Most years the Lyndhurst and Ramsey football teams cross paths, usually during the summer heat of a preseason scrimmage. This year, after taking a rare break with the annual scrimmage, the Golden Bears will square off once again, but this time with a November chill in the air.
The NJSIAA officially released the brackets for the state football public school tournaments on Sunday. Two Observer-area teams – Lyndhurst and Nutley have qualified.
Lyndhurst, the sixth-seed in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2, travels to third-seeded Ramsey. Nutley, the eighth-seed in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4, goes to play top-seeded Phillipsburg. Both games are set for Friday.
“I know Bear (Ramsey coach Adam Baeira) well. I’ve never played them (in the regular season), but we usually scrimmage them every year,” Lyndhurst head coach Rich Tuero said. “This year, we just happened not to.”
Tuero’s Golden Bears enter the postseason with incredible momentum, winning seven-straight games, all decided by 25 or more points. The last two of those games, the most impressive of the run as Lyndhurst defeated Pompton Lakes 31-6 and Park Ridge 35-6.
Despite the gaudy record and lopsided victories, Lyndhurst is once again going on the road in a deep North, Group 2 section, which only adds more motivation.
“We feel really good about it. We’re excited about the opportunity to go up there and play for the upset,” said Tuero. “We’ve been here before and we’re okay with it.”
While some might view Lyndhurst as an underdog on Friday, no one outside of the Maroon Raiders’ locker room will be giving Nutley a chance when it goes to Phillipsburg to face a Stateliners team that is 7-1 and historically one of the state’s great public school programs.
It’s a role that fits Nutley coach Chris Helm just fine.
“There’s a lot of really good movies based on that theme,” Helm said. “I think if the kids understand and they go play loose, that’s usually when upsets happen. There’s no pressure on us whatsoever.”
Nutley doesn’t enter with a ton of momentum, falling to 4-5 after losses to Caldwell and Passaic Valley. But after missing the playoffs last year and with several sophomores and juniors in prominent roles this season. Helm know the experience of this game will prove valuable regardless of outcome
“It’s a great opportunity, when you’re in a game like this, to just kind of absorb the moment and take on how big it is and do it with no pressure,” said Helm, calling Phillipsburg’s Maloney Stadium the closest thing in New Jersey to Texas high school football. “It’s a great experience for us as a program.”
Seeds and matchups for the NJSIAA state tournaments in boys soccer and girls soccer and volleyball will be announced later this week.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)