November 29, 2011

D.J. Singleton (left) and Brandon Napoleon were presented as Semper Fidelis All Americans. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

JERSEY CITY and NORTH BERGEN – North Bergen's Vin Ascolese and the St. Peter's Prep tandem of Brandon Napoleon and D.J. Singleton have racked up plenty of accolades during their high school careers. They can add another honor to their already stellar resumes - All Americans.

The talented trio of Hudson County standouts were formally selected and introduced as participants in the Semper Fidelis All American Bowl on Jan. 3, 2012 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

"It means a lot," said Ascolese after a ceremony yesterday morning at the Hudson County School of Technology. "When I was a little kid I wanted to be an All-American. I guess it's every kid's dream in high school to be an All-American. It's a great honor."

"It's great to get one more chance to be a high school football player and play that game with great players from all around the country," said Napoleon after an afternoon ceremony at St. Peter's Prep. "It's a great honor and I'm really privileged to be a part of it."

Ascolese has 124 tackles and 10 sacks at outside linebacker to help lead his North Bergen team to a 7-4 record and a berth in the North 1, Group IV title game on Saturday against Montclair. He currently has offers from Illinois, Michigan State and Cincinnati among others.

Napoleon and Singleton were vital members of a St. Peter's Prep squad which won its 12th-straight league championship. The West Virginia-bound Napoleon, threw for 11 touchdowns and more than 1,200  yards to go with five rushing scores. Singleton, a Wisconsin commit at safety, bounced back from a lower leg injury which cost him the first two games of the season to finish with more than 50 tackles and five sacks at outside linebacker.

As part of the All American Bowl festivities, there will be a player draft held on Dec. 16 on CBS Sports Network creating the possibility of longtime teammates Napoleon and Singleton being on separate teams.

"I told him if he throws the ball (my way) it's getting picked off. I told him flat out," Singleton said. "We joke around like that a little bit, but it should be fun. I'm hoping we're on different teams so we can compete against each other."

"Me and him go back way before this. In Pop Warner we played against each other all the time," said Napoleon. "So even if we're on the same team or he's against me, it's going to be fun."

Napoleon, Singleton and Ascolese are three of 100 players who have been selected to participate in the game which is partnered by JuniorRank Sports and the United States Marine Corps.

The Sempter Fidelis All-American Bowl will be aired on national television on the CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2012.

Head coach Vincent Ascolese and grandson Vin are all smiles during the ceremony. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)