Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat, the saying goes—and Mathew “Matt” Yascko ‘23 follows this virtue diligently.

The fourth-year quarterback and varsity all-star has seen another successful season, leading Edison to its first sectional title since 1991. 

Yascko completed his year having thrown an impressive total of 1,893 yards over the air and adding 555 on the ground. He also threw for sixteen touchdowns and ran for nine more.

Yascko received many honors for his performance, being named to the USA TODAY Offensive All-State Second Team, Big Central Conference All-Division Team, and the Middlesex Offensive All-County First Team. He was selected as the MyCentralJersey.com/USA Today Network 2022 Big Central All-Conference Offensive Football Player of the Year and the recipient of Central Jersey Sports Radio’s “Longevity Reward.” NJ.com readers also voted him N.J. Football Player of the Year with a resounding 45% of the vote. 

Despite all of his individual successes, Yascko remains humble, making sure to prioritize his teammates’ success as much as his own. 

The Eagle’s Eye met with him to discuss the season. 

EE: This season has been pretty historic. I believe you have a really impressive record, beat Lenape in the sectional finals, made it all the way to Toms River for that game. How do you feel about this season? 

MY: Very happy with how the season went. We started off 2–2, which was a little shaky in the beginning, but we put it together towards the middle of the season and got hot when it mattered, so we ended up having a pretty good playoff run. It was a great season, and we accomplished everything we wanted. 

EE: Talking about that 2–2 rocky start, describe some of those challenges you and the team faced. 

MY: Early on, we beat Cedar Creek, the battle of the beach. It was a great win for us. Then, unfortunately, I got hurt, I broke my nose, not a football injury, but Anthony Calantoni stepped up. He beat J.P. Stevens and then, unfortunately, lost a great game to North Brunswick. Then I came back and we lost to Sayreville again, which was not very good, but the experience and the heart of our guys, we persevered through it all, fought through the adversity, and ended up putting it together and, like I said, got hot when it mattered. 

EE: I remember the North Brunswick game. 13–10. That was really close, and I think it was a really good showing against a really strong North Brunswick team, so props to the team as well. So, what has been your proudest moment for this season? 

MY: The semifinal game against North Brunswick, the playoff game, we were down fourteen with three minutes left and we didn’t quit. We showed with heart and we went out there and scored sixteen points in three minutes to end up winning the game. 

EE: And I believe you kicked two onside kicks. That’s amazing. 

MY: Yea, that doesn’t happen that often. There were a bunch of moments. The South Brunswick game was really fun, that was, I believe, homecoming. That was a good one. And obviously the sectional championship against Lenape, that was a good win. But I’d say North Brunswick game just because that was a team that we hadn’t beaten previously in the last five or six years, and winning like that was a great time. 

EE: Just one last question—you’re obviously a senior, you’re graduating this year. Do you have any thoughts about your future, what you’ll do in your future, or where you might play in college? 

MY: I’m looking to stay at college somewhat near here within driving distance. I want to play football, and I know I want to be a teacher, either history or gym, so I’m looking to get into education somewhere around here. But no idea yet where I really want to go.