A wild Saturday

18 schools at 11 wrestling tournaments. Included in the long schedule were Bound Brook and Delaware Valley's trip to the Indian River High Tournament in Delaware and Voorhees' trip to the WRAL Touranment in North Carolina.

Oh, and a couple of quad meets.

That was Saturday's season-opening schedule.

I know most people could care less about what we go through in gathering all of these results, but believe me, district Saturday has nothing on the first day of the season. And the quads and tris will be a regular part of the landscape this year because of the condensed schedule.

A couple of thoughts on the weekend.

South Plainfield finished second behind Hackettstown at the Morris Knolls Tournament. Hackettstown is very good and will pose a serious challenge to Delaware Valley's stranglehold on the Skyland Conference Raritan Division this year. South Plainfield had seven champions - going 6-1 against Hackettstown in the final. The Tigers also have a dual meet with Hackettstown next month in Hackettstown. THat should be fun.

Delaware Valley senior Dan Kelly, second in the state last year at 112, won Outstanding Wrestler at the Indian River Tournament. Delaware Valley had three champions and Bound Brook had two.

Bridgewater-Raritan was second to Jackson in the Neptune Tournament. Roy Dragon (275) and Drew Ives (189) were champs. Bridgewater-Raritan is headed for a very good dual meet season.

Ridge beat Marlboro and Sacred Heart of Vineland in a tri meet, losing to J.P. Stevens and former Bernards' head coach Mike Siter. Ridge should be better; the Red Devils play host to North Hunterdon Wednesday night. North was second at the Hopatcong Tournament.

The Hunterdon/Warren Tournament is Saturday at the Hunterdon Central Fieldhouse.

Wrestling

The season starts Friday night and some schools are heading out-of-state to start off.

Our wrestling preview runs Saturday. Stay tuned.

A trip to the hospital

This isn't so much a sports' subject, but it has something to do with health.

I was at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville early Friday morning for a colonostophy. I was happy I went and I would suggest it to anybody who's hit the big 5-0 or 4-0 for that matter to consider it. It was my first and as it turned out I'm ok.

I went in same-day surgery at 6:30 a.m. and was home by just after 9 a.m. I'm happy I went. I've been told to come back in five years.

Dr. Sadler, the nurses and anesthesiologist were great. Thanks!

Phillipsburg-Elizabeth

A couple of notes from Friday night's North Jersey, Section 2, Group IV title game at Rutgers Stadium between Phillipsburg and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, which won 14-9, had 32 total yards after the first half, but ended up with 205.
Phillipsburg had a 36:22-23:30 edge in time of possession.

Elizabeth was 1-for-5 in third down conversions in the first half, but was 4-for-10 overall, while the Stateliners were 6-for-14.

Phillipsburg was 2-for-3 in red-zone chances, but let a golden opportunity slip away in the first quarter when senior quarterback Justin Viscomi's fourth-and-one pass from the Elizabeth 7-yard-line intended for Blair Decker was broken up by eventual hero Michael Eargle.

The Liners went 16 plays in that drive, taking 4 minutes and 18 seconds off the clock. But they didn't score.

Elizabeth should be set up for the next two years with its outstanding back Raymond Graham. Graham ran for 124 yards on 24 carries and scored Elizabeth's first touchdown on a 15-yard run with 7:57 left in regulation. Eargle put the Minutemen ahead for good with a 56-yard run with 2:51 left to play.

Phillipsburg had a 9-0 lead on Dennis Hardick's 30-yard field goal with 1:23 left in the first half and Art Wright's 18-yard run with 9:14 left in the third quarter. The Liners looked safe when Jack Buckley picked off a Earlge pass to stop an Elizabeth drive at P'Burg 43. But the Liners couldn't do much with their next two possessions.

Grahm rushed for gains of 9, 8 and 31 yards on Elizabeth's scoring drive before going in from 15 yards with 7:57 left. Eargle then put Elizabeth ahead for good when he was flushed out of the pocket then sprinted 56 yards for the score with 2:51 left.

