Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School junior Charlie Volker has gotten a lot of attention as a football star lately. And now there's another accomplishment to pepper his walk of fame.
The record-setting running back for the Bulldogs has been named Offensive Player of the Year by the Asbury Park Press.
Volker has set 2013 RFH football records rushing for a total of 2,108 yards and making 24 touchdowns.
Only the fourth running back in the Shore Conference since 2010 to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, Volker was also named the Class A Central Co-Offensive Player of the Year.
In the game against Weequahic that earned RFH its second Central Group II Championship since 2010, Volker ran for 94 hard-won yards on 30 carries.
He also rushed 314 yards in a single game battle-to-the-finish against Rahway in the Central Group II Semifinals, making an 80-yard touchdown run with 6.8 seconds left to play in that game that RFH won with a score of 28-21.
"Charlie's success stemmed largely from a combination of pure athletic talent and a tireless, regimented approach to training and nutrition that he followed along with his teammates this year," said Rob Orrok, Volker's RFH position coach. "He essentially took all of the resources available and built himself into one of the best running backs in the state."
Other Bulldog team 2013 achievements …
With a season-end record of 11-1, the highest number of wins to date for a single RFH football season, the 2013 team also earned a bump up in the APP top 10 ranking. RFH was named the number three team, up from number four at this time last year.
Volker was also named to 2013 First Team All-Shore Offensive Football by the Asbury Park Press, as was RFH senior offensive lineman Peter Righi.
Righi, who has been credited with making a seamless switch from guard to right offensive tackle this season as RFH utilized a more power-oriented I-formation alignment, recently made a verbal commitment to Monmouth University.
RFH players Donald Bedell and Thomas Martello were named to the Asbury Park Press 2013 First Team All-Shore Defensive Football.
Bedell, a defensive lineman, recorded a total of 90 tackles -- 28 of them solo. He also had 12 sacks over the course of the season, including a sack on the final play during Rumson's 14-6 NJSIAA Central Group II win over previously undefeated Weequahic High School.
Senior defensive back Martello spent the first half of the season as an outside linebacker and then moved to safety. He also made a seamless transition to his new position and played through injuries, including a sprain in his foot during the final two quarters of the storied game against Weequahic. Martello made 13 tackles in that game and had 127 for the season, 40 of them solo. He also had 8.5 sacks.
Senior lineman Kevin Clayton was named to Second Team Defense by the Asbury Park Press, and senior defensive back Sam Shaud was named to Third Team Defense.
* Information provided by RFH in a release
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