Mendham vs. Hanover Park - the game of the week!

Well sports fans, it's come down to this the Minutemen of Mendham vs. the Mighty Hanover Park Hornets. Who is going to win? I can say that either way it's going to be a close one under the Friday night lights, but I have to go with my alma mater (surprise) Hanover Park.

With Hanover Park already headed to the postseason in Group II and Mendham's playoff future clouded in uncertainty, the game doesn't have much resting on it besides pride. I believe that one of HP's old motto was "Pride Before Pain". That is part of the reason why I think this game means a lot to the old black and gold. They don't want to let Mendham revenge the TWO losses the Park gave them last year on two consecutive weeks on November 3rd and 10th, 2006. The first game Hanover Park dismantled Mendham 23-6 but the second was closer, 20-19, but still ended the Minutemen's season.

This year Mendham has improved vastly, as they are currently 6-2 and 3-1 in their conference. However, they are coming off a disastrous loss to Morris Hills where they got shut out. Hanover Park is sitting at 5-3 (2-2) but they are on a two-game win streak after having upset West Essex (7-1) and destroying Parsippany 24-6.

Momentum and history are on Hanover Park's side for sure. However, when you look at the teams' similar opponents, Mendham has a small advantage. I say small, because they beat two teams that beat HP, and HP only beat one (West Essex by 1 pt) that beat Mendham (WE beat the Minutemen by 2 TDs). Mendham beat Chatham and Par Hills when HP lost to both (Chatham by 7 and Par Hills by 12). Other than that, they all beat their opponents by close to the same amounts.

There is no question that Mendham is stocked with offensive weapons Colin Schermerhorn is a decent QB, having a rating of 96 with 9TDs against 5 interceptions, but the running tandem of Salerno and Riposta really "carry" the offensive load. Riposta averages 88 yards a game while his counterpart Salerno averages over 60. Each has scored at least 5 TDs this year and they are a force to be reckoned with. On the defensive side, Tony S., or Anthony Santomo is the Ray Lewis of the Iron Hills, averaging 11 tackles a game.

However, when you check out HP's weapons, it appears that they can deal with the running game and score some points when they need to as well. Alex Ardolino, HP's QB and standout running back Ryan Hinton (recently back from a thigh injury) guide the offense. Throw Phil Gatti and John Nagy into the mix and the Hornets are "buzzing" with offensive threats. And as coach Dan Gregory has stated, HP's mantra has been "to improve each and every week." That they have, especially after being 1-2 after a 21-14 loss to Chatham, they have gone 4-1. On defense, Evan Picariello and Mike Papa, both linebackers, run all over the field and make plays at will. Dan Allocca, defensive end, has also excelled on "D" for the Hornets, who have only allowed 6TDs in their last five games.

All this being said, it's going to be Hinton that runs roughshod all over the Minutemen, leading the Hornets to victory. The Hornets' defense will keep Salerno and Riposta under wraps (or at least keep their damage to a minimum). However, the key to the game, from HP's perspective, is to shut down Mendham's QB. From looking at the stats of the Minutemen's QB, it would appear that the team rises and falls with his performance. In Menhdam's two losses, he was 8 for 23 with 153 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs. If HP shuts him down, the game won't even be close. However, I don't know how easy that is going to be if Salerno and Riposta are getting 4-5 yards a carry, so first things last, HP needs to slow down the running game and put some pressure (both mental and physical) on the QB. I honestly think either way it's going to be close, and I'm calling it at:

Hanover Park: 24

Mendham: 21

Look for both Nagy and Hinton to score, and don't count out Gatti running a punt back.

Updated Playoff Picture [Expanded]

---UPDATE---

2 NOV update

From the Mighty JoeHof [emphasis mine]:

"Mendham is seventh but don't figure to remain there by Saturday night. The Minutemen will be rooting for JFK-Iselin to stun New Brunswick, which is not at all likely to happen. Since New Brunswick is a prohibitive favorite in that one, Mendham must hope for underdog Bishop Ahr to defeat Carteret. If Carteret wins, South Plainfield will get one residual point, tie Mendham, and then win the tiebreaker, according to coach Doug Kirk.

"One of those two has to go our way for us to get in," Kirk said. "I hope I'm wrong in these calculations, but I'm pessimistic. At least three 5-3 teams will get in ahead of us, a 6-2 team. That means my kids would have had to go 7-1 to get in. That's the way it goes -- no complaints -- we like our league and some years it's different. This year we're in a tough section."

So I guess it is a little more complicated than I thought. Total B.S. 7-1 to qualify the playoffs? Somebody shoot the person who invented the power points system. How 'bout a shot at North 1 Group III instead?? I'm pissed.


10-31-07:

I have had some requests regarding the status of other teams in IHC and MoCo. A quick look:

North 2 Group II:

The field is basically set here. Rd1- #1 MoHills v. #8 Bernards etc. You can check it out at the link below. The only possible change is that Madison has not yet played its eight game and could move up a little with a win over Orange this week.

North 1 Group III

This one is a little more interesting, but mostly set. Wayne Valley has clinched homefield at no.1. Old Tappan could move from #4 to #3 with a win over Mahwah. But what is interesting here is that Montville is 11th in Power Points but will likely get a playoff berth because #8 Roxbury, #9 Rampo, and #10 Teaneck all don't have a .500 record or better. Not sure if that is a credit or not to the system...

The expanded scenarios in North 2, Group III for Mendham are as follows in order of likelihood of occurrence:

IF Irvington beats Newark West and New Brunswick beats JFK, (#8) Mendham plays at (#1) Irvington in round 1.

IF Newark West beats Irvington, and NB beats JFK, (#8) Mendham plays at (#1) Motown in round 1.

IF IRV beats NW and JFK beats NB, (#7) Mendham plays at (#2) Motown for round 1.

IF NW beats IRV and JFK beats NB, (#7) Mendham is at (#2) Irvington for round 1.

Note: While I believe Newark West has a 30-40% chance of beating Irvington, it is extremely unlikely that JFK beats New Brunswick, therefore, I predict Mendham has a 60% - 70% chance of facing Irvington in round 1.

...and yes, as a reminder, the outcome of the HP game has no bearing on the playoffs, however a loss would statistically eliminate Mendham's chances of a shared conference title.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Mendham has 41 power points and South Plainfield has 40. Both teams are complete through game 8 of their schedule(s).

As it stands right now, I don't see how Mendham can drop below 8th, regardless of what happens next week with the rest of the field below who has not played their eighth games. So Mendham has clinched a berth in North 2, Group III (by one point).NOPE

You can double-and triple check my math here. Please let me know soonest via comments if you find any errors.

That is the good news.

The bad news is, no matter how you slice it, Mendham will be playing a road game for Round one of the playoffs...most likely at Irvington or at Newark West Side Morristown.

Morristown will be bumped from the current #1 seed to #2 seed if Irvington defeats Newark West this weekend (11-02).

If New Brunswick (4-3) Wins next week against JFK (Iselin) (1-7) and they most likely obviously will, Mendham will be bumped from the current #7 position, to #8.

If Mendham plays Morristown, I will have a whole lot to write, so standby.

Conference Title

Regarding the conference title thing...obviously Mendham has to win next week vs HP which will be a tough game, but both WEssex must lose vs. Chatham (possible) and MoHills must lose versus Summit (hmmm...uhh...100 to 1 odds on that one I think). If WEssex loses and MoHills wins, MoHills takes the conference.

Friday Night Notebook

Here's a quick look and commentary on some of Tonight's games around MoCo and the IHC:

Randolph (2-5) at Morris Knolls (5-2):

Knolls is a better team than their record suggests, while I think Randolph is worse than their record suggests. Look for them to open a can of whoop ass on the Rams.

Golden Iggles, 28-14.

Immaculate Conception (0-6) at Boonton (3-4) :

When did Boonton decide NOT to cancel their football program? Oops sorry, did I say that out loud?

The Bombers: 21-7.

HP (4-3) at Parsippany (0-7):

The Hornets are coming off of an extremely hard fought win versus WEssex. While Pars-nip-pany on the other hand is still trying to crack the code on what the H-E-dubblehockeystix they need to do to get a W in this league. Here's a suggestion: try renovating your football field so that when it rains you aren't swimming.

And another thing...and I am sorry for sidetracking, but this has to be said.

WHY IN THE HADES DID PARS-nIP-PANNY RENAME THEIR TEAMS THE RED HAWKS???

When I played it was the "Redskins".

First of all that (Red Hawks) is kind of a stupid name.

Secondly, AIM is a bunch of losers. If you go to their website, take a look at their commentary section...most American Indians hate this sports team renaming effort and are EMBARR-ASSED by this organization, and they are right there telling them so.

Third, how did this go unnoticed by the MoCo press corps?? Hoffman, if you are reading this, please tell me you gave them a rash of shite over it, and my dumbass just missed it.

