Former Belleville High School standout and Temple University defensive back Maurice Jones, shown here in action for Temple two years ago, was part of the Belleville-Nutley flag football game last week that raised money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
By Jim Hague
Observer Sports Writer
Jason Luzzi and Bill Mbua are long-time friends who grew up together in Belleville. “We used to live on the same block,” Mbua said. But then, Mbua’s family moved to neighboring Nutley. When Mbua joined the football team at Nutley and Luzzi was on the squad at Belleville, it meant one thing – instant rivals. The childhood friendship had to go out the window, especially when the two teams met on Thanksgiving in 2004.
Since Mbua was a wide receiver, he never got a chance to tackle his friend during that game, which was won by the Maroon Raiders, 27-0.
Luzzi, a running back and safety at Belleville, went on to play football at Lackawanna Junior College and eventually baseball at Bloomfield College.
Last year, Luzzi’s family summer home in Ortley Beach was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
One day last year, with buddy Mbua nearby, Luzzi had a brainstorm.
“I started thinking that maybe there was a way we could help raise money,” Luzzi said.
And his thought was to bring back the Thanksgiving Day football game between Belleville and Nutley, which was discontinued three years ago.
The two rivals now open their seasons against each other instead of finishing off the year.
“A lot of people were not happy about the game not being played on Thanksgiving,” Luzzi said. “I was one of them. I was not at all happy.”
“We were all very disappointed,” Mbua said. “We didn’t understand why they didn’t play. It was something that should have gone on. It was a chance to get together, see old friends coming back from college. It was a fun time.”
So Luzzi thought that maybe he could bring back the Thanksgiving Day rivalry, but with a twist, sort of an Old Timer’s Day.
“It just hit me,” Luzzi said. “I thought it would be fun. I was sure that a lot of people would want to come.”
Luzzi posted a message on Facebook, proclaiming the renewal of the Belleville-Nutley Thanksgiving Day game, albeit in a flag football setting.
“We got 250 confirmations in 24 hours on Facebook,” Luzzi said. “It was amazing. I knew it would go over big.”
“I started to try to recruit players,” Mbua said. “But we also had to get approval from the elected officials and athletic directors.”
But Luzzi, Mbua and friend Mike Perinotti of Belleville had to go to work. They worked to get sponsors to help defray the cost of insurance, permits, uniforms, you name it.
“We also required each player to donate $50,” Luzzi said. “The response was so positive. We had so many people interested in playing that we had to turn some people away. We didn’t want to have too many people.”
“It was definitely not an issue getting players for either team,” Mbua said.
The first game, played at Belleville, was a rousing success. There was a solid turnout and they raised $7,000 for the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.
“We charged admission,” Luzzi said. “We had raffles and got donations. We had food donated from a lot of businesses. It was a great success, so much so that we figured we would do it annually.”
“We got a lot of support,” Mbua said. “It really turned out great.”
The second annual Belleville- Nutley game, played last Sunday at the Nutley Oval, took place under tough conditions.
“It was absolutely freezing out,” Luzzi said. “It was 25 degrees and windy. I think the weather kept a lot of people away.”
But in the end, Belleville prevailed, winning 27-26. It helped that Belleville had a new recruit in Maurice Jones, the former Temple standout who spent a good portion of last summer in the Chicago Bears’ training camp. Adding a pro player to the roster definitely helped the Buccaneers’ cause.
“We always had good skilled people,” Luzzi said. “We had so much fun.”
“Mo Jones is a great guy and a big help in getting the game together,” Mbua said. “It really was a lot of fun. It’s always a great time to get together with childhood friends and raise some money for a good cause.”
This year, the funds raised will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.
“There will be a decent donation,” Luzzi said. “It was still a good thing.”
Next year, the plan is to play the game earlier, say in October, with the game moving of course to Belleville.
“You can never predict the weather in November,” Luzzi said. “It definitely means a lot to me that we got this going. There was a lot of work that went into it.”
Luzzi thanked businesses like ShopRite of Belleville and Nutley, Franklin Steak House, Ritacco Brothers Pizzeria, Midtown Bar and Grill in Nutley and Jersey Dogs in Belleville for donating food for the event.
“As far back as I can remember, there was always Belleville-Nutley on Thanksgiving,” Luzzi said. “Part of the reason why I went to Belleville was that game. It was very important to me.”
“Tradition is the one thing we need to keep alive,” Mbua said. “There was never really bad blood between us. It was always a great rivalry. We get to see people we don’t usually see. We really want to encourage all generations of Nutley and Belleville football players to get involved. It really is a great thing.”
