High school Athletic Hall of Fame seeks community input

Bordentown Regional High School is accepting nominations for induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame. The school coordinates the induction with an athletic contest in either the Fall or Winter season. The next induction is scheduled for the 2023-24 school year. Applications must be submitted by May 1.

A committee of community and school district members reviews nominations and selects those to be inducted into the scholarship each senior player received; Poinsett won the biggest prize of all by claiming the $5,000 Jack Stephan Scholarship. For a linebacker such as Poinsett, it was like making a tackle while also causing a fumble and returning it for a touchdown.

Hall of Fame. BRHS would like to elicit more input from the community in this year’s selection process.

Any community member who would like to nominate someone for induction is asked to complete the attached form and either mail or email it to Melissa Guido at the high school. Mail: Bordentown Regional High School, 318 Ward Ave., Bordentown, NJ 08505. E-mail: mguido@ bordentown.k12.nj.us.

“Winning my school’s scholar-athlete award was an honor by itself, and winning the $5,000 award took that honor to the next level,” Poinsett said. “Winning the award is a monument to all the hard work I have put into my four years of high school. The award serves as the finale of my 13-year football career as I begin the next chapter of my life.”

Michael is unsure where that chapter will unfold as he is still narrowing his college choices; but he plans to major in aerospace engineering, which “will allow me to use my skills in math and physics in an interesting and rewarding career.”

His abilities in that area are unquestioned. Poinsett is an A+ student with a weighted grade point average of 108.8 (out of a 100). He won an AP Scholar Award and the Principal’s Award of Excellence, and is a member of the school chess club. His course load featured nearly 10 Advanced Placement courses, including Bokop’s AP Calculus class.

“It is evident that mathematics is one of

Mike’s strengths,” Bokop said. “He could frequently complete problems after seeing only one example. He is very intuitive and he was generally one of the first students to have the answer to questions throughout the class period. Mike is very insightful and he often had a different solution process than the rest of the class. He was able to analyze and evaluate problems that others found difficult.”

Poinsett is not only good at analysis, but pretty keen on exploration; at least when it comes to football. Entering his freshman year at Bordentown, Michael began researching some of the greatest linebackers in NFL history in order to model his game after them.

“I quickly became fascinated by how Lawrence Taylor could intimidate and terrify simply with his presence, and how Dick Butkus made every hit count,” Poinsett said. “I loved how Jack Lambert was so quick to read the offense and get to the football, and how Mike Singletary knew his defense like the back of his hand.”

Poinsett considers those Hall of Famers as having a big impact on his career. There are also those closer to home who have helped.

“I am lucky enough to have had coach Mac (Rich McGlynn) as my linebacker coach,” Poinsett continued. “He was able to harness my obsession with the line- backer position and turn me into a great player. I am also lucky to have had my father (Jim) coach me at the youth level. He constantly reminded me of the importance of a strong mentality. It is because of him that I am confident, aspiring, and relentless. He has led me to work hard, whether it be in the classroom or on the field.”

Bordentown’s Michael Poinsett received the Jack Stephan Scholarship at 61st Annual George Wah Scholar-LeaderAthlete Awards Dinner, hosted by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame on March 12 in West Windsor.

The work Michael put in on the field is reflected in his statistics. He was a fouryear varsity starter who set the Scotties career record for tackles, sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles. He led Bordentown in tackles each of the last two years.

The coaches named him a captain as a senior and the honors were countless. Poinsett was a two-time All-Division selection; the Scotties Defensive Player of the Year and “Scotties” Award winner. He was a three-time 100 percent Award winner for never missing a practice, meeting or workout. He’s also part of the 1,000pound Club in the weight room, and as a youth player for the Bordentown Bulldogs earned the Iron Man Award.

For the Poinsetts, Scotties football is a family affair. Jim and his wife Kelly are president and vice-president of the Huddle Club, and older brother Danny was Bordentown’s DelVal Scholar-Athlete in 2020. Their influence has inspired Mike to absolutely inhale the sport whenever possible.

“From the very first practice as a freshman to his last practice as a senior he was focused and intense as he prepared for