THE GRIDIRON 15 - 2010

By Dick Engelhardt

Following good scrimmages and the 25-6 opening day victory over the Indians of Passaic in their inaugural Big North Conference (BNC) Division II game (Division II would later be named the Liberty Division), Fair Lawn fans were singing the 1959 Frank Sinatra classic “High Hopes” that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in the film “A Hole in The Head.” Stan Myles’ CUTTERS had many good players back, including the entire offensive line, and expected a great season! They would face their 1956-58 and 1990- 2008 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) foe, the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest, next. Fair Lawn had gone 13-9 (.591) over NV/Demarest and they and their fans expected a victory in this BNC crossover game. The 40-0 shutout at the hands of the NORSEMEN was a first class shock. John Fass and Marco Balletti, who would broadcast the Fair Lawn-Clifton game on WGHT Radio (1500 AM) http://www.ghtradio.com/ and had Fair Lawn, rated #4 in their top 10 listening area teams, wondered on the air what happened.

Next, our CUTTERS were tied at 14 at the half against the BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute before falling 34-14 to the eventual BNC Liberty Division champs who would go 5-0 in Division play. Then came the 49-7 shellacking by Bergen Catholic. To his credit, BC Coach Nunzio Campanile put his JV in for the 2nd half. The Campanile family is well connected to Fair Lawn! Nunzio’s Dad, Mike, was a highly successful junior football coach for many years with the Fair Lawn Football Association where all the boys played. Sons Anthony, Nick and Vito coached at Fair Lawn High under Greg Tanzer. Anthony and Nick played for Fair Lawn after Mike’s stint as head coach of Paramus Catholic ended. The Campanile family joins the Graff and Guy families and others who have been heavily involved in football in Fair Lawn over the years. Some parochial parents were upset by the excellent New York Times article in which Clifton Coach Ron Anello was quoted about the injustice of the public schools having to play parochial behemoths but Anello, whose FIGHTING MUSTANGS’ playoff hopes were dashed by a 48-13 loss to the IRONMEN of Don Bosco, was right. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) has indicated it will look at this again. They could start by adding the GREEN WAVE of Delbarton, the MARAUDERS of St. Peter’s Prep and the PIRATES of Seton Hall Prep to the BNC Division I (United). With 8 teams, this would be a super parochial conference and its teams could fill out their schedules with 2 games against out of State powerhouses like Don Bosco likes to do, and NJ teams willing to play them. The IRONMEN have already scheduled the DIABLOS of Mission Viejo, California, the alma mater of NY Jets QB Mark Sanchez, as their 2011 home opener.

Losses to the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton and the SPARTANS of Paramus were followed by wins over the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside and the KNIGHTS of Paterson JFK. In State Consolation action, the VIKINGS of Vernon came from behind to beat our CUTTERS 41-22. Fair Lawn is 7-4 (.636) in Consolation Game action since these games began in 1998.

Our CUTTERS finished the season 3-7 (.300) bringing their 1943-2010 record to 314-290-14 (.520) and Coach Stan Myles’ 2007 through 2010 record to 20-21 (.488). The BNC Division II (Liberty) final standings were: Passaic County Technical Institute 5-0 (1.000), Clifton 4-1 (.800), Fair Lawn 3-2 (.600) and Eastside, JFK and Passaic 1-4 (.200).

The Eastside game, the last regularly scheduled home game, was poignant as seniors soon to end their participation in the football program were honored and introduced. We said goodbye and wished the best to: Alex Callons, James Choe, Kevin Guy, Kevin Flynn, Max Jacobs, Davon Johnson, Kyle McGowen, Matt Paisley, Matt Peligretto, Dave Pinuel, Adam Polisi, Junior Roberts, Kelvin Rosario, Tim Schrettner, Steven Sherlock, Eric Simeonoglu, Sertoc Tarcan, Anthony Tozzi, Bryan Turton, Sam Vovsi and Brendan Walis. The turnout of over 50 players plus some 35 freshman was great this year and next season many good players return augmented by freshmen moving up. I can hardly wait! This edition of THE GRIDIRON closes out 2010. After the league all-star designations are known I’ll put out the FAIR LAWN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 2010 page and look forward to next year. Until then, GO CUTTERS GO!!!

