Two from Triton, One from Highland Named to Touchdown Club's All-Academic Team

Three football players from BHPRSD high schools are being honored on Tuesday night not just for their accomplishments on the gridiron, but also for their outstanding abilities in the classroom.

Brian Keller and James Sharp of Triton High School and Kyle Sipple of were named to the Touchdown Club of South Jersey's All-Academic Team. The trio will be honored during a dinner at Adelphia Restaurant in Deptford, New Jersey tonight. Former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyan will be a guest speaker at the event.

Sipple, an lineman and captain for the Highland Tartans in 2011, said he didn't expect to be named to such an honor. He found out about it from his head coach, Craig Stinson.

“I was actually kind of shocked,” said Sipple. “Linemen don't get much recognition.”

“We were really excited, because Highland struggled this year with football,” said Sipple's mother, Shirlie. “Kyle tried to keep his head up and never gave up in his games. It's nice to see something good come out of the year.”

Sipple was able to overcome a torn ACL in 2010 to return to the field for his senior year. His father, Warren, said that Kyle was able to keep up his grades and perform well in honors despite the long, hard road of rehabbing from his injury.

Sipple has a 4.2 GPA and has made unofficial visits to Princeton, Temple, Penn, Rowan and Virginia Tech. Coach Stinson nominated Kyle for the All-Academic Team because of his high GPA.

“To be a student-athlete, you have to be able to balance your time and organize your time to be successful,” said Stinson. “Kyle was able to do both.”

Keller, meanwhile, has made a ton of noise for Triton on the field during the 2011 season, starting at both quarterback and defensive end. In addition to football, he also plays basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring.

In the classroom, Keller is also very successful. Triton head coach Pete Goetz noted that he is an excellent student who keeps up with his studies even with his heavy involvement in athletics.

“He's gotten tons of honors from last year to this year,” said Goetz. But he also gets it done in the classroom. It's going to open up a lot of doors for him.”

Goetz stated that Keller is being pursued by a number of Division I-AA colleges such as Colgate, Bucknell, Fordham and Lafayette, as well as a couple Ivy League schools.

The third honoree, Sharp, played alongside Keller for the Mustangs, playing at running back and linebacker. While Sharp has not been a starter, Goetz said of how proud he was of how he has developed since joining the team freshman year.

“He's come from not knowing much about all football to someone who doesn't start, but someone I can depend on if I need to put him in.” said Goetz. “He does a great job in the classroom, his SAT scores are beyond belief.”

Sharp takes all honors classes at Triton and carries a 4.1 GPA. Even though Sharp doesn't necessarily have the same amount of honors as some of his teammates on the field, his work ethic with the football and his abilities in the classroom were reasons why he was nominated by Goetz.

The Touchdown Club of South Jersey, which was founded in 1967, each year celebrates high school football players who are successful in the classroom. Sipple, Keller and Sharp will join a group of over 2,400 athletes that have been named to past All-Academic teams. For more information on the Touchdown Club, you can visit their website.