close
close

The O'Hara Senior Bowl's namesake is aimed at seniors

Harry Frezza Jr.
| correspondent

play

HILLSBOROUGH – When Super Bowl champion Shaun O'Hara was a senior lineman at Hillsborough High School in the fall of 1994, only four teams per division qualified for the NJSIAA football playoffs.

When the Raiders' season ended with a 29-7 victory on a freezing Thanksgiving day at Somerville High School, O'Hara and his teammates were finished despite a 7-2 record.

The former Giants lineman mentioned that Wednesday night in a cafeteria at his alma mater while speaking to high school seniors who will play in the first Shaun O'Hara Foundation Senior Bowl on June 12 at Noonan Field in Hillsborough at 6 p.m become.

“You just never know when the last game is going to be, you have a great chance,” O'Hara said.

More: Westfield's veteran football coach replaces longtime athletic director

O'Hara became a standout lineman at Rutgers and then played in the NFL for the Browns and Giants between 2000 and 2010.

He has returned to Hillsborough to help maintain a tradition for senior soccer players from Somerset and Hunterdon counties that began with Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone Bowl in 2013, a game played nine times. The 2023 game was canceled due to funding issues after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 game.

“Somerset County plays very good football and its players deserve to have this opportunity and play for a good cause,” said Hillsborough coach Kevin Carty, one of the match organizers.

Watchung Hills coach Rich Seubert played guard alongside O'Hara when the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008. He is also one of the organizers of the O'Hara games, along with Carty, Montgomery coach Zoran Milich and games director Jim Ruh, a Hillsborough resident and executive director of the foundation.

O'Hara's foundation raises funds and awareness for all charities. Their focus is cystic fibrosis, but they have donated over $1 million to many nonprofit organizations and health and education initiatives.

Tickets for the game are $5 when purchased through Players and $8 at the gate. Veterans and children under three are admitted free.

The game features seniors from high schools in Somerset and Hunterdon counties. Teams are divided into squads named in honor of the late Hillsborough football coach Otto Gsell and former athletic director Rocky Forte.

O'Hara wishes he had had that chance after he graduated high school in 1995. The only all-star game available for high school seniors at the time was the North-South game, and O'Hara was not selected.

“I never got to wear my Hillsborough helmet again or put my Hillsborough jersey on again, and I would have given half my pinky to be allowed to play in a Hillsborough Raider jersey again,” O'Hara said. “You get the chance to put on the jerseys again, represent, be together. I want you to have fun, but I also want you to compete and put in the work in training.”

Training for the game will take place on June 7th, 10th and 11th between 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Both teams train at the same time. Montgomery coach Zoran Milich said every player will definitely see significant minutes.

For more information or ways to donate, please contact Ruh at [email protected].

Tags:

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *