During one of Scotch Plains-Fanwood's scrimmages, first team All-State midfielder John Murphy walked down to the field and told coach Tom Breznitsky that he was going to by-pass his senior year to pursue a possible professional career with the NY Red Bulls.

Breznitsky wasn't all that shocked.

"I knew that early, I almost suspected, to use an even stronger word, that was going to happen at the end of last year," the 700-win coach said. "I think the Red Bulls are very, very high on him."

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Murphy isn't just going to miss the soccer season, he will be taking classes online and spending his time with the Red Bulls' reserves.

It is a similar route that his older brother James Murphy, a 2016 graduate, took. The older Murphy finished his high school career online to concentrate on soccer after being named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2013 and currently plays professionally for Sheffield Wednesday in England.

Last year was John Murphy's lone high school season and he certainly left his mark.

He led the Raiders with 18 goals and had nine assists as Scotch Plains went 22-4 on its way to the North 2, Group 4 title. He was NJ.com's Union County Conference Player of the Year.

In the Group 4 semifinals, Murphy assisted the overtime golden goal when his quick pass off of a free kick found Ryan Peterson, who now plays at the University of Delaware, for an easy score.

Murphy was often regarded as the best midfielder in the state last season and was expected to come into 2017 as a favorite for state player of the year.

Murphy is not SPF's only player skipping his senior year of high school soccer.

The Raiders also lost All-Group 4 selection Tommy DeVizio, who recently committed to Rutgers University. DeVizio will play academy soccer for PDA. He had eight goals and 12 assists last year.

Richard Greco may be reached at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichardGrecohs. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.