THE BEST 10 FAIR LAWN HIGH GRIDIRON TEAMS

By Dick Engelhardt

Fair Lawn High school opened in 1943.Here are Dick Engelhardt’s nominees for the best 10 GRIDIRON teams in FLHS history as of 2004, which was requested by recent grad Joe Toronto:

1. 1980 Pete Natale's CUTTERS went 9-2 (.818) and shared NNJIL crown with Clifton and Passaic Valley. They won a 27-18 thriller in GIANTS STADIUM before losing 20-0 to Passaic Valley in finals.

2 1965 Frank Devens' CUTTERS went 8-0-1 (1.000) and took the NNJIL title. Their 12-12 tie with Hackensack was the only thing between them and a perfect season.

3. 1966 Devens' CUTTERS went 8-1 (.889) and took the NNJIL title. The wonderful Bruce Jankowski years come to an end and the 24-game non-losing streak (including a 6-6 tie with Ridgewood in '64 and that Hackensack tie in '65) was broken when Ridgewood upset Fair Lawn in a 40-34 shootout on Thanksgiving.

4. 1953 Frank Bennett's CUTTERS went 7-1 (.875) and took the then Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) title. The B-PIL became the NBIL in 1956. They shared the North Jersey, Section 1, Group III title with the COMETS of Hackensack. The team featured Dave Sime, then the "World's Fastest Human," who went on to be an ophthalmologist in Florida (serving the Miami Dolphins). His daughter is married to former NY GIANTS and Denver BRONCOS receiver Ed McCaffery. Dave was just inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall Of Fame.

5. 1985 Natale's CUTTERS went 9-1 (.900) and took the NBIL Division 1 title. They lost a 36-26 thriller to Passaic in the States.

6. 1987 Natale’s CUTTERS went 9-1 (.900) and took the NBIL Division 1 title. They lost a 12-6 heartbreaker playoff game against the BEES of Bayonne in gale force winds.

7. 1955 Bennett's CUTTERS, with myself and my twin brother, Bill, as managers (or "water boys") went 7-1 (.875) and took the B-PIL title.

8. 1947 Bennett's CUTTERS went 8-1 (.889) and shared the B-PIL title with the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst. Their 7-6 Thanksgiving Day victory over the MAROONS of Ridgewood was the first in the 1944-83 rivalry, which Ridgewood took 26-11-3 (.703).

9. 1989 Mike Alberque's CUTTERS went 8-3 (.727) and took the NBIL Division 1 title. They lost a heart breaking 19-14 game against the RED WINGS of Hoboken in the States after beating the BRUINS of North Bergen 14-7 in the first round.

10. 1946 Bennett's CUTTERS went 6-3 (.667) and shared the B-PIL title with the BUCCANEERS of Bogota.

There were other fine teams as well. I think of new coach Pete Natale's 1978 CUTTERS turning the program around and going 6-3 (.667). They beat Ridgewood 15-7 on Thanksgiving on a 25-yard Richie Graff to Steve Jubelt TD pass as time expired, ending an 8-year Turkey Day losing streak. Natale’s ‘79 CUTTERS went 7-1-1 (.875) and shut Clifton out 21-0 during the season before losing 30-0 to the FIGHTING MUSTANGS in the States. Then there is Frank Bennett's 1959 team that nearly took the NNJIL title in Fair Lawn's first year in the "big league." The 6-0 loss to the TIGERS of Tenafly in a hurricane and 12-7 to Ridgewood on Thanksgiving ruined this and Hackensack, though beaten 27-6 by Fair Lawn, took the title by half a game. Bennett began his 1945-60 coaching career at Fair Lawn taking our CUTTERS to a 4-3-2 (.571) record and the B-PIL title in his first year. Mike Alberque's 1988 CUTTERS made the States losing 20-6 to the KNIGHTS of JFK High of Paterson. His 2000 team made the States and gave nationally ranked Hackensack a battle before losing 14-6. Ed Sheehy’s 1964 CUTTERS lost their first 2 games and then went 6-0-1 (1.000) beginning that 24 game non-losing streak of 1964-66.