Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

12/7/2008 - Nice Guys Finish First

Leo Durocher was wrong. At least for one night.

The Hall-of-Fame baseball manager once quipped that, “Nice guys finish last,” when asked about the makeup of the rival New York Giants when he was managing the Brooklyn Dodgers back in the 1940s.

But Leo the Lip’s most famous quote did not hold true Friday night when one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, Jefferson head football coach Joe Mattessich, won a state sectional title at Rutgers Stadium after the Falcons (11-1) dispatched heavily-favored and undefeated West Essex 21-6 in the North 1, Group 2 championship game.

Mattessich did a masterful job all season keeping the Falcons focused week-in-and-week-out en route to a share of the final Sussex County Interscholastic League title with Sparta and Pope John and the magical win in Piscataway.

His daring offensive play-calling kept teams off-balanced all season as he wasn’t afraid to go into his bag of tricks any time during the game. One of my favorite quotes from Mattessich this season was that fourth down was “just another offensive down.”

And he meant it as he allowed quarterback/punter Gavin McCarney the freedom to fake a punt if he saw something open. For the most part, the Falcons were successful in their “riverboat gambler” approach except against Pope John when the Falcons suffered their only loss of the season.

But in their wins, the Falcons kept many a drive alive by going for it on fourth down no matter where they were on the field. Now, if they didn’t convert the majority of the time, we wouldn’t be talking about the Falcons winning their first section title since 1987. No, people would be talking about how crazy Mattessich was for taking such risks.

It worked, however, and it just illustrated Mattessich’s absolute trust in his team and the Falcons responded to that trust with a state tournament-run for the ages. They started off by beating SCIL rival and seven-time section champ Lenape Valley and its Hall-of-Fame coach Don Smolyn.

The impressive win earned Jefferson a date with defending section champ River Dell and its high-octane offense and stifling defense. The Golden Hawks had beaten Jefferson 40-0 in the first round last year and the Falcons never forgot about it.

I remember interviewing the Falcons for our preseason special and to a man they all mentioned that loss and how they wanted another shot at River Dell. I even think Sami Caygoz, Jefferson’s outstanding guard, told me that they were going to beat River Dell and win the title before I even asked him a question. That is how much the River Dell loss affected the Falcons.

Well, the Falcons exorcised all their demons on a freezing Friday night in Oradell in a dominating 19-7 win which ended the Golden Hawks’ 23-game winning streak. The euphoria exhibited by the Falcons and their fans after the win was something to see.

But when talking to Mattessich after the historic win, he was happy, but he reminded everyone that there was “one more mountain to climb” and that the Falcons still had one more game to play to complete their dream season.

And the mountain that Jefferson had to climb was Mt. West Essex and its vaunted rushing attack out its Wing-T. The Knights (11-1) came into the game undefeated and winners of five of the last seven North 2, Group 2 crowns, including the last two. They were also in the midst of a 16-game winning streak.

But the North Caldwell school was making its first foray into North 1 this year and the Knights found out in the first round it would be different this year when eighth-seeded Lodi gave them fits in a 14-10 West Essex win.

No matter, the Knights were the favorite against Jefferson, but behind a balanced rushing attack paced by Kevin Murphy, Frank Strumolo and freshman phenom Steve Strumolo, and Gavin McCarney’s pin-point passing, the Falcons controlled the game from the get-go, letting their powerful and athletic offensive line pave the way to victory.

Caygoz, Joe Vasile, Warren Erdmann, Tim Palazzolo, Jonathon Matos and tight end Mike Sisco shoved the Knights around and gave McCarney plenty of time to throw.

The Falcons were also marvelous on defense, limiting the Knights to just 88 yards rushing. McCarney was a like a laser-guided missile from his safety spot with a team-high seven tackles and a pick.

Up front, defensive ends Sisco and Palazzolo were their usual nuisances on the edge, while big ol’ Brandon Omakaro stuffed the middle with Matos allowing linebackers Murphy, Frank Strumolo, Max Becker and the unsung Matt Cuervo, to roam free.

And in the secondary with McCarney, Sean Hutchison and David Crosby were terrific, especially Crosby, who the Knights picked on all night, but the sophomore was more than up to the task, making a big pass breakup in the end zone.

The Jefferson defense was fired up, but more importantly, prepared for the Wing-T having seen it twice against Lenape Valley and on opening day against Sparta. Defensive coordinator Bill Stager called an almost perfect game as the Falcons never really let the Knights get untracked.

It was just a magical night at Rutgers Stadium. Watching the Falcons and their terrific fans celebrate brought a smile to my face. Yes, I know there is no cheering in the press box, but it was hard not to root for a nice guy like Mattessich and his Falcons, who I enjoyed covering and interviewing all season.

This was one for the ages. I know Jefferson’s stunning win over undefeated Caldwell in the North 2, Group 2 final in 1987 is considered by many the greatest win in school history, but I think the 1987 champs have some company and former coach and current vice principal John Cinotti would probably agree. And by the way, Caldwell, in pretty cool coincidence, won its first title since 1998 last weekend.

The Falcons made history by knocking off two defending state champs, who had a combined 39-game winning streak, in consecutive games to win the title and took their fans on a wild ride they will never forget.

And to the West Essex fans who felt they were jobbed by the refs, get over it. I watched on tape all three of the so-called controversial calls that “cost” the Knights the win and they all looked correct to me. Instead of whining, you should celebrate the great success you have had the last seven years becoming one of the most respected programs in North Jersey.

I had a lot of fun covering the Falcons this year and I want to thank them for a memorable season which started on a hot Saturday morning in August when Sami Caygoz correctly predicted a state title.

FOND FAREWELL…On a final note,I was sad to see that Warren Wolf, the legendary head football coach at Brick, decided to hang up his whistle after a brilliant 51-year career at the Shore Conference school.

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Coach Wolf last summer at Don Smolyn’s Wing-T camp at Lenape Valley and he couldn’t have been nicer to me. At the age of 81, he was still spry and was ready to learn. Just being around him for a short time made me a better person, so I can’t imagine what it would have been like to play for him.

Wolf retires as the state’s all-time winningest coach with an amazing 361-122-11 record, which included eight perfect seasons, 42 winning seasons, 31 division titles and six state titles. Wow. Just typing those numbers makes me shake my head.

But there is a good chance that Coach Wolf’s stay at the top of the win list will be short-lived. Pope John’s Vic Paternostro, a legend in his own right, sits at No. 2 with a 354-65-5 mark in 42 seasons, which includes 20 state titles and 19 SCIL crowns.

Now some may say it won’t be easy for Vic next season because of the proposed realignment and that the days of PJ going 9-0 or 8-1 every season are over. I’m not buying it. I think the Lions will be as good as ever and Vic will at least tie the mark next season, no matter who they play.

But for now, Coach Wolf sits on top and I couldn’t think of a finer gentleman to hold that spot.

That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.

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Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

12/7/2008 - Nice Guys Finish First