SIMPLY PERFECT! — Nutley caps undefeated grid season with big win over Belleville

NUTLEY – The year was 1939.

“Gone with the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz” were the top movie releases in Hollywood.

Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 games came to an end when it was learned that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that would later be synonymous with legendary New York Yankees first baseman. Two months after the diagnosis, Gehrig retired and gave “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech before 80,000 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Football and baseball were both televised for the first time.

Famed Motown singers Tina Turner and Marvin Gaye were born.

World War II began in Europe.

And the Nutley High School football team was undefeated for the last time.

Well, that is, until last Saturday, when the Maroon Raiders capped an undefeated 2020 season by defeating archrival Belleville, 42-7, in the Mayors’ Trophy game at the Nutley Oval.

It was the 77^th time that the two rivals met in a game that used to be played on Thanksgiving Day, was rescheduled this season for Thanksgiving when the truncated season began, then was later played two days after Turkey Day due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Nutley holds a 54-19-4 advantage in the series, with the Maroon Raiders winning the last five meetings and 10 of the 11 get-togethers. The two teams did not face each other from 2012 through 2017. The last Buccaneer win came in 2008.

It wasn’t the most conventional of seasons for anyone, but in particular, the Maroon Raiders. Last year, they first had to handle the news that DiGregorio was facing an uphill battle against pancreatic cancer, a battle that forced the beloved coach to take somewhat of a backseat to assistant J.D. Vick while he received treatment.

Through it all, DiGregorio insisted that he would return – and he did, only to face the next huge obstacle, namely the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, that shut all sports down for months. The shutdown also eliminated the chance of the NJSIAA hosting state playoffs this season.

That news hit the Maroon Raiders hard, because before the season, they thought they had a better than average chance of contending for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group III championship.

“When the state came out with the modified plan that included no playoffs, they were disappointed,” DiGregorio said. “I told them that there was nothing they could do about it, that they should concentrate on going out and winning every game.”

Senior captain Jake Walsh then helped his team change their goals somewhat.

“So we didn’t have the states to shoot for, but we still had three things,” Walsh said. “We could win every game we played to finish undefeated. We could win our division championship (the New Jersey Super Football Conference-White Division) and we could beat Belleville. That’s all that mattered.”

Then, the Marauders were able to return to practice in September – about a month later than usual – to prepare for what was initially an eight-game schedule, six regular season games and two crossover contests against teams of like enrollment size and talent.

There was more. After playing for five weeks – and winning all five of their games in the process — the Maroon Raiders had to withstand a two-week quarantine last month that forced them to cancel the anticipated cancel crossover games with Montclair and River Dell.

“It gets me sick to my stomach just thinking about it,” Walsh said. “We had to sit it out for two weeks. We all did a lot of running on our own to stay in shape.”

“We had to keep ourselves fresh on our own,” said junior quarterback Matt Harbison. “Then once we got back, we could pick it right up again.”

Senior captain and two-way lineman Billy Searle was confident that his teammates would handle every challenge.

“We knew that we had the talent to win every game we played,” Searle said. “It helps that we’re all best friends that stick together through everything. We’re not teammates. We’re brothers. We’re all brothers to each other.”
Searle didn’t know if the season would resume when the two-week mandatory quarantine took place.

“We were all heartbroken,” Searle said. “Everyone wasn’t too sure that we would come back. We honestly didn’t know.”

“You see all the games around the state being canceled,” Walsh said. “(The last game being canceled) was definitely a thought that came to mind. We just had to wait and hear what would happen.”

Finally, the Maroon Raiders were told that they had one game to play, that being the rivalry clash with Belleville. That’s a lot for one team of teenage boys to handle – the coach’s health (DiGregorio’s cancer is now in remission), the shortened season, the coronavirus – but the Maroon Raiders never lost focus, nor their eye on the prize.

“I’ve never been prouder of a team,” DiGregorio said. “They handled the disappointment of no state playoffs and the adversity of a pandemic. Then there was the shutdown and opponents being changed on the run. But they powered through all that adversity and handled everything. And they still came out aces. It’s a great credit to them and our senior leadership.”

