SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF ACTION IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

By Dick Engelhardt

 The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) instituted playoffs in 1974. Before that, sectional and group championships were awarded using power points. Now they are decided on the GRIDIRON. Power points only come into play in making the playoffs and in seeding in them.

In 1980 Pete Natale’s CUTTERS shared the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) title with the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High and the HORNETS of Passaic Valley. Having come from behind to beat the INDIANS of Passaic 27-18 at GIANTS STADIUM in the 1st round, Fair Lawn faced PV in the final. Joe Biscaha’s HORNETS shut our CUTTERS out 20-0. Biscaha had played for the NY GIANTS. 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 that playoff finals victory. 

In 1989 – Fair Lawn got into the expanded North Jersey, Section 1, Group IV playoffs by virtue of being undefeated at selection time. Mike Alberque’s Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 champion CUTTERS upset the BRUINS of North Bergen and the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association (HCIAA) 14-7 in the 1st round. In the next round they faced the HCIAA RED WINGS of Hoboken in the “fumble that wasn’t a fumble” game. With Fair Lawn leading 14-0 Hoboken picked up a 1st down but fumbled. Our CUTTERS might well have scored again to ice the game but a second official overruled the fumble and Hoboken scored on the drive and went on to win a 19-14 thriller.

The RED WINGS got their comeuppance losing to the NNJIL INDIANS of Passaic in the finals. 

In 2009 Stan Myles’ CUTTERS, playing in the new North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) Division 3, made the playoffs. In the first round they edged the INDIANS of Passaic 39-38 in the most thrilling game played in FLHS history. It was the first “Home” playoff game ever at SASSO FIELD. The other two “Home” games were both in 1980 at GIANTS STADIUM. In the second round our CUTTERS fell 42-7 to the GAELS of Roxbury, champions of the Northwest Jersey Conference (NJC) American Division. Who went on to take the title.