Major League Baseball has the Yankees. The NBA has the Celtics. The NHL has the Canadiens. College Hoops has UCLA.
Morris-Sussex County football has Madison, Randolph, Butler, Morristown, Morris Knolls, West Morris, and Lenape Valley.
We are talking dynasties.
So what is a dynasty? To me, it is a team that wins more than two championships in a row. Those seven schools achieved that incredible feat. West Morris is in the midst of one. The Wolfpack have won three straight and are in the mix for a fourth.
Some of the key returnees of this year’s team are aware of what is in their midst and want to make this their season.
Junior two-way lineman Tom Borgia has been a big part of all three titles and looked up to some of the standard bearers of years past.
“We’d rally around guys like (Trevor) Hillier, (Bryce) Cammarata, and (Stefano) Montello,” he said. “I know guys like me, (Jaxon) Corkery and Brady (Bentrewicz) want a sectional title for ourselves. It’s great winning one when you are a sophomore or junior. When you’re a senior, you remember it more. I want to get it done for them so we play for these guys as hard as we can.”
“It’s cool but we want to focus on what we can do,” two-way starter Brady Asburn added. “Three in a row is in the past. We try and focus on the future more than the past.”
Said Corkery, “It definitely gives us confidence and it’s good to have three in a row. But we cannot say, ‘We are West Morris and we’ll win it.’ We’ve still gotta work hard.”
So, who are the other area dynasties? Glad you asked:
Randolph (1986-1990). Perhaps the most well-known dynasty because of the way the Rams won their final sectional title in a truly remarkable, 22-21 victory over Montclair in 1990. That gave Randolph its state-record 49th straight win.
If you’re not familiar with how this game turned out in the closing moments, I strongly suggest you find it on YouTube. You’re welcome.
In addition, Randolph saw its legendary coach, John Bauer Sr., pass away a short time before the playoffs began. His son, John, Jr., admirably guided the team the rest of the way. It was truly a made-for-Hollywood finish.
Something that is forgotten about Randolph football during that era: Incredibly, the program made four more sectional finals after the wild Montclair victory, giving them a staggering nine straight sectional final appearances. Randolph lost all four of those final four appearances.
And then the following year (1995), Randolph went … winless.
Lenape Valley (1989-1991). Talk about a rivalry. Don Smolyn’s Patriots blew out River Dell with the Delaware Wing-T running wild in a North 1, Group II in 1989, 28-0.
Little did the Pats know how tight the next three sectional title games would go. Lenape and Lodi – located 50 miles apart – met up in three titanic struggles in sectional finals.
The Pats beat Lodi in 1990 (18-17) and 1991 (28-27) but then suffered a bitter defeat to Lodi in 1992 (7-6). In that loss, Lenape had the ball first-and-goal at the Lodi 3 late in the game but couldn’t push the ball across.
Smolyn told me recently that the best team in the Lodi-Lenape Valley rivalry lost in the sectional final each time.
In 1993, Smolyn and the Pats wound up beating Ridgefield Park to win the section (9-6). A year later, they were shut out in the sectional final by Wallkill Valley (22-0).
Butler (1994-1997). Bob Jones was one of the first high school coaches in all of New Jersey to turn to the spread offense and it paid massive dividends for the Bulldogs.
Back in the days of just four teams qualifying, the Bulldogs won it all in 1994 with Dan Madine at quarterback and then won three straight from 95-97 with record-setting Scott Brown. Defenses seldom could keep pace.
In 1994, the Bulldogs receivers (Dave Conklin and Scott Van Zile are two I can recall) resembled a track team and turned short passes into long gains.
In 1995, Butler was the No. 4 seed but went on the road to beat top-seeded New Providence (17-15) and then went to NHC-Suburban foe Madison and won the section (16-7).
Butler was the No. 3 seed in 1996 but still managed to come away with the section. The Bulldogs won at Mountain Lakes (44-26) and then won the title at home by beating New Providence (16-8).
The last crown came in 1997 with Brown setting the then-state record for touchdown passes before he went to Princeton. Top-seeded Butler had a tougher time beating fourth-seeded Brearley in the sectional semifinals (14-7) before walloping Mountain Lakes (30-7) in the finals.
