ORANGE/MONTCLAIR — Orange’s Kalvin Thomas is the state’s leading scorer at the moment with 17 touchdowns in his first four games – which have all been Montclair Kimberley Academy football victories – but that’s not what truly motivates the senior running back and linebacker, who is in the midst of a senior season to remember.
“Our motto is ‘It’s Our Time,’ and it’s all about the positive vibe of this team and the fact that we are all determined that this will be a special season,” said the four-year starter for MKA. “Even though about 75% of the team is back this year, there is just a whole different feel about this team, both on the field and in the school.”
Thomas, who is one of MKA’s quad captains, had three touchdown runs in the undefeated Cougars’ most recent triumph, a 29-2 rout of the Dalton School (N.Y.) on Randall’s Island.
So far this season, the multi-talented Orange resident has had 73 carries for 938 yards (12.8 per carry) and 15 TDs. He also has a fumble return and a kickoff return for TDs.
The Cougars (4-0) visit archrival Newark Academy (0-3) at 1 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 28, at Coursen Field on the Minutemen’s campus in Livingston.
For anyone watching MKA as the 2024 football season continues to unfold, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the Cougars are not only playing at as high a level as they have in nearly a decade, but that they are also enjoying the process.
There were plenty of smiling faces after MKA rode a record-breaking performance from Thomas in roaring past Morristown-Beard, 33-9, on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, Sept. 14, at Van Brunt Field.
The Cougars, who are off to their best start since beginning the 2016 season at 5-0, struck early and often against the Crimson (2-2) as Thomas, an athletic and elusive running back, finished with 21 carries for 324 yards and all five of his team’s touchdowns to increase his state-leading TD total to 14 in just three games, including 56 carries for 727 yards (13 yards per carry) and 12 rushing TDs.
He eclipsed the former school single-season rushing mark of 261 yards on 31 carries set in 2014 by current MKA assistant coach Ethan Fusco.
“Coach Fusco said that if I didn’t break his record today, then I’m not playing for the rest of the season,” Thomas said with a wide smile after the win vs. Mo-Beard. “I had to try and live up to his challenge, continue to trust my O-Line, read my blocks and run to open space.
“We’re playing really good football right now and – most of all – we’re having a lot of fun doing it together.”
Thomas broke free on the game’s first play from scrimmage with his first of two 70-yard TD runs in helping the Cougars build a commanding 20-0 first-quarter lead.
“Thirteen (Thomas) is definitely an exceptional player and we come out here just trying to make holes and allow him to have those big touchdown runs,” said senior left tackle Ben Morganstein, a Maplewood resident, who joins Thomas and fellow seniors Nate Conforti, a lineman, and Jack Scurozo, a DB-WR, as quad captains for the surging Cougars. “We’re a family here, we work well together and, when things click, we have success, which is really showing so far this season.”
Thomas, a superb track and field performer, who excelled in the long and triple jumps, sprints and hurdles while leading MKA’s boys to their first-ever NJSIAA Non-Public B state championship last June, is very appreciative of the wall of excellent blockers in front of him on the gridiron.
“I’d be nothing without our O-Line, which has really come into its own this season,” he said. “We had a big off-season in the weight room with 11 players benching 225 for reps, and we have nice additions like (Seton Hall Prep) transfer Charlie O’Hara, who has added strength and size to our line; and also having some talented reserves has been a blessing for sure.”
MKA’s highly efficient starting O-Line features Morganstein (6-0, 200) at left tackle, Conforti (5-10, 230) at left guard and juniors Jack Gallagher (6-2, 210) at center, O-Hara (5-11, 275) at right guard and Robbie Leben (6-1, 215) at right tackle.
And, whether it’s on the line or backfield on both sides of the ball, the Cougars have nice depth this fall on their 44-man roster with more than half of those seeing multiple reps during the course of a game.
Another Worrall Media-area resident who excels on both sides of the ball for MKA is Maplewood’s Nate Chou, a junior wide receiver and defensive back.
Thomas’ series of top-notch performances also included when he rushed for 229 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 35-19 win at Pingry, defeating a Big Blue team for the first time since 2020. That victory followed a dominant season-opening 35-6 triumph at Dunellen on Aug. 30, when Thomas rushed for 185 yards and scored four TDs, including a 94-yard run from scrimmage and an 86-yard kickoff return to pay dirt.
The Cougars play in the Metropolitan Independent Football League,.where kickoffs are not allowed and the team’s start their drives from the 35-yard line, so to be able to return a kick is a thrill in itself for Thomas, since it only happens in non-league contests, such as against Dunellen.
“I saw the ball coming my way and didn’t really think about anything but taking off and making it as long a return as I could,” said the MKA star with sprinter’s speed. “I’m just enjoying everything about this team right now and the seniors are determined to lead this group of guys to a special season.”
