Lots of people at the Jersey Shore will likely be Cincinnati Bengals followers in Super Bowl LVI, as a result of the workforce has a neighborhood product on the workforce.
Lengthy-snapper Clark Harris is a New Jersey native, and after the Bengals punched their ticket to Los Angeles, Harris’ step-brother stomach flopped proper into the snow to set free a roar of his personal.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, once in a lifetime opportunity for our family,” mentioned Jim Hutchinson Jr.
The 37-year-old long-snapper performed each soccer and basketball at Southern Regional Excessive Faculty in Manahawkin, close to Lengthy Seaside Island. Chuck Donahue Jr., now the faculty’s athletic director, was considered one of Harris’ coaches.
“It’s unbelievable. I mean, I’ve said the word unbelievable or unreal, probably about 1,000 times since Sunday,” Donohue mentioned.
“You go to a tiny high school in a tiny beach town it’s like, you know, you don’t think about that kind of stuff. You don’t think it’s possible until somebody finally does it,” mentioned brother Braden Harris.
Clark Harris went on to play soccer for Rutgers. His family members nonetheless dwell in Ocean and Cape Could counties. They will’t all go to LA for the huge recreation, so that they’re planning a Super Bowl bash at the Jersey Shore.
“You figure for the price of one ticket. You can throw a big party with 60 people instead of spending so much money to go out there,” Braden Harris mentioned.
Clark Harris nonetheless has a home at the Shore and comes each summer time — and he all the time makes certain to spend time with the children at Southern Regional’s youth soccer camp.
“That’s one thing that’s great about Clark, you know, he never he never forgot where he came from,” mentioned Donohue. “Clark is, you know, he southern Ocean County, he’s 609, all the way through without a doubt.”
Hutchinson mentioned that the Super Bowl will likely be Harris’ 216th recreation, after having spent 14 years in the NFL. He mentioned it is “a career to be proud of.”
All from a man from a small seaside city, now Super Bowl certain, and producing waves of pleasure again residence.