Power point index for playoff games

Non-Public Group III final
at Rutgers Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m.
Delbarton (8-3) vs. Immaculata (11-0), Immaculata +24
Central Jersey Group IV final
at Rutgers Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m.
Howell (7-4) vs. Hunterdon Central (8-3), Hunterdon Central +8

Belvidere wins

Belvidere won the Skyland Conference Valley Division Friday night by beating North Warren 32-7. If North Warren had beaten the County Seaters, there would have been a three-way tie with Belvidere, North Warren and Bound Brook. Last year, Belvidere's attempt to win the Skyland Raritan was spoiled when Somerville beat the Seaters the day after Thanksgiving, giving Hackettstown the divisional title.

Phillipsburg-Easton (Pa.)

Thursday's heavy rain gave me the chance to watch ESPN2's presentation of the 100th Phillipsburg-Easton game at Lafayette College.

I was was scheduled to cover our own ancient rivalry -- Westfield-Plainfield -- but that game was rescheduled for Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield.

The Westfield-Plainfield game is actually a couple of years older than the one between the Liners and Red Rovers. But you have to back a few decades for the last time Plainfield and Westfield drew more than 10,000.
Easton won the game 21-7 before 16,000 at Fisher Stadium. Think about it - 16,000! For a high school game.

ESPN2 did a great job in profiling the players and giving the country an idea of just how great the game is.

I've always been a little jealous of my friends at the Express Times who have this great game to cover. They did an outstanding job of reporting the game and previewing it in the days leading up.

By the way, Easton now has to play a playoff game against Liberty-Bethlehem Saturday night in Bethlehem. THIS SATURDAY. A little over 48 hours after the Red Rovers' biggest game of the year. Could you imagine that happening in New Jersey?

Piscataway-Franklin

Franklin's 22-3 win over Piscataway Friday afternoon might not have come as a surprise to some people, but the margin of victory definitely was. Franklin ended its season with a three-game winning streak and a 5-5 record. Piscataway, which hadn't played in nearly two weeks -- since its loss to Linden in the North 2, Group IV quarterfinals -- finished 7-3.

Malcolm Jenkins, the former Piscataway High star, now starting at cornerback for No. 1 Ohio State, was at the game. The Buckeyes are on break.
Malcolm told me that he sponsored Piscataway senior lineman Anthony Davis' visit to Ohio State last weekend. Malcolm didn't feel he knew what way Davis was leaning. Rutgers is also among the schools Davis is interested in.

Power point index for holiday games

Here's my strength of schedule (power point index for the holiday games). These aren't opinions. You can look for those in Tuesday's podcast with myself and Jerry Carino and in Wednesday's Courier News.
WEDNESDAY
Ridge (4-5) at Watchung Hills (5-4), 7 p.m.: Watchung Hills +9
Manville (6-3) at Bound Brook (7-2), 7 p.m.: Bound Brook +8
Scotch Plains-Fanwood (4-5) at Elizabeth (9-1), 7 p.m.: Elizabeth +42
THURSDAY
Governor Livingston (8-2) at New Providence (5-4), 11 a.m.: Governor Livingston +25
Montgomery (3-6) at Hillsborough (2-7), 11 a.m.: Montgomery +6
Piscataway (7-2) at Franklin (4-5), 11 a.m.: Piscataway +33
Westfield (5-4) at Plainfield (1-8), 11 a.m.: Westfield +27
Delaware Valley (4-5) at South Hunterdon (1-8), 10:15 a.m.: Delaware Valley +15
Middlesex (3-6) at Dunellen (3-6), 11 a.m.: Middlesex +3
SATURDAY
North Plainfield (5-4) at South Plainfield (6-4), 1 p.m.: South Plainfield +11

SWITCH

The holiday game between North Plainfield and South Plainfield at Jost Field in South Plainfield has been moved from Thanksgiving Day to Saturday at 1 p.m. Same location.

North Plainfield-South Plainfield reunion

A reunion of former football players and cheerleaders from North Plainfield and South Plainfield will be held this Wednesday night at Italian-American Social Club on Somerset Street in North Plainfield. The event starts at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.Tickets can be purchased at Bagelmasters and Caruso Haircutters in North Plainfield and at the Police Athletic League building and Middle School in South Plainfield.

Alumni news, wrestling season is (almost) here

The Thanksgiving Day holiday is a few days away and that means the traditional meeting of old teammates.
Bound Brook's football alumni will meet for the 10th "odd-even" game at Lamonte Field Friday night (Nov. 24). All former Crusaders -- whether they played football or not -- are invited to play in the game. The game is broken down in two 20-minute halves -- running time.
Game time is 7 p.m., but those interested in playing should arrive at 6 to sign in.
This year's game is being run by former Crusader defensive back Dom Todaro, who has taken the baton from former Crusader linebacker/fullback Joe Minerd.
By the way, teams are divided by the year the player graduated. If you graduated in 1974, you would be placed on the even team. In 1973, the odd.
WRESTLING TIME
Wrestling practice can start officially the day after Thanksgiving. I have been told that David Brothers will be the new head wrestling coach at Bernards. He had formerly coached at Columbia High in Maplewood. He lives in Bernardsville.
Speaking of Bernards, former Mountaineer star Pat Riley is now a freshman at the University of Virginia. He won the 149-pound weight class at Virginia Military Institute's Rat Fall Brawl last Saturday. He won three bouts, taking Eric Nadeu of James Madison. Competing were host VMI, James Madison, American University and Virginia.
Virginia will be in Chapel Hill, N.C. Saturday for the Atlantic Coast Conference/Big 10 Challenge.

Early look for the weekend

For the second straight week, I have put together what the early power rankings for the sectional playoffs and regular season. We have four area playoff teams left. We went 4-8 last weekend.
Also, Friday night brings another "Milk Can" game between Voorhees and North Hunterdon.
Friday night
Non-Public Group III semifinal
Holy Spirit of Absecon vs. Immaculata at Basilone Field, Bridgewater, 7 p.m. (Immaculata 29)
Central Jersey Group IV semifinal
Hunterdon Central at Jackson, 7 p.m. (Jackson 1)
Regular season
North Hunterdon (4-4) at Voorhees (3-6), 7 p.m. (North Hunterdon 15)
Saturday
Central Jersey Group II
Raritan at Governor Livingston, 1 (Governor Livingston 3)
North Jersey, Section 2, Group III
South Plainfield (6-3) at Irvington (8-1), 1 p.m. (Irvington 29)

Early point spreads for the weekend.

I have spent part of my Monday night considering this weekend's games and the amount of points teams would be favored by if there were such a line. Here's my very un-scientific findings:

Friday night
Central Jersey Group I
Keansburg (6-2) at Bound Brook (7-1), 7: Keansburg 4
Central Jersey Group IV
Manalpan (5-3) at Hunterdon Central (6-3), 7: Hunterdon Central 10
North Jersey, Section 2, Group I
New Providence (5-3) at Hoboken (8-0) 7: Hoboken 28
North Jersey, Section 2, Group III
South Plainfield (5-3) at Emerson (Union City) (5-3), 7: Emerson 4
Ridge (4-4) at New Brunswick (5-3), 7: New Brunswick 12
North Jersey, Section 2, Group IV
North Hunterdon (4-4) at Phillipsburg (8-0), 7: Phillipsburg 30
Watchung Hills (5-3) at Elizabeth (71), 7: Elizabeth 17
Non-Public Group III
St. John Vianney (5-3) vs. Immaculata (9-0) at Basilone Field, Bridgewater, 7: Immaculata 27
Saturday
Central Jersey Group I
Manville (6-2) at South River (6-3), 1: South River 20
Central Jersey Group II
Carteret (5-3) at Governor Livingston (7-1), 1: Governor Livingston 2
North Jersey, Section 2, Group III
Scotch Plains-Fanwood (4-4) at Morristown (7-2), 1: Morristown 33
North Jersey, Section 2, Group IV
Linden (5-3) at Piscataway (7-1), 1: Piscataway 22
Consolation games
Friday
Middlesex (4-4) at Burlington City (5-3), 7: Burlington City 7
Spotswood (4-4) at Somerville (6-3) 7": Somerville 12
Hillside (2-6) at North Plainfield (4-4), 7: North Plainfield 12
Hopewell Valley (2-6) at Delaware Valley (3-5), 7: Delaware Valley 6
Montgomery (3-5) at Cranford (4-5), 7: Cranford 3
Newark West Side (4-5) at Voorhees (3-5), 7: Voorhees 2
Dayton (0-9) at South Hunterdon (0-8), 7: South Hunterdon 8
Freehold Township (2-6) at Hillsborough (2-6), 7: Hillsborough 6
Saturday
Plainfield (1-7) at Franklin (3-5), 1: Franklin 13
Bridgewater-Raritan (2-7) at Westfield (4-4), 1: Westfield 13
Newark Central (0-9) at Bernards (1-8), 1: Bernards 12
Dunellen (3-5) at Keyport (3-5), 1: Keyport 4

St Joseph's intramural

Had the opportunity to stop by and see the seventh annual intramural championship flag football game at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen Thursday afternoon.


"Da Bears'' knocked off "Mango's Lassies" 14-8 with a touchdown in the closing minutes of the game, which was well attended by parents, students, teachers and some brothers of the Sacred Heart.


As some of you might know, St.Joseph High School doesn't have a football team. But if the Falcons wanted one, they could field a program immediately and most likely be very competitive. The game is very popular among the student body: 250 youngsters are involved in the league.


The league has been spearheaded by longtime physical education teacher Rob Yunker, a Vietnam War veteran, and a beacon of enthusiasm. on campus. Many of the youngsters who played in the game participate in other sportss like lacrosse and track and field.

Some of the kids told me that a point spread was even arrived at -- "Da Bears" were a 14 1/2 point favorite.

Why do I bring this up? Intramurals at one point were a very vital part of high school curriculums and to see it thriving was great to see.

Why hasn't St. Joseph ever had football? When the school first opened in 1961, a group of brothers from Sacred Heart school Monsignor McClancy of New York came to run the Metuchen school, and since there was no football at McClancy, there would be none at St. Joseph.

Bernards wins

Saturday's rain forced the move of the Bernards-South Hunterdon game at Olcott Field in Bernardsville to Sunday.

Both South Hunterdon and Bernards came into the game winless. South Hunterdon at 0-6 and Bernards at 0-7.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Mountaineers struck when senior Joe Travaglini returned a punt 55 yards for a score early in the second quarter. That play kind of took the air out of the Eagles' sails. Bernards and Travaglini scored again late in the half, Travaglini scoring on an 8-yard run before senior Ryan Anderson extended the lead to 18-0 to cap the second half's opening drive.

It's funny when you see a winless team look so good, and you wonder how in the world why didn't they win before. Several Bernards' players told me that coach Joe Milde had informed them that they had underachieved.

The Mountaineers lost quite a bit from last year's Colonial Hills Conference division title team. They also made the North Jersey, Section 2, Group I playoffs.

As Jim Meert, the South Hunterdon coach told me after the game, "nobody should have to go through," this kind of season. Bernards has its win. Maybe South Hunterdon will follow. The Eagles have a tough game Saturday at Dunellen before playing a consolation game, then its annual Thanksgiving Day game with Delaware Valley. Talk about tough.

Bernards plays at Somerville Friday night, then finish the season with a consolation game the weekend of Nov. 11-12.

FridayNightRainySaturday

It was wonderful to see a big crowd at Manville High School's football field Friday night to see the Mustangs (6-1) go at it with unbeaten Belvidere.

More than 1,000 braved the miserable weather. The rain fell in one pace or another throughout. It just proved once again what we've known for decades: you win games, the crowds will follow.

