Don’t blink. Don’t even look. But believe it or not, the Harrison High School football team is 3-0 for the first time since 1989. The Blue Tide added their third win of the early season last Friday night with a resounding 27-0 win over Lyndhurst.
Probably the biggest reason for the Blue Tide’s success is the young man calling the shots, the one who has had to endure playing for four different head coaches in his tenure as quarterback, the one who is the center of attention every single snap of every game.
“I love that responsibility,” said senior quarterback Mike O’Donnell, who has been bred for this season with the Blue Tide. “I love having the ball in my hands and having to make a play. Or maybe I’m extending plays a little bit. I just do what’s best for my team.”
Lately, O’Donnell’s best has been nothing short of brilliant, running, passing, playing defense. He’s all over the place making plays, doing what he does best.
O’Donnell said that he didn’t get caught up in all the coaching controversies.
“I just play football,” O’Donnell said. “It doesn’t really matter who’s coaching. I just want to go out and win football games.”
But there was a special bond between O’Donnell and new head coach Mike Hinchcliffe, long before Hinchcliffe was inserted into the job last month.
“I knew Coach Hinchcliffe before,” O’Donnell said. “He’s a good guy and knows what we work at.”
And the offensive coordinator Juan Garcia remained after the fallout of former coach Tom Ferriero.
“Coach Garcia knows that I’m pretty instinctual,” O’Donnell said. “I always scan the field to see what’s open. It’s my job as a captain and as a senior to hold up my end.”
Hinchcliffe knew that O’Donnell was a good athlete. After all, he’s a standout catcher for the Harrison baseball team and plans to play basketball as well this winter.
“But without a doubt, I knew his football athleticism,” Hinchcliffe said. “I said here’s a guy who could definitely lead the team. He had a high skill set with an accurate arm. He could also run like a deer. I knew that he could put the team on his back and carry the team. He didn’t fear that responsibility.”
O’Donnell completed 11-of-18 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 16times for 79 yards and another score. He also registered nine tackles on defense. The only thing O’Donnell didn’t do was sell popcorn at halftime.
For his efforts, O’Donnell has been selected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the past week.
O’Donnell was also honored as Athlete of the Week in May, 2015 for his baseball prowess.
Hinchcliffe likes what O’Donnell brings to the undefeated Blue Tide.
“If there’s a little scale below assistant coach, he’s it,” Hinchcliffe said. “He’s the conduit between myself and the rest of the staff. He was raised properly. Instead of caring about himself, it’s all about the team.
Added Hinchcliffe, “And we need him. We’re going to go wherever he goes. He’s our high profile leader. He gets the younger guys believing, ‘Hey, why not us?’ Sure, it’s up to the seniors to lead us and we have good seniors. But Mike is where it all starts.”
O’Donnell had faith that this would be a good year for the Blue Tide.
“I knew that at one point, we would be a winning team in my high school career,” O’Donnell said. “I believed it would happen. I have been with this group of guys since we were little kids. We always stood together and believed that we could be this good. The experiences we had, well, you can only get beat up on for so long. We were getting more and more respectable and now, we’re 3-0. People still don’t believe that we are, but they better believe, because we’re coming.”
Hinchcliffe is convinced that O’Donnell could play college football next year.
“No question, he can play,” Hinchcliffe said. “The only question is where.”
“That’s one of my dreams,” O’Donnell said. “I plan on going to college and playing football. Maybe baseball, too. That’s my dream. But I can’t look past anything. We have a lot of season left and I’m going to live in this moment. I worked my butt off in the offseason for this. We’re just going to play it week by week and hope for the best.”
O’Donnell said that he’s been getting inspirational pep talks from the most famous of Harrison athletes.
“Ray Lucas is my idol,” O’Donnell said. “I really look up to him. He gives me advice and tells me how I should lead the team. He has been a huge help to me.”
And if O’Donnell continues his mastery, they might have to consider naming a street after him in his home town. Up next? Queen of Peace this Friday night at Rip Collins Field. Should be interesting.
Learn more about the writer ...
Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”