Against Pingry on Saturday, Sept. 7, in Martinsville, the Big Blue took an early 9-0 lead with a touchdown and safety, but MKA came roaring back, led by Thomas, who had a pair of second-quarter TDs on a five-yard run and a 30-yard fumble return for another score as the Cougars took a 14-9 lead.
MKA made it 21-9 in the third quarter before Pingry mounted a comeback to cut the lead to 21-19. Thomas cemented the Cougars’ victory with TD runs of three and four yards in the fourth quarter.
“Kalvin is a very hard worker and people follow him because he is such a great leader,” said Anthony Rea, MKA’s 11th-year head coach. “Whatever our message is as coaches, it is echoed by him and we know that we can let him do most of the talking to his teammates and they listen to him.
“The way he is as a person, on and off the field, is so special, and he has the ability to really connect with people. He’s really only been playing football since the seventh grade and lost much of his eighth-grade season due to COVID, but he continues to get better every season, and is really coming into his own as a senior for an MKA team, which is off to its first 2-0 start since 2016.”
Beating Pingry, which has been a tough MIFL foe, is big. They also knocked off Mo-Beard, another opponent that the Cougar seniors had previously never beaten, after the Crimson had won the last five meetings between the two North Jersey private schools.
“We’re on a revenge tour,” added Thomas. “We defeated Pingry, which was a tough game and now we knocked off Morristown-Beard, which is another very big win for our team.”
One of the big pluses for the Cougars is the tremendous depth on what is a 42-man roster, the largest Rea has had in his more-than-a-decade at the helm.
“We’ve had a few really good classes lately, with 12 seniors, 14 juniors and 11 freshmen on the current team, and I think it’s great to see everyone buying into what we’re trying to do, while also promoting a positive culture on the team and in the school,” said the veteran MKA head mentor. “And, with great seniors like Kalvin to set the tone, there is a positive and also fun atmosphere, which is great to be around for a coach.”
Part of the boost for Thomas and his auspicious season to date is the fact that MKA has its deepest and perhaps best offensive line in some time with key personnel such as senior left tackle Morganstein, the left guard combination of junior Fritz Schwartz and senior quad captain Nate Conforti, junior center Jack Gallagher, junior right guard Charlie O’Hara, who is an impact transfer from Seton Hall Prep, and junior right tackle Robbie Leben.
“I was just saying to one of our assistant coaches the other day how great it is to run behind our O-Line, which has done such a tremendous job in opening holes for me the first two games, and also the fact that there is another really good group behind them,” said Thomas. “The depth on this year’s team is a really important part of why we feel we can stay strong over the long haul.”
On defense, Thomas is part of a strong linebacker group that includes Conforti, who has fully recovered from a shoulder injury that shortened his junior season, and junior Benji Safirstein on the inside, while key outside linebackers include junior Frances Ogbuehi and senior quad captain Jack Scuorzo.
The sturdy 5-foot-10, 170-pound Thomas is also an outstanding track and field performer, and was a big reason why MKA won its first-ever NJSIAA Non-Public B state championship last spring.
Thomas won the 110-hurdles, placed second in the long jump and triple jump, and was third in the 100-meter dash.
He then went out and finished a highly respectable 11th in the triple jump in the season-ending Meet of Champions.
He also led the Cougars to the 2024 state prep B-Division meet championship.
He has the speed, which can be 4.5 in the 40, and the strength, doing multiples of five bench presses at 225 pounds, while is likely to lift more in a single press.
“Track speed can be different than running on the football field,” said Rea. “But, we know that Kalvin is very fast at both.
“When he took off on his 94-yard touchdown run against Dunellen, we counted about 12 seconds for him to get to the end zone. He’s continuing to get better and better as a player and we’re excited to see what he can do for the rest of this season, that’s for sure!”
When it comes to looking down the road to the next level, Thomas plans to pursue a college football career.
“We had Trey Wilson, who as an excellent back here, and he then had a fine career at Fordham,” said Rea. “I know that Kalvin can also be a great asset to a college team and it’s just a matter of finding the right fit for him. I know that he went to a camp at Bryant University, and he could certainly be a good fit for a (FCS or 1-AA) school like that, and at a high-level D3.”
For Thomas, who is also a solid student, the college process will ensue in due time.
“Right now, I’m concentrating on my senior season and trying to help lead this MKA football team,” he said. “It’s a fun team to be around each day, and we’re determined to keep getting better as this season moves on.”
NOTES- Thomas started at linebacker and as a wide receiver as a freshman, and saw some action at running back as a sophomore when the team’s feature back was Nic Lembo…Thomas rushed for 669 yards and 7 TDs in seven-and-a-half games as a junior while missing a game and a half due to an injury…Thomas needed just six carries for his 185 yards in the season-opening win at Dunellen…His younger sister, Atyana, is a sophomore thrower on the MKA girls track and field team…Thomas’ favorite subjects in school are math and science and he is strongly considering pursuing a future career as an athletic trainer.
Orange’s Kalvin Thomas having great senior year for MKA, leads state with 17 TDs added by Steve Tober on
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