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SSPPOORRTTSS EEDDIITTOORR:: FFrraannkk DDiiLLeeoo,, (973) 428-6670; fdileo@gannett.comTTOO RREEPPOORRTT SSCCOORREESS:: (800) 398-8933

BBEL DUQUE, METSSTOP DODGERSHernandez throws seven sharp innings,Carlos Delgado quits boos with clutch,two-run single in New York’s win . B3

Too much football?

KAREN MANCINELLI / DAILY RECORD

From left, Hanover Park’s Frankie O’Connor, Maax Wecksler and Tom Michaelowski run through blocking drills during summer workouts.

Year-rounddedicationessentialfor success

Safety isgoal ofnew stateguidelines

BY JANE HAVSYDAILY RECORD

Montville football coachGerry Gallagher occasionallyasks his assistants, “How are wealive?” When Gallagher playedat Morris Catholic in the 1960s,coaches would give players salttablets.

Leading tackles with the hel-met was encouraged. Playersweren’t allowed to unbuckletheir chinstraps until practicewas over, and anyone who need-ed water — offered up from ashared bucket with a dipper —“wasn’t tough.”

Times have definitelychanged.

The New Jersey StateInterscholastic AthleticAssociation implemented pre-season practice guidelines forfall sports this year, designed tohelp the athletes get used totraining in hot weather andavoid serious injuries.

BY JANE HAVSYDAILY RECORD

Rob Miscia’s football seasonbegan when the rest of his com-petition was shoveling snow. TheParsippany Hills lineman wasback in the weight room with histeammates on January 2.

After losing in the NJSIAANorth 1, Group III final for twoyears in a row, the Vikings weredetermined to improve any waythey could — even if it meantadding more workouts toalready-packed schedules, or sac-rificing other sports in the nameof football.

Parsippany Hills held a mini-camp to learn plays right afterschool ended in June, then prac-ticed four afternoons a week inJuly. The Vikings lifted weightsthen headed out to the field onMondays and Tuesdays, had spe-cialized skill drills onWednesdays and just liftedThursdays.

“You have to love the sport,”said Miscia, a senior who is hop-ing to start on the defensive line.

“All the football players on ourteam do.”

Though the players feelthey’ve got an edge, nearly everyfootball team in Morris County— and most across New Jersey —have also been working out justas much.

Every state sponsors 11-manfootball, with a handful also offer-ing 9-, 8- or even 6-man teams.

However, the National Federationof State High School Associationsdoes not regulate off-season activ-ities, according to assistant direc-tor Bob Colgate. That umbrellagroup only writes “the actualplaying rules for varsity-levelcompetition,” what happensbetween the lines on Friday nightand Saturday afternoon. Thatleaves everything outside of thefall open to the individual states,with radically different interpre-tations of what is appropriate.

New Jersey has more liberalfootball regulations than most ofthe country does.

Once upon a time, high school football teams would do whatever it takes during the summerto gain an advantage for the upcoming season. But now, nearly everyone is out there. Withoffseason workouts beginning earlier as teams seek any edge, can there be such a thing as

WARREN WESTURA / SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD

Colin Bahar takes a break to quench his thirst during summer work-outs at Randolph High School.

SEE FOOTBALL / B6 SEE GUIDELINES / B7

MEL EVANS / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rutgers has a Heisman Trophy candidate in run-ning back Ray Rice.

RU needs tocatch a fewmore breaksfor repeatAyear ago, the Rutgers football team caught

just about every break it could. The differ-ence from past years is that the Scarlet

Knights were able to take advantage of thosebreaks.

This year’s schedule provides some morepotential advantages, but of course there are noguarantees.

The 2007 Rutgers team should have a powerfuloffense. It has a strong line, a solid quarterback,excellent receivers and a Heisman candidate in

running back Ray Rice.Defensively they are good, butright now not as good as the2006 unit. Depth is a problemon the defensive side, and thatmay prove to be the differencebetween a good or a greatyear.

Rutgers’ first five gamesand seven of the first eightare at home, including show-downs with Maryland, SouthFlorida and No. 3 West

Virginia.Rutgers can go 12-0, but shouldn’t finish any

worse than 8-4.Let the games begin.THURSDAY, SEPT. 30, BUFFALO: Rutgers is

finally at the stage where weaker programs areno longer a serious threat. The visiting Bullswill be dispatched in the manner that HowardUniversity was a year ago (56-7). At least Howardhad a dynamite band. Rutgers wins.

Paul Franklin

FDU-Florhamstar Hendershotlands ABA deal

BY BRENDAN KUTYDAILY RECORD

PARSIPPANY — Young men piled onto the PoliceAthletic League basketball court on Saturday withone intention — to earn a professional basketballcontract.

Little did they know that one of them alreadyhad.

Florham Park’s Chris Hendershot inked a one-year deal with the American BasketballAssociation’s Jersey Express before team tryouts,securing his first spot on a professional roster.

“This is great,” Hendershot said. “It’s what I’vebeen working for.”

Hendershot, 24, graduated from FarleighDickinson University-Florham Park in 2005 with aBachelor’s Degree in sociology. Since then, he’sbeen working part-time and competing in basket-ball leagues throughout the state.

In two years with the Devils, Hendershot landedhimself 24th on the school’s all-time scoring listwith 1,008 points. He also holds school records inseveral offensive categories, most notably in career(.627) and season (.602) field goal percentage.

SEE FRANKLIN / B4

SEE HENDERSHOT / B7

Check outwww.dai-lyrecord.com fora list of state-by-state regula-tions on sum-mer footballpractice.