squad lost a lot of starters from last year’s team to graduation, there’s a core group of returning players.

“We are a combination of experience and inexperience,” Picariello said. “We have a great senior class full of leaders and contributors, and that plays a huge part in high school football. We also have a lot of young players that are stepping up to the plate and performing well beyond their years.”

Senior captains Owen Walewander, Emmett Hynes, and Collin Fitzgerald are the team’s leaders.

“Owen plays tight end and linebacker, Emmett plays offensive lineman and defensive lineman, and Collin plays defensive back and running back,” Picariello said. “Other than our team captains, our senior class has done a great job so far setting the bar and holding players to the standard we want to play at.”

A few new players are also contributing.

“Two newcomers that have been contributing so far are quarterback Jackson Hodges and wide receiver/defensive back Bryce Kania. Both players are sophomores and are playing key roles for our team,” Picariello said. “Senior Cullen Decker is also a ‘newcomer’ that we expect a lot out of. He played football as a sophomore and has now returned for his senior season after taking a break his junior year. Jax Ulbrich is a senior running back that transferred to Chatham last spring, and he is playing a major role in his first time playing football.”

In the game against Orange, Hodges ran for three touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass to Kania. Ulbrich and Peter Boyd also ran for touchdowns.

Decker ran for a touchdown, caught a pass from Hodges for a touchdown, and threw a pass to Kania for another score against Jefferson. Kania also had three interceptions. Hodges threw two touchdown passes, and Walewander caught a touchdown pass.

Based on the squad’s victories, the Cougars are off to a promising start.

“Our goal is to be competitive and to be in every fight,” Picariello said. “We want to play fast, run to the football, and be physical at the point of attack.”

The Cougars’ regular-season schedule also includes Montville on Sept. 25, Sparta on Oct. 1, Morris Hills on Oct. 9; Morristown on Oct. 16; Parsippany Hills on Oct. 22, and Roxbury on Oct. 30.