A post-game fight between two of the state’s top high school soccer powerhouses devolved into violent chaos on Saturday night, with one of New Jersey’s top-ranked players grabbing the throat of a photographer who was taking pictures of the melee.
According to several witnesses, an argument broke out in the post-match handshake line at the St. Benedict’s Prep vs. St. Peter’s Prep soccer game in Jersey City, with players pushing, shoving and eventually throwing punches.
Tom Horak, a photographer assigned by NJ Advance Media to cover the game, was taking pictures of the dispute when St. Benedict’s junior forward Amadou Hann sprinted after him from about 30 yards away.
Horak, 31, said Hann charged him, demanded he delete the photos and grabbed him by the throat, leaving Horak with abrasions across his neck, according to a photo taken from the scene and obtained by NJ Advance Media. The attack lasted less than 10 seconds before Hann was restrained and escorted off the field, witnesses said.
“What he did is definitely not okay,” Horak said. “It was a scary moment. He charged and he kind of grabbed me by the throat. I don’t know if he was trying to grab my shirt and ended up grabbing my throat. My whole mindset was: Get out. Relax. Trying to calm down the situation.”
Hann, who stands 6-foot-2, tallied 16 goals and 11 assists last season, helping lead St. Benedict’s to a 20-0 record and the Non-Public A state championship. The team is currently ranked No. 1 both in New Jersey and nationally.
Hann is widely considered one of the top players nationally in the 2027 class.
Long-time St. Peter’s Prep athletic director Rich Hansen, who was on the sidelines for the game, also confirmed seeing Hann make contact with Horak. Hansen said he believed Hann was attempting to grab Horak’s camera.
“It was kind of surreal,” Hansen said. “I saw (Hann) dart down the sidelines to the photographer. He was obviously in a rattled state and the photographer backed up. He was shocked by it. But obviously contact was made. I looked and I saw (Hann) grab the photographer. I’ve never seen anything quite like that.”
Horak, who has worked as freelance sports photographer for NJ Advance Media for eight years, declined medical attention on the scene, and police were not called.
Horak also said he has declined to press charges at this time.
After the incident, Horak said several St. Peter’s players approached him to see if he was okay. Horak said the players told him they believed Hann had tried to “choke you out.”
Horak said he was not approached by anyone from St. Benedict’s after the incident, and that no one from the school had contacted him Sunday.
Mike Cherenson, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the state’s governing body for high school sports, said the organization “has recently been made aware of this unfortunate incident and we will be investigating immediately.”
St. Benedict’s athletic director Frank DiPiano declined comment when reached by phone Sunday. He also did not respond to subsequent phone and text messages seeking comment regarding the allegations laid out against Hann.
Saturday’s match between St. Benedict’s, No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20, and No. 4 St. Peter’s was hailed as one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the 2025 season and showcased as the featured match of the Dan Finn Soccer Classic at Lincoln Park in Jersey City.
The game was physical throughout and Hann seemed upset during much of the game, Hansen said. At one point, Hann even earned a yellow card, Hansen and Horak said.
St. Peter’s took a 1-0 lead in the first half, but St. Benedict’s tied the game at 1-1 after a goal from Hann in the 47th minute.
The match ended in a 1-1 tie, ending St. Benedict’s 26-game win streak.
As the teams went through the postgame handshake line, Horak said he positioned himself to capture a photo of the players coming together with the 1-1 scoreboard in the background. It was at that point, Horak said, that words were exchanged between opposing players, leading to shoving and eventually punches being thrown.
“It was a pretty big fight that broke out,” Horak said. “Hands down it was the worst fight that I’ve seen. And I was just taking photos of it.”
Hansen said coaches and school personnel worked fast to diffuse the incident. But, moments later, Hann appeared to become enraged when a teammate told him that Horak was taking pictures. Hann then ran after the photographer.
Hansen said it looked as if Hann was trying to grab Horak’s camera from his hands, while the photographer retreated from Hann and tried to protect his equipment.
Horak said the incident happened so fast that he could not recall if Hann was going for his camera. As the scuffled ensued, Hann’s hands went around Horak’s neck, Horak said, before Hann was pulled away.
“I kind of shook it off,” Horak said. “And then it really hit me when all the St. Peter’s kids came up to me, like, wide-eyed and just said, ‘Oh my god. Are you okay? That was crazy! He just tried to choke you out.’”
Hansen, who spent 33 years as the football coach at St. Peter’s Prep and has worked in high school athletics for more than four decades, said the entire incident was unlike anything he’s experienced.
“I’ve been doing this for 44 years and I have never seen a photographer or a reporter approached like that,” Hansen said. “This was over the top. It was not a good look.”
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