If you're a Manville fan, you may feel like this after witnessing the 35-10 Belvidere victory: "We made five turnovers. We held our own for a good part of the first half, and we made some big plays. If we don't turn the ball over, it's a different game."

If you're a Belvidere fan you say: "Manville was never really a threat. They had one field goal and a 'Hail Mary' at the end of the first half."

Belvidere is the class of the Skyland Conference Valley Division. Plain and simple.

By the way, several folks asked my opinion on who did a better job against Belvidere (8-0) -- Bound Brook or Manville. Two different teams. Two different nights.

Belvidere routed Bound Brook 49-12 on a beautiful early October night in Belvidere. Belvidere beat Manville 35-10 on a rainy, cold night at the end of October.

Manville did accomplish something Bound Brook didn't against Belvidere. The Crusaders didn't score on a play from scrimmage. Chris Jeskie returned an interception for a touchdown and Deven Baker returned a kickoff for a score long after the game was decided.

Manville can say it scored a field goal and that 30-yard pass that quarterback Mike Knitowski threw to Kyle Sopko on the last play of the first half.

Another thought about the experience at Manville. It took just over 20 minutes for the Manville rescue squad ambulance to arrive after Manville star Tom Rock was hurt late in the third quarter. Manville coach Brett Stibitz said Rock was unconcious after being hit hard after making an interception at the Mustang 1-yard line. Fortunately, Tom is OK and was alert as he was taken from the field. But that was one, very long wait. I can't imagine how Rock felt.

Governor Livingston oversight

We omitted Governor Livingston from our weekly Top 10, which appeared in the paper Monday. The Highlanders, who raised their record to 5-1 with a 21-6 win at Rahway Saturday, should have been listed as 10th in The Courier News Top 10 poll. We incorrectly listed North Plainfield and its 4-3 record as our 10th team. Incidently, Governor Livingston plays at North Plainfield a week from Friday night at Krausche Field in a game that could decide who makes the Central Jersey Group II playoffs. We have corrected it so GL is in our Top 10 on our website.

CJI

Three weeks to go until the state playoff precints close, and Manville is sixth and would make the Central Jersey Group I playoffs for the first time if the season ended today. The Mustangs are 5-0 and should be 6-0 after Friday night's game at South Hunterdon. Manville needs to keep winning. Because -- unlike many years in the past -- a 6-2 record may not be enough in CJ Group I. Hey, maybe the Mustangs will run the table and be 8-0 at the Nov. 3-4 cutoff break. That would automatically get them in -- an unbeaten record. But. Shore (3-3), Burlington City (4-2), Middlesex (4-1) and Keansburg (3-2) trail the Mustangs. Manville is three points ahead of Shore and five ahead of Burlington City and Middlesex. Keansburg is also still alive in 10th place with a 3-2 record and 11 points. The Mustangs will probably need to beat Belvidere at home next Friday or North Warren in Blairstown the week after just to be safe. One of the two. Middlesex has a huge game Friday night when it play hosts to Metuchen. Metuchen is currently fifth in the group with 21 points and a 5-1 record. The Bulldogs scored a major triumph last Saturday by beating South River, which is atop the field with 31 points and a 4-2 record.

Venting and noting on a rainy day

Has anyone out there been disappointed with the football programs they are handed as they walk between the gates at the field this season? It seems to me that they are often times highly priced, have a load of information that is really useless and are really just a tool to raise money. I don't mind pitching in, but at least put the numbers (in numerical order -- not by alphabetical order) of the players for both teams in the program. Last Friday night, I was handed what I believed was roster sheets for Ridge and North Hunterdon. What I got were the lists of the homecoming candidates for North Hunterdon. North Hunterdon won the football game; I'm not sure who won the homecoming queen and king. I heard over the weekend that South Plainfield High School's wrestling team will be competing in a tournament in Minnesota during Christmas week. The Tigers also have scheduled a dual meet with Southern Regional. What school will be the next to install FieldTurf? North Plainfield and Scotch Plains-Fanwood are in the process of raising money to get it done and we also hear that New Providence is about to do the same. Of course, Somerville High School's Brooks Field is also scheduled to go from natural grass to a synthetic surface sometime in this century.