Butler went for a fifth straight in 1998, but ran into Madison again and the Dodgers cracked the code, overwhelming the Bulldogs, 36-7. Madison, the sixth seed, wound up stunning top-seeded New Providence to win the section under coach Milt Theodosatos.
Morris Knolls (1994-1996). Talk about a unique offense. Bill Regan’s Veer attack gave opponents fits and the Golden Eagles won three straight sectional crowns at Giants Stadium.
In the first one, Knolls beat West Essex in the North 2, Group III final, 21-14, going the length of the field in about six minutes using nothing but running plays out of the Veer. Chris Cervona (37 for 233) was the ultimate bell cow and scored a 2-yard TD on fourth-and-two at the goal line with 24 seconds left, giving Regan his first of four career titles. That in itself was a great moment for Regan, whose teams always were in the thick of things but couldn’t advance in a Group IV section that often included the likes of powerhouses such as Elizabeth, Union, and Montclair.
A year later, Knolls controlled the clock for almost two-thirds of the game in a 16-7 win over Montclair in Group IV with a running back named Bryan Pojanowski (116 yards) and standout two-way player Dave Benfatti (100 yards) doing the damage.
The following year, Knolls was back in Group III and walloped Shabazz, 38-20, as Knolls ran the ball beautifully and Benfatti was dominant on ‘D’. Interesting sidenote about Benfatti: During that time, Daily Record photographer Chris Pedota brought back a pile of pictures to sports editor Bob Decker while Shabazz had the ball. It seemed as though every picture had No. 39 in it. Decker asked Pedota, “Do you have anything without No. 39? This kid cannot be in every picture, can he?” No. 39 was Benfatti, who was in on most tackles and always around the ball.
Morristown (1997-1999). The Colonials used a terrific, three-headed running attack to win two straight and then a suffocating defense to win the third under coach John Porcelli. The first was especially memorable as Morristown captured a 6-0 victory at West Morris in a titanic defensive struggle between two IHC-Iron teams that was decided when option QB Stewart Winston broke off a long touchdown run in overtime. The deft Winston was about as good as it gets on keepers and ball fakes at the high school level.
The following year, Winston and standout running backs Ahmad Hagler and Dorell Humes were too much for Westfield to handle in a 37-14 Morristown victory. In 1999, Morristown, led by University of Maryland-bound Jamahl Cochran, drew a first-round bye before it walloped Orange (37-6) and then Rahway at Giants Stadium (46-0).
There’s a side note about that 1999 Colonials team: They wound up being the No. 1 team by the Daily Record, but only because I was unjustly overruled.
Pequannock overwhelmed Johnson and Mendham (scoring over 50 points in both previous playoff games) and had seven players go on to play 1AA football. The Golden Panthers came into the final week ranked No. 1 in the Daily Record and beat Hanover Park by “only” 14-8. The then-Daily Record sports editor covered the Morristown game and must have come away intimidated by the Colonials Dog Pound fans, who chanted, “Daily Record Sucks.” So instead of listening to the unbiased football observer (me) who’d seen both teams all year, decided to pull rank and make Morristown the final No. 1.
Oh yeah, the editor of the paper lived in Morristown. Politics!
Madison (2010-2012). The Dodgers are the area school to post not one but two dynasties. The second one was a study in a team peaking in the playoffs, all of them in North 2, Group II. Coach Chris Kubik’s team ran roughshod over its opponents more often than not in the postseason.
The final title saw Justin Goodwin-led Madison post a 13-0 victory over Mountain Lakes at Kean in 2012. In the previous two weeks, Madison overwhelmed Hanover Park (57-20) and Bernards (46-21).
The two seasons before that, it was more of the same. In 2010, Madison hammered Shabazz (56-22) and Rutherford (34-25) before beating a strong Caldwell team (28-21) in an old NHC-Suburban battle.
The next year, the Dodgers played their best ball in the 2011 postseason by crushing Hackettstown (62-28), Chatham (29-0) and Summit (47-7) … that’s a 138-35 playoff margin!
The Rutgers-bound Goodwin went down as one of the best all-around players Morris County has produced in the last 30 years.
Madison (1977-79). Ted Monica’s Dodgers were the first Morris County dynasty by winning three in a row. They were two points away from winning a fourth when they returned to the sectional finals in Section 2, Group II but lost an epic 10-9 decision to Whippany Park in one of the most thrilling local sectional finals of all time. It remains the Wildcats’ lone sectional title.
