Champion Vikings Head to Snapple Bowl

Before the South Brunswick High School football team begins official work later this summer to defend the sport's first state championship in school history, two of the key contributors for the squad will have one final last hurrah. 

Recently graduated seniors Dion Hooper and Connor Killmurray will represent South Brunswick at the annual Snapple Bowl on July 18 at at Kean University. The annual showdown pits Union County all stars versus Middlesex County all stars for a great cause.

Each year, the Snapple Bowl helps raise money for Children’s Specialized Hospital and the NJ Institute for Disabilities Lakeview School. Members of the Middlesex and Union County teams also will spend time visiting both locations.

Football and cheerleading coaches from around Union and Middlesex counties nominate members of their teams for the Snapple Bowl and the other coaches vote on who will participate. 

Hooper, a 5'9" 165 lbs. spark plug provided a number of big plays on the season for the Vikings. As a receiver, Hooper caught 8 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns on the season. 

Hooper also rushed for 114 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

Killmurray, a 6' 1" 225 lbs. lineman was a model of consistency for the Vikings and one of the team's senior leaders.

"I could go right down the line with the seniors as the guys who really held this team together," said Head Coach Joe Goerge last year. "When we came in, we said to those guys believe in us and the stuff we're doing because we believe in you. Your expectations are high and so are mine. A lot of that depends on seniors and they carried the load for us. They were the glue that held this team together and their performance was huge in all the big games."

The Snapple Bowl will be the final sendoff for the two Vikings and will put a cap on a historic season for the SBHS program.

The Vikings (10-2) won a tough battle 33-22 over previously unbeaten Manalapan (11-1) for the first football state championship in school history last December. 

While the 2011 team rolled through the regular season undefeated before losing a tough game in the semi-finals, last year the Vikings dropped two games in the regular season. In addition, SBHS faced a couple of early games where they built up early leads before watching the opposition storm back in the second half.

Those character building wins would pay off against Manalapan for the triumphant Vikings.