Game of the week

The last few weeks have presented several games that I've found very difficult to figure. Last week, Ridge beat Voorhees in overtime in a game we figured would be very close. Two weeks ago, Somerville played Voorhees at Voorhees in a game I figured would go down to the final minutes. Somerville won that one 28-21. There's another matchup this week -- which is very much like the Voorhees-Ridge contest. Ridge travels to North Hunterdon Friday night for a 7 p.m. Skyland Conference West Division game. North Hunterdon, coming off a 27-10 loss at Phillipsburg, is 2-2 after finishing last year at 1-9. Ridge, 4-6 a year ago, is 3-1. Both teams can throw the ball well with Ridge quarterback Rob Monastero and North Hunterdon's Ryan Reed very capable. Ridge runs the ball well with halfback Ben Sciambi and fullback Nick Wilson. North has been getting good games from sophomore Ted Delia and Chris Johns. Johns had a respiratory illness and didn't play last week, North Hunterdon coach Dennis Haughey said. Senior back Blake Robinson, expected to be the team's top runner this year, has been plagued by back spasms all season and hasn't played. He may be back this week along with Johns. How healthy will they be? And lastly, both teams have very good kickers. North's Kyle Van Nostrand boomed a 35-yard field goal last week, his third and longest of the season. Lions' linebacker John Pearson has been outstanding. This is a flip the coin type of game. High scoring? Probably? Will it go into overtime? Maybe. And that would mean Ridge would have played three overtime games in a row. I like Ridge -- barely.

A Yankee doodle disaster

If you are a Yankee fan of any ilk, and I consider myself one, Saturday, October 7, was one of the worst days of your New York (A) rooting experience. I go back to the days of Horace Clarke, Jerry Kenney and Bill Burbach. I'm finding myself believing it was much better rooting for those guys back in the mid 1960s. The Yankees were bad, real bad, but at least I was thrilled when they earned a rare win against then powerful Minnesota and the Orioles and the Tigers. But the Yankess are no longer fun to root for --and I felt that way throughout the game Saturday before they gradually slipped from the state in game four of the American League Divisional Series. The Tigers wrapped it up in four games with a 8-3 win. Yankee pitchers had a 5.56 earned run average. The hitters went 2-for-21 with runners in scoring position in the three losses. The Tigers won twice by a combined score of 14-3. Alex Rodriguez was 1-for-14 in the series and has 5 hits in 46 post-season at bats since the Yankees took a three-games-to-none lead over Boston in the 2004 American League Championship Series. He has no RBIs in his past 12 playoff games. A-Rod is the poster boy for all that is wrong with our Yankees, but he's just one of the reasons the Yankees failed so miserably. What will they do next? Get younger George, get younger.

Belvidere rolls

What a great place Belvidere is to watch a football game. The County Seaters had a big homecoming crowd along for the ride as they pounded Bound Brook 49-12 Friday night to take the lead in the Skyland Conference Valley Division race. Bound Brook is clearly improved and it should finish its eight-game playoff qualification period with a 7-1 record to grab its first Central Jersey Group I playoff berth since 1978. But the Crusaders have to get stronger if they are to continue their improvement. The Brook didn't run the ball well Friday night. They did play for the second straight week without their top running back Eduardo Rosario, who's been out with an ankle injury. That hurt. The Crusaders scored on Chris Jeskie's 78-yard return of an interception and Deven Baker's 83-yard kickoff return when the game was long decided.

Happy October!