It left just one obstacle – the showdown with Belleville.

“There’s nothing better than beating Belleville,” Walsh said.

“Belleville is a real scrappy team, so it was important to set the tone,” Harbison said. “We picked it up right where we left off.”

DiGregorio was somewhat worried about the status of his team after the layoff.
“Sure, I was concerned,” DiGregorio said. “We had to prepare in three days. We weren’t going to use the excuse of being rusty. So we had two really long practices on Monday and Tuesday and had a relatively aggressive practice on Friday. We kept reminding them that Belleville had more than a week to get ready for us.”

The Maroon Raiders raced out to an early lead, scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the game for the sixth straight time this season.

“We talk about starting fast,” veteran Nutley head coach Steve DiGregorio said. “We started fast and stayed that way. We’re strong up front. I really believe we have the best offensive line in the state. They were setting the tone all year.”

Gennaro Longobardi, who had 128 yards on 13 carries for the day, got the Raiders going with a 22-yard touchdown run. Vincent Miller then added two touchdown receptions, one from Harbison and the second on a halfback option pass from Anthony Haines for 71 yards and the Maroon Raiders were in business, winning 21-0 in the first quarter.

Johnny Coppola also had a big day on the ground, collecting 120 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Harbison completed five of six passes and had the touchdown pass, as did Haines. Just like they did all season, the Maroon Raiders received contributions from everyone.

“We didn’t have one player in the top 20 in any statistical category,” DiGregorio said. “We had incredible selflessness.”

The Maroon Raiders pushed the lead to 28-0, before the only blip on the radar took place. Al Horne returned a kick 82 yards for a touchdown that sliced the lead to 28-7. The Buccaneers, who finished the season 2-4, had a golden chance when they recovered a fumble halfway through the second quarter.

“We would have loved to score there to cut it to 28-14,” Belleville head coach Jermain Johnson said. “The kids started to believe we could come back. It was our seniors’ last game and they didn’t want to lose. But then the worst thing that could happen happened.”

The Bucs fumbled and the Raiders recovered, killing any momentum the Bucs had with the Nutley turnover.

Belleville was also out of action for a full month due to COVID-19 restrictions before returning to action a week prior to the game.

“When you have a young team, as young as we are, it’s kind of hard to operate like that,” said Johnson, who sported an astounding 17 players on his roster that were sophomores or freshmen. “Our kids needed that continuity that comes with practice every day. They needed that teaching. And just when we were going good, we got shut down. It’s always good to have more time.”

The Bucs lost their last four games to Orange, Montclair, Columbia and Nutley – all four teams having winning records this season.

“It was the best experience that this team could have,” Johnson said. “I’m very happy that our kids could be in the position to play good teams. Our kids just got thrown right into the fire. Kudos to those guys in Nutley. I’m proud of Steve and happy for him. He deserves it. One day, we’ll be there.”

The Maroon Raiders capped the day with a 24-yard pass from Harbison to Mitchell Iaccarino and a 75-yard interception return for a score from Longobardi.

With that, perfection was achieved. History was made. The first undefeated season since the Great Depression was crowned.

“We couldn’t go out a better way,” said Harbison, who said he already began to prepare for his senior football season with Monday workouts. “It’s a great feeling to be able to do this for the community and I hope we can continue it next season. Let’s keep it going.”

“There were 11 teams in the state that finished undefeated and we were one of them,” Walsh said. “That’s very cool.”

Searle had only one regret.

“The only other scenario I wanted would be walking out of MetLife Stadium being undefeated and holding a state championship trophy,” Searle said. “I guess this will work.”

 

CAPTIONS

 

Nutley quarterback Matt Harbison (center) gets strong blocking from his offensive line in front of him as he looks to make a pitch out during Nutley’s 42-7 win over Belleville Saturday in Nutley. Photo by Jim Hague

 

Belleville quarterback Anthony Cecere runs for a nice gain in the second quarter of the rivalry between Belleville and Nutley, won by Nutley, 42-7. Photo by Jim Hague