By Rich Chrampanis
HOWELL – When Aaron Van Trease was lying on a stretcher after suffering a serious spinal cord injury on the third play of the game Sept. 23 against Manasquan, he told his coach, “Don’t worry about me. Go win this game.” No one on the Saint John Vianney football team was surprised at the selfless act in the midst of a dire situation.
“That’s his character, that’s his personality,” SJV senior linebacker Christian Buchanan said. “He cares about everyone else.”
First year Lancers head football coach Jeff Papcun was moved to tears when he talked about what Aaron means to the Saint John Vianney community. He watched his team win its fifth consecutive game against Marlboro but the focus continues to be on its inspirational leader.
“It is hard, I’m getting choked up now because of how well they played,” Papcun said. “He’s just a good kid and me and coach Mike (Alberque), we went to go visit him Monday after our Mass. He was making sure that we were OK before he was even OK because he sees us getting choked up going up there to see him.”
On a rainy and windy Sunday morning in Howell with their teammate still hospitalized, Saint John Vianney came together to play for “AVT18.” With his family asking for privacy, his prognosis is unknown but the assumption is the road to recovery will be long. Aaron had a seven-hour surgery the day after his injury and, according to a fundraiser page dedicated to his recovery, he had two vertebrae removed.
Having a Saturday game delayed due to weather made for a long week for the SJV team. With teammates and coaches making hospital visits and facing the scary reality that Aaron will not be back on the sidelines for his senior season, it was a challenging week both emotionally and physically. Yet the Lancers entered the field at Howell High School holding Aaron’s No. 18 jersey high, determined to play in his honor.
“It means the world to lift his spirits,” senior Kyle Verriest said. “He’s been fighting for us every day. We’re going to fight for him every day. We know he’s out there doing everything he can and we’re going to do the same thing for him. He’s family. We’ll do anything for each other.”
Following the Lancers 28-14 win against Marlboro, the team immediately went to the stands to present the game ball to Aaron’s cousin, aunt and uncle, who said they’d make sure it gets to Aaron, who is recovering in New Brunswick.
“I know all the support he is getting is very uplifting to him,” Chris Colaner, Aaron’s uncle said. “It’s nothing short of amazing… all the Shore sports teams rallying around Aaron.”
The Shore Conference football community has banded together to show its support. Over $125,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe account, student sections all across Monmouth and Ocean counties wore black at their Week Five games, and even referee crews wore AVT18 shirts. Papcun saw it firsthand when he was scouting Ocean Township and Raritan in Hazlet.
“Seeing Ocean come out in the Aaron shirts, I started crying,” Papcun said. “My wife asked what’s wrong and I just said it means a lot to see the outpouring of help and suppor t for this kid, this family and our community.”
Aaron didn’t become the Lancers star ting quarterback until his senior season. While he was instrumental in three straight SJV wins, his impact on an entire community is far greater than any stats he compiled.
“He loves all of us,” Buchanan said. “We all love him. His family was here watching the game. We know he is happy right now.”
The article originally appeared in the October 6 – 12, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