THE GRIDIRON 14 - 2010

By Dick Engelhardt

Last week Fair Lawn fans enjoyed seeing venerable foes in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) playoff finals. The Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) was founded in 1943 by Bergenfield, Bogota, Hawthorne, Lyndhurst and Ramsey. Fair Lawn High School opened that same year but Coach Marty Fischbein’s CUTTERS played an independent schedule in 1943 and 1944. They opened with 3 JV games to get started, going 2-1 (.667) and then posted a remarkable 4-1-1 (.800) varsity record. In 1944, Fischbein’s CUTTERS had another winning season, going 5-3-1 (.625).

In 1945 Fischbein returned to Florence High School in Burlington County where he coached the FLASHES through the 1958 season. Fischbein and his original CUTTERS were inducted into the Fair Lawn High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 along with this writer. Athletic Director Virgil “Virge” Sasso, after whom SASSO FIELD is named, brought his college friend, Frank Bennett to Fair Lawn in 1945 and our CUTTERS joined the B-PIL. They would be champions in ’45, co-champions with the BUCCANEERS of Bogota in 46 and the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst in ’47 when Bennett would be named “Coach of the Year,” and champions again in 1953 when they would share the North Jersey, Section 1, Group III title with the COMETS of Hackensack and 1955, when my twin brother, Bill, and I were water boys. Bennett and Sasso were in the initial 2006 group of inductees into the Hall of Fame.

Fair Lawn’s entrance into the B-PIL in 1945 saw the beginning of a wonderful long-time rivalry with the RAMS of Ramsey. The B-PIL would become the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) in 1956 when the BEARS of Hawthorne, then the only Passaic County member, dropped out. During 1945-58, the CUTTERS and RAMS squared off in B-PIL/NBIL action. Fair Lawn left the NBIL in 1959 for the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL). In 1984, Fair Lawn, Bergenfield and Ramsey all returned to their old NBIL. Fair Lawn took the 1945-58, 1984-99 and 2002-06 rivalry with Ramsey by an astounding 28 games to 7 (.800)!

And now, in North Jersey, Section 1, Group II action at Kean University in Union, I saw the LANCERS of Lakeland Regional High School of Wanaque shutout those RAMS of Ramsey 20-0 for the State Championship. WGHT Radio (1500 AM) of Pompton Lakes broadcasted the game and it was nice to see on-air personalities John Fass and Marco Balletti there. The LANCERS looked just like the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High in their spanking Red and Silver uniforms. Fair Lawn’s Crimson and Gray uniforms are identical except for their Crimson helmets with the Gray Michigan Wolverine symbol.

In North Jersey, Section 1, Group III action at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills took the title edging the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley/Old Tappan 24-21. NV took a 21-17 lead with 23 seconds on the clock. The ensuing kickoff return featured a lateral and Hills took it to the house winning the game with 5 seconds on the clock! I listened to Fass and Balletti describing the astonishing finish on ghtradio.com. The PATRIOTS took the 1984-2008 NBIL Division 1 and 2009 North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) rivalry with Fair Lawn 20-5 (.800). The 1984-93 Turkey Day rivalry between Fair Lawn and Wayne Hills wound up 5-5 (.500). Fair Lawn took the 1984–2008 NBIL Division 1 rivalry with NV/Old Tappan 15–10 (.600). The RAMS of Randolph took the North Jersey, Section 1, Group IV title Fair Lawn had aspired to shutting out the MONTIES of Montclair 19-0.

Next week we’ll close out THE GRIDIRON with observations on the 2010 season. Until then GO CUTTERS GO!!!