AJ Fasano—Hopatcong High School Athlete of the Week

For years, Hopatcong High School has posted its athletes of the week on a hallway bulletin board. Hopatcong Patch plans to bring you a closer look at the week's top Chiefs through a Q&A.

This week, we spoke with Chiefs running back and linebacker AJ Fasano, a junior who returned this season after breaking his back last year. Fasano had 105 yards on five carries in a blowout win against Whippany Park on Saturday.

The rest of the Athlete's of the Week include cross country's Dylan Capwell and Amanda Scallan, boys soccer's Dylan See, cheerleading's Jenny Kracht, girls tennis' Madison Mazur and Michelle Archanbault. Boys soccer didn't nominate anybody.

What do you like least about football?

Losing. Then we have to run sprints. I hate full-field sprints, cross-field sprints.

Favorite play?

Any play that I get the ball. I like going outside. Doesn't matter if it's a pitch or a handoff. Well, I guess I like handoff better.

What drew you to football?

My parents. They just said to play football. It would keep me out of trouble. I did, and I stuck with it.

What are some of your favorite classes?

Can I call lunch a favorite class? No tests. No homework. Pretty easy.

Favorite school lunch?

Probably cheeseburger. The chicken patty is too common now. I eat it too much.

Favorite football team?

The Giants. My dad always like them, so I kind of liked them, even though they're having a rough year.

Why do you play tennis, too?

It keeps me in shape, surprisingly. I don't really excel at all the other spots. It's fun. It's a relaxing environment.

Athlete you most admire?

That's a tough one. I like Brian Urlacher. He's tough, and he's very intimidating. And he's very big, unlike me.

Greatest football moment?

Probably my first game back this year when I stepped on the field. Broke my back last y ear. I was making a tackle, and one of my big defensive linemen feel on top of me. My head hit my butt. Broke one of my vertebrates in my back. I was out the rest of the year and way into the winter. I didn't get cleared until the middle of March. I actually played the next three games after that, and then coach called me a grandma in practice when I started limping when I was running. So I got checked out and that's when I found out I broke it. I just thought it was a nerve.