My favorite month! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October

My look back at the weekend

Somerville senior running back Mason Robinson is a terrific football player. He ran for two touchdowns and took a Dan DiLella shuffle pass 59 yards for another score as the Pioneers rallied to win at Voorhees 28-21. Robinson is the real deal. DiLella threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Dan Cuozzo for the game-winnining points in the fourth quarter, but Robinson kept the Pioneers in the game. Somerville's defensive front also played very well. Voorhees' fans should't fret. The Vikings are a good team, but they'll need to bounce back quickly -- they have a very difficult game at Ridge Friday night. Scotch Plains-Fanwood may be without its top running back Tom Pennella for the rest of the season with a knee injury, but the Raiders had enough to knock off Plainfield 21-7 as senior Greg Brand and sophomore Marcus Green took up the slack in the backfield. The Raiders look like a balanced team directed by junior quarterback Mike Chevenryak. North Warren's 21-16 win over Delaware Valley surprised me a bit. The Patriots (3-1) have won two straight since losing to Bound Brook. The Crusaders (4-0) rallied to beat St. Joseph of the Palisades 27-20 as Chris Jeskie filled in for injured running back Eduardo Rosario, who is hobbled a bit by an ankle sprain. Manville (4-0) routed Bernards 49-6 as senior quarterback Mike Knitowski threw for two touchdowns and for three more. Quite a season in Manville -- oh yes, and Bound Brook too. :)

Oldtimer has local connection

The New York Times ran a great story Tuesday (9-26-06) written by Alan Schwarz about soon-to-be 111-year-old Silas Simmons, who was born in 1895 -- the same year as Babe Ruth and opera singer Rudolph Valentino. Simmons played the outfield in what was the equivalent of the black major leagues between 1912 and 1929. Simmons worked as an assistant manager in Plainfield at the old Rosenbaum's Department Store, according to the story. He retired in 1971. He now lives in a nursing home in St. Petersburg, Fla. He'll turn 111 Oct. 14. The story said that Simmons isn't the oldest living American, that distinction belongs to Lizzie Bolden of Memphs who turned 116 in August. The oldest living person who played in the Major Leagus is Rollie Stiles, 99, who pitched for the St. Louis Browns in the early 1930s.

Playoff picture

Most schools will be playing their fourth football games of the season this weekend -- halfway to eight and the cutoff number for the state football playoffs. This weekend includes a couple of games that will go a long way in determining where our schools will sit for the next few weeks. Central Jersey Group II and North Jersey, Section 2, Group IV are very intriguing to us because of all the local activity. Tonight, Rahway (3-0), currently the second seed in Central Jersey Group II plays at North Plainfield (3-0), currently the third seed in the section. Somerville (2-1) is 12th right now, but could move up a long way with a win against Group III Voorhees tonight. Governor Livingston is 14th and plays at Bishop Ahr in Edison. North Jersey, Section 2, Group IV is headed by the two schools who've played each other for the sectional title the last two years -- Phillipsburg and Piscataway. Phillipsburg, the top seed and defending champ, is 3-0 and currently the top seed. Piscataway, beaten by the Stateliners last year for the title, is No. 2 and also at 3-0. Piscataway beat Phillipsburg two years ago for the title. Piscataway will play at East Brunswick tonight and Phillipsburg plays host to winless Bridgewater-Raritan (0-3). Watchung Hills (2-1) is fifth in the section with Westfield (2-1) at six and North Hunterdon (1-1) at seventh. Union is eight followed by Franklin (1-2), which seriously needs a win at Immaculata tonight. Immaculata, by the way, is atop the state Parochial Group III field with a 3-0 record. South Plainfield (2-1), Scotch Plains-Fanwood (2-1) and Voorhees (2-0) are listed at five, six and eight respectively in North 2, Group III. Bound Brook (3-0), Manville (3-0) and Middlesex (2-0) are two, four and seven respectively in Central Jersey Group I. Brearley (3-0) and New Providence (1-1) meet Saturday afternoon in New Providence in a game the Pioneers need to move up in the North 2, Group I field. Brearley was beaten by Florence in the CJ Group I final last year at Rutgers. Brearley (2-0) is currently seventh and New Providence is 10th. New Providence was beaten by Verona in the North 2, Group I final last year.

