If you’ve looked at our ongoing list of announced recruits, you may wonder why so few East region players are mentioned.

No team has more than two recruits listed and most teams aren’t represented at all. One North region school (Augustana) has nearly as many recruits listed as the Empire 8, Liberty League, NEFC and NESCAC combined.

While this paucity (SAT word!) is generally due to a lack of information, we’ve finally got some East region stories to share.

NJAC Backs

Kean football fans haven’t had much to cheer about recently, finishing no better than fifth since we started keeping track in 1999.

But an upset win over Montclair State and a close game with Rowan in 2004 might have lit a spark of optimism in Union, New Jersey. That spark was fanned a little by a North-South High School All-Star Football game featuring a handful of Cougars-to-be.

The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press reports that Linden High defensive end Jimmy Moreno was instrumental in the North team’s two-point victory. The North sealed the game by thwarting a late drive led by Asbury Park HS quarterback Keith Gladden. Both Moreno and Gladden will attend Kean this fall.

The game also featured Butler (N.J.) HS running back Jared Greenburg, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound dynamo who gained more than 1,900 yards and 29 touchdowns last year. You can read more about Greenburg, another Cougar newcomer, in this NorthJersey.com article.

Cortland State will receive some young backfield talent according to the (Oneonta, N.Y.) Daily Star. Cooperstown (N.Y.) HS back Brendan Hill will play for the Red Dragons this fall and, while coaches normally say nice things about incoming players, Cortland Coach Dan MacNeill seemed particularly high on Hill. “”Immediately after reviewing his tape, Brendan was a top prospect for us,” MacNeill told the paper. “We know one thing, Brendan is a pretty terrific running back.”

Incidentally Hill’s high school wrestling foe, Matt Mazgaj, is headed to Washington & Jefferson.

MAC Daddies

Last time we mentioned that Delaware Valley sent us a report on their recruits. Now we can add Lycoming to the short list of schools that have shared their 2005 recruiting class with us. You can read the Warriors’ official release here.

A trio of Red Rovers will come over to the MAC as Easton (Pa.) HS graduates John Navone, Jarrid Myers and Todd Kresge will attend King’s, Susquehanna and Wilkes respectively.

FDU-Florham will be the college home for Sam Trotta of Delran (N.J.) HS while Tyler Williams of Whitehall (Pa.) HS joins MAC-mate Moravian.

Good Deal for the Cards

The Gloucester (N.J.) County Times reports that the Wesleyan (Conn.) Cardinals will feather their football nest with Gateway Regional (N.J.) HS graduate Kevin Leamy. Reminiscent of versatile D3football.com All-American and Williams grad Scott Farley, Leamy played running back, quarterback, place kicker, linebacker and defensive back in high school.

NOTE: Thanks to our East region ATR columnist Tom Wilson who fed us most of these stories. You can check out his NJAC blog here.

In non-East region recruiting news…

– National Trail (Ohio) HS quarterback Randy Kerns will play football and baseball at Earlham

– Tolar (Texas) HS teammates J.W. Pendleton and Dustin Waldrep will attend Hardin-Simmons and Sul Ross State respectively

– Bethel Park (Pa.) HS quarterback L.J. Michalski will enroll at Johns Hopkins

– Burlington Township (N.J.) HS quarterback Jim Jeffers is headed to Muhlenberg

– Norwin (Pa.) HS graduate Rick Stevey will play football and run track at Thiel

– Jefferson-Morgan (Pa.) HS alum Eric Cox will attend Waynesburg

As always, if you have recruiting news, feel free to share using the comments feature. Please provide the URL so we can verify the story or we’ll erase the post, even if you’re reporting your own college decision.

NOTE: Thanks to NJAC Poster JPS93 who spotted this (East Brunswick, N.J.) Hometown News Tribune article citing two more incoming East region quarterbacks.

Piscataway (N.J.) HS Quarterback Robert Rose, meet East Brunswick (N.J.) HS Quarterback Matt Mariano. They could be the future leaders of the 2004 East Region finalists as Rose heads to Rowan and Mariano to Delaware Valley. Both will have to wait, though, as the Profs and Aggies have talented incumbents already under center in Mike Orihel and Adam Knoblauch respectively.

I wonder if Rose will mention the final score of the Rowan-Del Val playoff game to Mariano when they see each other on Thursday…