MAHWAH Two men killed overnight in an accident on I-287 have been identified as former Don Bosco athletic standouts Samuel Cali and Leonidas Vagias, both 19 and from Towaco.

A state Department of Transportation worker found the men dead near a blue Lexus about 9:17 a.m. in the woods near I-287 southbound in Mahwah, according to N.J. State police said.

The victims had apparently been ejected from the car.

Investigators searching the crash scene found the two men dead outside the vehicle, police said. They appear to have been thrown from the vehicle during the crash.

The cause of the accident, which occurred overnight but was not discovered until this morning, remains under investigation.

Vagias was a freshman placekicker at the University of Rhode Island. Cali redshirted this season as a freshman on the Rutgers University wrestling team.

Vagias and Cali graduated from Don Bosco in 2015.

"It's just a complete tragedy for everybody," said Don Bosco football coach Greg Toal. "It's a tough one. It's just terrible. It's just sad. Very sad."

Toal went on to say that Vagias "had a great career for us."

In his senior season, Vagias was 8-for-11 on field goal attempts and made all 27 of his extra points to earn Second Team All-State honors and help the Ironmen reach the semifinals of the Non-Public, Group 4 playoffs during a 7-4 campaign. In a fan poll on NJ.com, Vagias was voted the state's best kicker in 2014.

Cali went 89-28 for his high school career and finished third in the state at 132 pounds as a senior.

Though only freshmen in college, coaches at the schools they attended reacted via official school releases.

"Sam was a great young man who everyone on the team truly loved being around," said Rutgers wrestling coach Scott Goodale. "He loved wrestling and being part of our Rutgers family. Anytime you lose a teammate it hurts, and this hurts really bad. We send our prayers to the families and will keep Sam a part of everything that we do."

"Leo was a quality young man who was taken too soon," Rhode Island head football coach Jim Fleming said. "He was a hard worker with a bright future, and he made a great impression on all of us during his time here. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Don Bosco Athletic Director Brian McAleer remembered both of his former student-athletes as tough competitors on the field and special people in the hallways.

"It's tragic," McAleer said. "They were both very quiet in their own ways but very unique."

The DBP community today mourns the loss of two alumni Leo Vagias and Sam Calli. Rest in Peace.🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/xKuW0AmLXP — Bosco Football (@DBP_Football) June 20, 2016

NJ Advance Media staff writer Patrick Lanni contributed to this report

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.