Fourth, the one lawsuit that was actually filed on all of this renaming nonsense was on the behalf of the University of North Dakota AGAINST the NCAA. I haven't checked the status of it lately but the UND "Fighting Sioux" had a very strong case. Parsippany AD and Super, message for you: Just because the NCAA is a bunch of spineless, politically correct nit-wits, does not mean you have to follow suit. For Pete's sake, HOW MANY INDIANS LIVE IN NJ?? You know, I don't see D.C. renaming their NFL team anytime soon, and they certainly have one whole heckuva lot more visibility.

To the Parsnippany AD and Super at the time of the change: You are either hyper-sensitive (read: ruled by emotions), or cowardly. Either way this is no precedent to set for your athletics teams...but then, I have a feeling you figured they were already in the toilet, so why does it matter? Some things never change.

The Pick: Look for HP to be playing their 2nd and 3rd string early (if the rain doesn't slow things down). Hornets, 28-7.

Morristown (6-1) at Livingston (5-2).

I think Livingston has a chance for an upset here. Morristown is fast, but Livingston is smart (oops, did I say that out loud too??). Well, anyway, it should be close, but I give the edge to Morristown cause I want them to move up in the Seedings for North 2, Group III.

Colonials, 21-20.

Columbia (0-7) at West Morris (0-7).

AKA the "Toilet Bowl II".

Hey, somebody's gotta win right? Well, I think West Morris is actually better than their record would lead one to believe (they have actually dropped some close ones), despite the fact (word has it) that their entire Senior class walked off the team last season. (No, I am NOT letting that one go). They have a talent pool that should be having them at 6-1. You do the math.

They lost an RB/LB Captain (Saum) in the Knolls game to a head injury, who just returned from MMH this week. One of their best players is Tyler Dannenbaum who makes things happen on special teams.

Meanwhile, Columbia has allowed opposing teams' JV squads more time towards that coveted Varsity letter than any other team in the Iron. These guys are a favorite among 2nd and 3rd stringers at Knolls, East Orange, and Morristown (combined totals of those games? 130-6. Yeah, I needed a calculator.). If I were the AD at Columbia, I would ...never mind.

Look for the F I mean Highlanders I mean Wolf-pack to pick up their first W here, vent some angst and win one for Saum.

WMC, 21-14.

Parsippany Hills (5-2) at West Essex (6-1)

Par Hills -

- Pissed off cause they lost a heart breaker to Mendham, 15-14 (in case you live in a vacuum).

- Starting QB Scialampo out for season...very decent backup in DePugh.

- Playoff insurance/survival on the line.

WE-

- Pissed off cause they lost a nail biter to HP, 7-6 (in case you are a soccer player).

- Starting RB/LB Hayek out 3-4 weeks.

- #1 Seed on the line. IHC-Hills championship probably in jeopardy.

This is a close call, but if Par Hills' coach doesn't get tossed for arguing with the zebras (who you know WE alumni will at least try to pay off before the game - which doesn't work against HP by the way - too many Italians on both sides) for making "unfair" calls, I think the Vikings have a chance. Plus, I would like to see WE go down [again]. Look for PH RB Fowler to have a great game.

Vikings, 21-17.

---UPDATE---

You can read the latest on this ongoing saga of the DOPEY AIM agenda here.

And, for the record, I am not opposed to the movement of removing the name "Redskins" specifically from a list of available sports monikers, as it is, very mildly IMHO, offensive.

HOWEVER -removing the name from teams who have 1) no intent of disparaging their players or anyone else, and 2) changing the name of your team you have had for many years to satisfy the WHINING of the very few, is an entirely different story.

Pars-n-ippany could have picked about 2000 better names...just "Hawks" for that matter would have been better.

BTW- My wife is part Lenape, and of course so are my children. So, I don't want to hear any dopey comments about how I am bigoted...'cause I am obviously not. 'Nuff Said.

Showdown of Mendham vs. Morris Hills

The “Match Up Of the Year” is here in the Iron Hills Conference! The 6-1 Morris Hills Scarlet Knights travel to the swanky side of the county to face the 6-1 Mendham Minutemen. The Conference Championship is up for grabs between these two teams and the also 6-1 West Essex Scarlet Knights who are facing a pissed off Par Hills team (who was handed a loss by Mendham last week).

So with that said two of Morris County most popular high school sports blogger’s go at it in a show down of predictions of who will come out victorious and who will drive back to Rockaway with their tail between their legs. Morris County High School Sports blogger, and ’90 Morris Hills grad, The Coach weighs in against Iron Hills Sports blogger, and Mendham football fan Unruly Jets Fan.

