DelVal Football to pay tribute to Isom, Mazzetta, Updegraff
The Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is not only recognizing 22 football scholar-athletes, but is also paying homage to some of the adults who have made a positive impact those players lives.
Thus, North Hunterdon coach Jared Mazzetta, Hightstown-East Windsor Youth Sports League (HEWYBL) Flag Football Vice-President Eric Updegraff and veteran official Sabrina Isom will be honored at the 56th Annual George Wah Scholar-LeaderAthlete Awards Dinner. The event will be held March 11 at the Hyatt Regency in Princeton, beginning at 4 p.m.
Tickets are $75 apiece and a full table of 10 can be purchased for $750. Contact Ron Hoehn at annronhoehn@ gmail.com or 609-731-6610 to order tickets through Mar. 4. Or, visit the website at http: //www.delvalfootballfoundation.com.
Isom is receiving the Jack Millard Official of the Year Award, for a career officiating high school, college and semi-professional football. She joined Troy Stevenson’s high school crew in 2012 and credits Stevenson for her growth as an official. In 2014 Sabrina joined the Eastern Collegiate Football Officials Association, handling games at all levels on Lee Page’s crew. ECFOA Commissioner Milt Halstead terms Isom, “a good official with high upside potential, and interest from other NCAA Division One conferences.”
Isom’s foray onto the gridiron actually started in Trenton’s Cadwalader Park, where she served as statistician for the once wildly-popular summer basketball league. That led her to a work-study job as women’s basketball scorekeeper for Rider University, as well as for pro teams the Trenton Shooting Stars and Trenton Flames. She began taking courses to officiate basketball and, after 10 years of being on the hardwoods, decided to try football and has never looked back.
When she’s not wearing stripes, Isom is a community volunteer, works as an analyst for Conduent, a New Jerseybased business process services company; is a licensed real estate agent and a member of the Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star, a Co-Freemasonry organization.
Updegraff is receiving the Contribution to Youth Football Award for his dedicated work with HEWYBL. A native of Youngstown Ohio with a journalism degree from Maryland and MBA from New York University, Eric has always been a huge football fan. When twin sons David and Shawn began playing in second grade, he signed up as a coach “and I was hooked.”
Since starting with the HEWYBL in 2012, Eric’s role expanded from coach to serving as division head, which entailed conducting player evaluations and running drafts. He was elected Flag V-P in 2016 and enrollment saw a 57 percent increase in 2017. “We expect more than 600 players to participate between our spring and fall seasons in 2018,” said Updegraff, who noted that the league has also increased fundraising and created a coach’s clinic for new and returning coaches.
He recently sold his business, Turquoise Terrapin, a shipping and logistics business, after 12 years of ownership. Football, however, is still in his blood.
“Leagues like HEWYBL provide another entry point into this great game, and we have some fantastic athletes,” Updegraff said. “In some cases, the kids will never play tackle football, and in some cases they will move on to play tackle football. For those who move on, hopefully we’re sending them along with some fundamental soundness and with fewer injuries. For those who never play tackle football, we’ve still introduced them to a game that they can play through high school, into college and through adulthood.
“I am blessed to be surrounded by fantastic board members, dedicated coaches and tons of parents who volunteer their time to our league. Just like success on the football field, our success as a league is really a team effort.”
Mazzetta is being honored as the Hank Johns Coach of the Year award after leading North Hunterdon to an 11-1 record — a school record for victories — and the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV championship. It was the second state title in school history and the Lions finished with the highest state ranking in their history at No. 11.
Jared has a 27-15 career record and has guided North Hunterdon to four straight playoff appearances. He has also been recognized as the NJ Internet Radio Coach of the Year, the North 2 NJ Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year and the Lehigh Valley Coach of the Year. As the Lions offensive coordinator since 2011, he has led his teams to every major offensive school record, including single season total yardage, TDs and scoring average.
Prior to arriving at North Hunterdon, Mazzetta played for Virginia Tech’s Big East co-championship team in 2001 and the Hokies ACC championship squad in 2004. He led Virginia Tech’s special teams in tackles as a sophomore. In high school, he captained the Hunterdon Central state championship team in 1999 and earned AllAmerican and All-State honors at tight end.
Mazzetta has a Masters Degree in Health Promotions from Virginia Tech, and is certified as a Health and Physical Education Teacher, National Association of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer, Adult/Child CPR and First Aid Instructor and National Safety Council driver safety training instructor.
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