Goodwin Approaching Morris County Immortality

In only his junior campaign, Madison’s Justin Goodwin has already compiled a resume that rivals some of the greatest players in Morris County history.

To say that Goodwin is having a "special season" really doesn’t do it enough justice, as the 192 points scored through 11 games this season sit him atop the Morris County scoring standings–and primed to enter the record books.

While Goodwin says the only goal remaining this season is to repeat as state champs, the truth remains that the Madison junior's second-straight trip to Kean University in the month of December is rife with individual implications.

With Goodwin just eight points shy of 200 on the season, Friday night against Summit will be his final shot at becoming only the sixth player in Morris County history to finish a season with 200 or more points.

Has it been mentioned that he’s only a junior?

Believe him or not, Goodwin says that he wasn't aware of the record setting pace—and he doesn’t seem to be interested in speaking about it at all.

“I just try to work hard and do whatever I can to help the team,” he said when questioned about approaching the record. “We’re excited and happy to get back [to the state finals]. Just ready to play.”

Despite his non-committal approach to discussing his accomplishments this season, it should be understood that season’s like Goodwin’s don’t come around all that often.

In fact, the last time a Morris County player broke 200 points in one season was in 2002 when Mountain Lakes’ Paul Chiara accounted for 202 total points. Chiara went on to play his college career at Syracuse.

And the last Madison player to break the 200-point mark? That was Pete Jilleba—and he did it in 1963.

As a sophomore, Goodwin’s presence in the high-scoring Madison offense quickly became discernible, despite limited carries due to the team being loaded with quality senior talent.

So it should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Madison football that Goodwin’s junior campaign has dominated so many headlines.

“We expected Justin to be the marquee player this season,” Madison head coach Chris Kubik said. “We knew going in that it was his time to shine. He played behind some great seniors last year and we knew he was going to have an opportunity to step up.”

Undeterred by the individual anticipation surrounding him entering the season, a knack for getting to the edge and finding the hole, coupled with his down to earth and reserved approach, have helped Goodwin shock even his most staunch supporters.

“The offensive line does a great job of opening up holes and giving some creases to run through,” he said modestly. “A lot of the credit goes to those guys. They work really hard.”

Along with his nearly 200 points through 11 games, Goodwin has amassed a 14.6 yards per carry average on his way to 1,625 yards rushing (16th best in the state) and 32 touchdowns (seventh in NJ), both of which are tops in Morris County.

Behind Goodwin on the countywide scoring list this season are names like Butler’s Mike Tenned (152 points) and Delbarton’s Jamie White (150 points), two very talented players in their own right, who despite once being in the same scoring realm as the Madison star, quickly became specks in Goodwin’s rearview mirror.

But Goodwin hasn’t only stood out when toting the rock, as his eight catches for 238 yards and two scores, in addition to a 47.8 yard per kick return average and three kicks returned for touchdowns, are all team bests.

With colleges starting their junior recruiting at the end of the season, the all-purpose back can plan on hearing from plenty of colleges in the near future.

But for now, there's one goal and one goal only, according to Goodwin.

"We’ve been working hard all week preparing for [Summit], and I think we should be fine. We just want to play."

More championship coverage:

- It's No Secret: Dodgers Will Run

- New QB Lassiter Thriving In Tough Spot

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