Here and there
1. Morris Knolls has subtly changed its uniform to signal a new look while honoring its gloried football past. The 1974 club was undefeated champions in the long-gone Iron Area Conference under John Deibert yet was bypassed for the state playoffs by the NJSIAA. Morristown wound up getting selected and wound up beating Brick at the Atlantic City Convention Center for the state championship.
2. Whippany Park beat Boonton for the first time in 12 years last week, 30-15, as running back Jaden Marques rushed 26 times for 131 yards and a touchdown.
“Jaden truly bought into our speed and strength off-season program and showcased it against Boonton,” coach Luke Maginnis said. “He is one of our captains and one of the hardest workers on the team.”
Quarterback Brandon Giangeruso had 175 all-purpose yards, working behind a line that included left tackle Nick Rocco, left guard Sam Cobane, center Tyler Petty, right guards Adam Katz and Alex Birecki, and right tackle Dom Sette.
In addition, defenders Pat Delgauer (14 tackles, 7 solo, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery) and Katz (11 tackles, 5 solo) were all over the field defensively.
3. In 2022, I noticed that Lenape Valley had gone on a postseason run and won three straight in the Group II Regional Tournament. I know it wasn’t the regular playoffs but worthy of some notoriety. So I emailed Pats coach Wade Pickett to see when I could call him and get his thoughts. HIs team was 2-6 and missed the playoffs but then found itself, beating Lodi (42-28), Newark Central (42-22), and Pequannock (27-13) to win the Group II Regional.
That’s worthy of some ink, right Wade? Nope!
“We didn’t make it to the dance,” Pickett told me the other day. “The other teams made it to the dance. Write about the teams that made it to the big dance.”
4. Delbarton is off to a 2-1 start with victories over Iona Prep (34-7) and Msgr. Farrell (28-0) sandwiched around a loss to Malvern Prep (27-17).
So, what can we draw from this? Well, something: Mighty Bergen Catholic beat Iona Prep (31-10) by about the same score that Delbarton did.
The Crusaders are the three-time defending state Parochial A champions and consensus No. 1 team in New Jersey, so the fact that the Green Wave and Bergen beat Iona Prep by about almost identical scores would seem to indicate that Delbarton is on the way to a strong season.
The North Jersey Non-Public schools are akin to the Wild Wild West with all sorts of players moving around, so it is difficult to gauge who is what in the early stages. But the Delbarton-Bergen-Iona Prep triumvirate is something. Better than nothing!
“The goal is to get better each week,” coach Brian Bowers said. “By midseason, you’ll see a lot of growth on this team. That is our job as coaches and players, to keep figuring out how to get better.”
Delbarton will get into its SFC-United White schedule when it travels to St. Peter’s Prep Friday night. Bowers’ team will also face division foes Seton Hall, DePaul, and Pope John. In a must-see game later in the year, Bergen Catholic makes the trip to Delbarton on Oct. 19.
Three years ago, Bergen visited the Green Wave and the game was canceled at kickoff when it was discovered that one of the players had contracted Covid. Good heavens!
My, have we grown up since then.
5. Longtime Morris Hills coach Mike Sabo will be awarded with the Nathan Gifford award when Hills hosts River Dell on Sept. 28.
Sabo was the longest-tenured football coach (19 years) in school history and the winningest coach the school has ever had with a career record of 96-87.
Among the other highlights for Sabo are:
The 2020 (Covid) season saw Sabo field perhaps its best team as it went 5-1 and averaged over 30 points per game.
“I will be accepting this award together with my former players and coaches,” Sabo said. “The reason we kept our heads above water during my time at Hills was because we had tough, competitive, loyal players and a dedicated, hard working, knowledgeable staff that connected with kids. Being the head coach at Morris Hills was the dream of my lifetime. The reason it was a success was because of the players and coaching staff and I am excited to spend one final Saturday afternoon with them on Gifford Field.”
Sabo is now an assistant coach to Casey Flynn at Morristown along with former Scarlet Knights players Azem Koliq and Wil Rzcudio.
6. Last week, we promised to highlight the best senior recruits out of Sussex County from The McCarthy Report in this week’s notes column. Unfortunately, Dave McCarthy was bogged down and promised he will submit his ranking to me for next week. Always remember: Patience is a virtue!
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