Who will win? No one knows for sure. But it should prove to be a hell of a game!

Here is what The Coach has to say about his Scarlet Knights:

As a proud Morris Hills Football Alumni, I cannot tell you how excited I am that the Scarlet Knights are now back in the IHC CAs a proud Morris Hills Football Alumni, I cannot tell you how excited I am that the Scarlet Knights are now back in the IHC Championship race. This is truly a monumental occurrence for Morris Hills. … key the really cool ESPN Music … the last and only time that a Morris Hills team has won an IHC Championship was in 1989. But hey, in walks Hanover Park with a 7-6 victory over West Essex and now it’s a 3-man race. West Essex, Morris Hills and Mendham all have one lose. Now this game means a little more. Mendham has had a hand on the IHC crown three times since 2000 and holds 6 over-all in the IHC … that’s a lot more than one..

So it’s time. I’m picking Morris Hills ala Dave Blezow! I still say that Chris Shaw had no clue when he picked against The Scarlet Knights in ’89, but unlike Blezow … my prediction will hold! (* I know some of you have no idea what I am talking about! *) And for the record, I want to apologize to Ms. Carboy – It’s not her fault I am such a poor writer... that honor belongs to Kevin Rosenberg who kept me distracted with the top 5 list’s we used to do in that class … How was I to learn!?

Here’s why the Scarlet Knights will win:

• They are flashy and aggressive. Coach Sabo and the Knights have a ton of weapons and now that Justin Doniloski is back, the Hills’ offense is back to form. This opens the field up for Dan Kellner and gives the consistent senior throwing lanes. Colin Be will be free’d up as Mendham is forced not only to key on Doniloski, but also respect the pass. I was at Jefferson when Mendham and Jefferson scrimmaged and I know want a multiple offense can do to Mendham’s Defense.
• Mendham is very straight forward, hard working and “this is what we do and we so it well.” They’re like Rocky and Hills is Apollo Creed! Do you not remember the silk star-spangled jumpers … come on that’s at least 3 points for Morris Hills.
• Morris Hills really controlled Par Hills for all but one or two drives, Mendham was controlled by Par Hills in the 1st half, but then refocused in the second (a job well done by the way – don’t think I’ve said). So 48 minutes of football is a must and you can bet that Morris Hills will be focused here for all 48.
• Sure it’s Homecoming, Senior Day, Bring your kid to the game day, Let’s get Turf day and about 6 other “days” at Mendham this Saturday … Do you not know Coach Sabo, you give time an extended halftime and he may just translate the Wing-T textbook into Mongolian … not only that each kid will be able to recite it backwards. Do not give him an extended halftime!
• I was at the Mendham-WMC MCT Volleyball game and about 20 football players came to support the volleyball team after their big win over Par Hills. The problem was that a few of them had the same clothes they wore under their uniforms … great kids, fun to sit by, but a little stinky.
• Coach Sabo has been saving the “Mike Tice Special” for years and this game maybe the time. Sorry, but only a select few know that play.
• If Ben Guyre is not announcing the game, Mendham does not stand a chance. You had no idea that these little things impact a game … did you?
• If it comes down to it, Morris Hills has a sophomore kicker that is pretty darn good. A field goal maybe just what Dr. Sabo ordered.

And here is what Unruly Jets Fan says about the Minutemen:

First off, I would like to thank The Coach for all his insight and banter about this game. The Minutemen are looking forward to this game as much as anyone. In fact, the team considers this as a nice warm up for the playoffs. I heard Coach Kirk will actually play his starters for the first half just to keep them in football shape for the upcoming games that actually mean something. And he also promised that he will not run up the score with his second stringers, although sometimes they cannot help it.

Of course I am just kidding, and Coach Kirk didn’t actually say that. And The Coach does make some very valid points. But I think this is a severely under rated Mendham team. The Daily Record’s Joe Hofman is giving Mendham no respect in the press, probably because they are a young team. But, although they are young, the their depth is one of their biggest assets.

