EXPLORE MORE:

Patriot Preview: Last Year’s Young Team Starts ’24 With Experience

August 28, 2025

NW_Football_Prev_01 Large — C.J. Mamay will lead the Patriots again this season. Photo by Joe Phalon.

The North Warren Patriots begin their second year under head coach John Baum on Thursday at Bound Brook with a number of familiar, and now more experienced, faces.

Last season’s Patriots started at a disadvantage, having lost 12 players from the 2023 squad to graduation. That thrust younger players — many in ninth grade — into roles usually handled by juniors and seniors. Players who only the year before squared off against seventh- and eighth-graders were suddenly staring down 17- and 18-year-old opponents.

The Patriots bring experience earned as young players into 2025. Photo by Joe Phalon.

Baum believes that experience will make the team more formidable this year.

“We have eight seniors this year,” Baum said. “I think we have a pretty dynamic backfield, and everyone else brings experience to the game they might not have had with an older team last year.”

Veteran running backs Aiden Elliot-Able and AJ Soricelli are returning. Photo by Joe Phalon.

Baum will be starting sophomore C.J. Mamay as quarterback again this year. Mamay, who was starting QB last year as a freshman, was sidelined with a broken collarbone midway through the season. Sophomore Tyler Stout took over, with running back Zach Paseler platooning late in several games.

Mamay has Baum’s confidence.

“C.J.’s back at the at the helm as starting quarterback,” Baum said. “He’s picked up the new steps and the new offense pretty quickly. He’s commanding that huddle. I think he’s going to have a really good year.”

Also returning are Aiden Elliot-Able and AJ Soricelli, who combined for 859 yards last season. Soricelli rushed for 103 yards in North Warren’s final game of the year against Parsippany.

Baum believes his team will be ready to take on the National Blue Division of the New Jersey Super Football Conference after a Saturday scrimmage with South Hunterdon and Sussex Tech.

North Warren head coach John Baum believes his defense will bring a tighter game this year. Photo by Joe Phalon.

Despite their 1-8 record last year, Baum said he saw plenty of potential in his young team, much of which would emerge once players gained experience cut down on miscues and sloppy play.

“I was pretty happy with a lot of things that I saw,” Baum said. “We still have a couple little things. We need to continue to tweak and work on a couple missed blocking assignments, so I’ll get guys up to speed and ready to go, but I felt like we fired out of the gate a little bit better than we did last year. We are quicker off the ball. I thought we were crisp for the first time running that against the live action.”

First regular season game is Aug. 28 at Bound Brook, and the first home game will be Sept. 5 against Wallkill Valley.

2025 North Warren Patriots football schedule

Aug. 28: at Bound Brook, 6 p.m.
Sept. 5: vs. Wallkill Valley, 7 p.m.
Sept. 12: at Hopatcong 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 19: vs. Kittatinny 7 p.m.
Sept. 26: vs. Hackettstown 7 p.m.
Oct. 3: at Whippany Park 7 p.m.
Oct. 10: vs. Boonton 7 p.m.
Oct. 18: at Belvidere 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 24: at Kinnelon 7 p.m.

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer

Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.