Jonathan Williams
Sport: Football
School: Becton
Class: Senior. Age: 17
Accomplishment: In Becton’s 49-7 win over Cresskill, Williams rushed 16 times for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He also made seven tackles from his safety position.
Every running back worth his jersey knows to thank the offensive line for paving the way on the field. Jonathan Williams can do one better and name the O-lineman from his Becton football team off the top of his head.
“Cody Dembinski, George Kasper, Chris Zawadzki, Greg Childers and Danny Chandra,” Williams said.
The list was recited over the phone, but on his honor, the senior from Carlstadt did not need any prompting.
“I promise you I wasn’t looking,” Williams said, “those are my best friends.”
That was especially evident in Becton’s 49-7 victory over Cresskill last Friday, when Williams averaged 15.3 yards per carry and found the end zone four times. As a unit, the offense piled up 302 yards rushing on 29 carries (10.4 average).
“I’ve had a lot of success hitting the holes this year,” Williams said. “The way the line’s opening it up for me, they’re doing very well. And I believe we can keep on doing it.”
Since he doubles as a defensive back, he also was quick to point out, “our defense is just as good as it was last year.”
That may seem hard to fathom. The 2020 Wildcats shut out their opponents for the first 273 minutes and nine seconds of the season before yielding a pair of late touchdowns in the NJIC championship game.
In this year’s season opener, Becton fell flat against Hawthorne in a 26-0 loss. But since then, the team has won four in a row and conceded just two touchdowns.
“Hawthorne was kind of like our wake-up call,” Williams said. “They gave it to us from the first snap on, and then we realized after that game that we’ve got to start putting in the work – and that we couldn’t lose anymore.”
The lone silver lining to the loss was that it did not come against an NJIC Meadowlands opponent, so the Wildcats remain unbeaten in the division and thus have a chance to return to the conference tournament. They visit Secaucus on Friday and host Hasbrouck Heights on Oct. 15.
The latter provided their biggest challenge of 2020, which Becton pulled out on the road, 14-0.
“That was a great defensive game,” Williams said. “We played one of our best games on defense at their field.”
Another reason the Wildcats work together so well is that Williams – like many others – have been in the East Rutherford/Carlstadt town program since youth football. He began playing at age 8 and hopes to continue on the gridiron at a college to be determined.
In the meantime, he continues to take what his offensive line gives him but also gets pushed by a defensive lineman in practices and workouts.
“Tommie Minaya, that’s the hardest worker I’ve ever seen,” Williams said of the end that registered three sacks against Cresskill. “He’s the best-conditioned player because he’s a really good track star.
“He always pushes me to do the best,” Williams added, “and we’ve got a lot to do this season.”