blowout rule

Sports Illustrated had a brief story this week on how the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Association upheld an appeal by Bridgeport Central coach Dave Cadelina to not serve a one-game suspension for beating Bassick High 56-0. The state associaton calls for a one-game suspension for coaches who win by 50 points. Cadelina was quoted in the magazine as saying "I was nervous they might make an example out of me." Part of the appeal's success was the testimony of Bassick coach George Loughery. Cadelina said he pulled his starters in the first half; the clock ran continuously after Central took a 35-0 first-quarter lead; in the second half Central only ran between the tackles. Bassick came into the game with a 46-game losing streak. In 76 games so far in the Courier News area -- through the weekend of Sept. 24 -- the biggest margin in the area was Mountain Lakes' 53-0 win over Pingry. Does New Jersey need a 50-plus rule? What do you think?

South Plainfield

The South Plainfield-North Brunswick football game we had listed scheduled for Thursday night is actually tonight (Friday 9-22-06) at 7 p.m. at South Plainfield.

Manville resurgence

We have gotten caught up in how Manville has gotten off to a 2-0 start. It's a very good story. This group of players have been together for quite some time, playing through the Manville Youth Athletic League Pop Warner teams.
The Mustangs beat Newark Central 26-0 and Jonathan Dayton of Springfield 45-7 to open the year. Manville will go 3-0 for the first time since 1968 if it can beat St. Joseph of the Palisades Friday night at Panfile Field. Manville is hoping to record its first winning season since 1991 when it went 5-4. Current Manville coach Brett Stibitz was a junior that season. He scored five touchdowns. The star of the team was Jackie Leonard, the quarterback, who threw for 13 touchdowns, ran for five more, returned two punts for score and went 78 yards to score on a kickoff return.
Mustangs' assistant coach Chris Cebula, who went on to play at Rutgers, was also on that team. Manville opened with wins against Bound Brook and the now-defunct McCorkle School, then lost three straight before beating New Providence 22-20. They beat Middlesex 29-21 Thanksgiving Day that year to clinch a winning season.
The Mustangs could qualify for the Central Jersey Group I playoffs for the first time. The game with St. Joseph will be very critical since the Blue Jays are 1-1, the win coming against Newark Academy. Manville would pick up a point from that victory if it wins.
There are 19 schools in the Central Jersey Group I power point race. Bound Brook (2-0) is currently No. 1 with nine points; Manville is second with 6. Bound Brook is trying to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1978, the only time it has ever qualified.

League news

There has been some talk out there about Immaculata playing Phillipsburg and Hillsborough in football in 2007. But I spoke to Skyland Conference president Carl Weigner Tuesday and he said that won't be happening soon. The league is at the start of a two-year cycle. In regards to Immaculata's schedule, the Spartans' non-divisional game is precious -- its opener with Somerville. Immaculata's other non-divisional games are with Bridgewater-Raritan, Franklin and Hunterdon Central, all of whom play in the Skyland Conference Delaware East Division. Immaculata plays in the Delaware West.

Somerville Immaculata game

The Immaculata-Somerville football game gave us a wild ride last Friday night. More than 4,500 turned out at Brooks Field in Somerville to see Immaculata pull out a 21-14 victory, its second in the re-born series. And we almost had an overtime game. Senior Mason Robinson returned a kickoff 96 yards for an apparent touchdown before it was wiped out because of a holding call. Immaculata had just taken the lead on A.J. Albert's 4-yard run. Robinson, headed to play at a Division I school, nearly carried Somerville back into the game. Afterwards, I found Robinson to be very pragmatic about the game and its result. He was very calm when describing his feelings about penalty. It was a real lesson for everybody to take from a teenager, who understood how the game works. It was too bad that Immaculata sophomore Theo Riddick had to leave the game with what was reported as a concussion. He had 73 yards on eight carries in the first quarter before leaving while tackling Robinson on the Somerville side of the field. His status is game-to-game.

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