NORTH BRUNSWICK – The quarterback saw many of his teammates getting to play both ways in Thursday’s Marisa Rose Bowl and he wanted to join in on the fun.

“I was trying to slide my way in there, play some defense,” said Christian Solino with a laugh, already knowing the answer. “They’ll never let that happen. A quarterback playing defense – it wouldn’t turn out well.”

Especially since each team of recently graduated seniors from Middlesex County high schools had one QB on its roster. Team Marisa featured Solino and Team Rose had Matt Stanton.

So Solino remained behind center and the St. Joseph graduate did his share of iron man football by taking every snap on the warm evening at North Brunswick High School.

In a game highlighted by defense, it was Team Marisa prevailing to win 14-7 in the charity all-star game.

Solino was selected the Dr. Joseph Gaffney Most Valuable Player after throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Holloway (Metuchen) with 9:48 left in the second quarter. The Monmouth University-bound Solino also rushed for an 8-yard TD with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter.

For Team Rose, Rocco Bellamy (Piscataway) bolted up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:35 left in the second quarter and Mike Testa’s extra point tied it at 7-7 heading into halftime.

His former Chiefs teammate Samir Croley-Battle snagged two interceptions in the first half as Team Rose ended drives.

The Bellamy and Sons Paving-sponsored game benefitted The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, a nonprofit that assists children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area. Marisa Rose Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. The Edison resident was just 13 years old. 

Marisa was treated by Gaffney, a professor of pediatrics and division director, pediatric cardiology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility.

The contest formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and Autoland Classic returned after a two-year hiatus. It has raised $715,000 for charity since its kickoff in 1994.

For Solino, the meaning of the game resonated with him for personal reasons and he was thrilled to give back.

“If I could play the game again, I’d play it again in a heartbeat especially for the cause,” he said. “It’s such a great cause. This game is actually really close to me because I had someone in my family pass away from the same type of cancer and it really hit me. It’s something I hold dear because that’s something that could happen to me. It could happen to anyone.”

Solino said he thought of his cousin during the game.

“I’d look up,” he said. “She’s up there watching me. She’s looking over. I did it for both of us.”

In a game filled with defense, several players shined.

A South Plainfield duo came through early in the second quarter for Team Marisa. Linebacker Michael Kurilew forced a fumble that Jacob DelVecchio recovered.

“We worked on the same side all week of practice,” DelVecchio said. “We knew each other already.”

DelVecchio, who is best known as a wrestler and will continue his mat career at York College of Pennsylvania, got to show off his football skills one last time on a defense that jelled over the six practices.

“We had a lot of fun with it,” he said. “We worked hard but we had fun doing it so it was a fun time. Anytime you can have fun playing the game, it’s a good time. We were definitely having fun, screaming, yelling having a great time. Honestly, it felt like we played all year together. We were all in sync. We all knew what we were doing at the same time. It’s like we played as one.”

The standouts for Team Marisa included Kraig Wade (East Brunswick), whose highlights in the first half numbered a sack, a tackle for no gain and he put pressure on the quarterback which led to an incomplete pass.

For Team Rose, Middlesex’s Bobby Ulmer had a tackle for no gain on third down that led to a punt on the opening possession.  

Solino credited the offensive line for Team Marisa’s offensive success. Sayreville’s Claude Blagogee, Nick Schabilon and Santana Fonseca – who also kicked two extra points – joined with East Brunswick’s Jason Soliman and Monroe’s Ryan Zurawiecki in the trenches.

They gave time for the running backs to have nice gains and keep the clock moving, which included East Brunswick’s Noriano Smith and Romeo Diaz, Bryce Hollis (South Plainfield) and Anthony Roige (St. Joseph).

For Team Rose, Rocco Bellamy was a workhorse on the ground and Stanton (Woodbridge) connected with Marquis Perry (North Brunswick) and Isaiah Allen for a combined eight passes. J.F. Kennedy’s Justin Suero had a catch on the team’s opening drive of the second half.

East Brunswick's Romeo Diaz, “It was a great experience playing with other kids that you normally play against. We jelled really quick. (Game founder and director Marcus) Borden made this a big deal telling us that we’re the first to bring it back. We wanted to be the first to win and we jelled – felt good about it and we won. Great feeling, even better than just being a part of this game. And (playing for) this great foundation, all for a good cause.”

“Our defense was great. Our defense was playing really well. Our coaches did a great job teaching us what we had to do.”

East Brunswick’s Jason Soliman, “Coach (Matt) Pazinko emphasized that it all starts with the linemen up front. That's how we're going to win. We get a good push up front we're going to get three, four yards every time we run the ball. We're going to get yards. So that's what we kept doing. ... It was a great game. You put the top players in one game everybody’s going to want to win.”

Matt Pazinko, one of Team Marisa’s coaches and an East Brunswick assistant said, “It’s fun. The guys are very competitive with each other so it’s nice to see. It’s nice to get this back. I mean the first time it’s going to be Middlesex versus Middlesex is interesting to do. There’s a lot of rivalries going into the game so it kind of played out on the field, also. When you play against Union teams they don’t know each other as well, but it was good to see them fighting hard against each other.”