THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – Week 1

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

By Dick Engelhardt

Fair Lawn High School opened September 13th, 1943. This history covers the years ending in “3.”

1943 – Marty Fischbein’s brand new team began action with 3 JV games to get started. In the 1^st game Fair Lawn ever played, the team was edged 7-6 by the RAMS of Lodi. Because they scored quickly some wanted to call them the COMETS but another name would soon emerge. During 1964-66 Fair Lawn went 3-0 (1.000) over Lodi in varsity play.

1953 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) CUTTERS were beaten 20-13 by the Passaic Valley Conference (PVC) GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside. During 1947-54 and 1983 Fair Lawn went 5-4 (.556) over the GHOSTS. This was sweetened by the fact that, until FLHS opened in 1943, most Fair Lawn students attended Eastside. A few students from the Columbia Heights section went to Hawthorne and the Radburn section students went to Ridgewood. Fair Lawn is 1-2 (.333) against the GHOSTS in Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division action in 2010-12 and our CUTTERS and the GHOSTS are knotted up at 6-6 (.500). 

1963 – Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS went outside their Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NJIL) and were shutout 13-0 by the CRUSADERS of East Paterson, which became Elmwood Park in 1972. During 1962-65 the tough CRUSADERS went 3-1 (.750) over our CUTTERS. The 1^st Fair Lawn victory was in the last game in 1965 when our CUTTERS went 8-0-1 (1.000) and took the NNJIL title. That was the 1^st and only Fair Lawn team to be undefeated!

1973 – New Coach Al Reinoso’s CUTTERS were shutout 21-0 by the HORNETS of Passaic Valley in NNJIL action. During 1944-46 and 1966 independently and 1967- 81 and 83 in the  NNJIL,  the HORNETS went 13-6-2 (.684) over our CUTTERS including a 20-0 shut out victory in the 1980 State playoff finals at GIANTS STADIUM after Fair Lawn had beaten the INDIANS of Passaic 27-18 in the first round. Fair Lawn had edged PV 7-6 in NNJIL play during the regular season.

1983 –Pete Natale’s CUTTERS stung those HORNETS of Passaic Valley 7-0 in NNJIL action.

1993 –Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were shutout 6-0 by the BEARS of Bergenfield in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 action. Fair Lawn took the 1945-48 and 1962-2008 rivalry 35-16 (.686) and the 1994-2008 Turkey Day rivalry 11-4 (.733). The teams squared off 1945-48 in the B-PIL, 1962-83 in the NNJIL and 1984-2008 in the NBIL. State realignment has ended the 51 season rivalry, which remains the longest in either school’s history.  

2003 – Greg Tanzer’s CUTTERS were shutout 35-0 by the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in NBIL Division 1 action. of Ramapo took the 1956-58 and 1984-2008 NBIL Division 1 rivalry 17-11 (.607).