By Tarun Maddali ’16, Staff Writer

The NA football team had a long journey to its championship game. Despite losing that game, the football team knows that it has evolved; Newark Academy Football has had back-to-back winning seasons after wrapping up a very successful 5-3 year, where the team went 5-2 in conference. The seniors have definitely felt this improvement, as starting quarterback Elias Neibart, ’16, said, “my freshman year, the football team was an injury or two away from being discontinued, it is an unbelievable accomplishment that we turned around this program from near extinction to relative prominence.” This season especially, the Minuteman football team has experienced success in all different forms, from come-from-behind victories to dominating wins. The cohesion of the football team, as many of the players are juniors or seniors, was the main reason for this success. As Isaiah Merritt, ’17, added, “Joe Sokolowski, Josh Martin, Andrew Capelli, and Elias Neibart’s leadership qualities were integral to our success on and off the field, along with the common goal of working together.” Despite the successful season, however, there have been ups and downs.

The 2015-16 Minuteman Football season did not start off with the bang many people were hoping for, with back-to-back defeats against MKA and Long Island Lutheran. However, the Minutemen did not give up, and as a result saw the victories come as the team grew into a unit that competed each and every day, especially as the freshmen became more acclimated to the team. This newfound cohesiveness led to a five-game winning streak, where the Minuteman rallied in some close games, including an overtime win against Dalton, and a few big victories, including a beat down of Horace Mann and large victory against Dwight Englewood. Led by veteran quarterback Elias Neibart and seniors Josh Martin, Joe Sokolowski, and Andrew Capelli, the Minuteman Football team was able to finish their regular season on a high note and participate in its first ever bowl game as a Hudson Valley Member. Unfortunately, the Minutemen lost the game 34-24 against Horace Mann, but the season still goes down as one of the most successful in recent history. More important than that game, the football team has established a winning culture once more.

When the dust settled after the championship game, the Minutemen knew that there would be major changes to the program. Four key veterans are graduating this year, including four-year players Elias Neibart, Joe Sokolowski, and Josh Martin. This loss of leadership will definitely hurt, as the Minutemen look forward to next season. However, the football team has a bright future ahead of them in the Hudson Valley Conference. With the current juniors taking the reigns as the new heart and soul of the team, along with a large number of freshmen and sophomores, Coach William Blomn and the NA Football team know that they have many more potential winning seasons ahead of them. As Alex Chang, ’17, a spectator of the games, added “the future for NA Football is bright, with a potentially strong incoming freshman class from the middle school, and new freshmen from other schools.” Although the squad will certainly miss this year’s seniors, they have left a lasting mark on the program, and as a result, NA Football has many years of success ahead.

Former Cowboys quarterback and Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman congratulating the NA football team on their season: IMG_9113.mp4