Here are some of the things that needed to be considered about this Minutemen team:

• They are flashy and aggressive. But in a New England Patriots kind of way. Quarterback Colin Schermerhorn is very Tom Brady like. He is very cool and makes very few mistakes.
• Secondly, look at Mendham's mascot at the top of this blog. He just looks like he is going to rip the Scarlet Knights mask off. Your mascot looks like he is affraid to get dirty.
• Coach Kirk. He is very much like Belechick (without the mad scientist persona). He has been the understudy of Carplunk (Parcells) for years and has a lot of post season experience. Including take the team to the playoffs his first year as the head man. He is also gutsy calling an early season fake FG against Summit and going for two this weekend against Par Hills.
• Mendham does what they do well. They may not be the most multi dimensional but they don’t need to be. They run the ball very well. The fullback Joe Riposta is big at 6’ and 195 lbs and actually has faster in the open field than the halfback Mike Salerno. But Salerno actually carriers much of the work load, grinding out most of the hard to get yardage. He is one of the best second effort backs I have seen in at the HS level in a long time.
• The Coach made a good analogy of liking Mendham to Rocky and MoHills like Apollo. Mendham is not flashy, but tough and gritty (and apparently smelly) and MoHills definaly has a lot of flare and fanfare. But do I need to remind The Coach who won in the Rocky movie?
• What is this with the “Mike Tice Play”? Mendham has a trick play too. It is called the “Run Riposta and Salerno down your throat all day” play.
• The last time I looked at the Mendham roster announcer Ben Guyre was not on it. Hey, Mendham likes when he calls their games. He’s great. He gets all the names right (even though he called Colin Schermerhorn Coleen last week). But Guyre doesn’t put the pads on. Hearing some Mendham father say, “Puglisi gets his 4th sack of the game!” will sound just as sweet as hearing Guyre say it!
• Kicking. The Coach has me there. But kick returning is a much different story. Mendham has a little known secret that returns the kicks. I don’t want to give his name away because I don’t want MoHills to kick away from him. But Val Halla knows exactly who I am talking about.
• And the number one reason Mendham will win this game? Mendham’s defense. This group is seriously getting better each week. They have held opponents to an average of 11 points per game. This is more than enough points to let Mendham’s offense win games. Their front four creates opportunities for LB’s Riposta, Byrne and Mindnich to reek havoc. Sheridan, Puglisi and Cutalo really do a great job of covering and tackling. And the biggest defensive stud is Anthony Santomo who is a linebacker who plays safety. This guy ended up with 21 total tackles last week vs. Par Hills. He is literally in on every tackle and has 4-5 picks to boot.
• Final Score: Mendham 25, Morris Hills 17.

This should definitely prove to be a great game! Also, don’t forget to root for Par Hills this week vs. West Essex. If West Essex loses, than the winner of the MoHills / Mendham game will most likely take the conference.

A word from our sponsors: Players and parents if you would like photo memories of this high school football season see The Coach at this link. He has great pics and is very reasonable...but can you really put a price tag on a memory?

Mendham's Playoff Snapshot

Mendham QB Colin Schermerhorn commands their potent "O" last Saturday.
#12 is only ONE reason the Minutemen are 6-1. These boys can play.
(Courtesy http://www.morriscountyhssports.net/)

---UPDATE---UPDATE---UPDATE---

It turns out there were some more major errors in my calculations, essentially because some of the teams who are at play are not complete through 7 games to date.

Irvington is idle this week and plays their 8th game on 11-02.

Colonia, New Brunswick, Union Hill, and SP-Fanwood all will not have their 8th game until 11-03-07.

So how does this affect the below?? Essentially, it tosses a lot of what i said earlier out the window. I have recalculated. Sorry folks.

The short story of it though is that Mendham needs to win this weekend to keep hopes alive of a spot in the bottom half of the playoff picture. I will paint an accurate picture for you all after this weekend.

Mendham (North 2, Group III):

- Currently sitting at the number 5 spot in their section with 39 Power Points between Colonia (43) and New Brunswick (37). A win over Mo Hills this weekend would boost their points total to 49 (2 x Mo hills group (2) = 4 + Mo Hills victories (6) = 10)

- Irvington, Newark West, and Morristown are all essentially locked in to one of the top three spots (congrats, fellas). Their wins or losses this weekend will merely determine which of those three spots they will occupy.

- Colonia (5-1) will likely win this weekend vs Carteret (4-2). 8 point game...Colonia improves to 51 points, and will likely remain at the #4 spot (or higher if they then beat Group 4 Sayreville on 11-02).

---The top half of this Group/section will likely remain as is...there may be some minor jockeying between teams.----

- This week New Brunswick (4-2) plays South River (6-1), who beat Carteret. New Brunswick lost to Carteret; therefore I predict New Brunswick will lose to South River. This keeps their points total static at 37. The week of 11-02 they play JFK, and will probably win but this will only add 5-6 power points to their meager total. They look to be sitting at 42-43 pts.
---------- ------------ ----------- -------------

- Worst Case: Mendham loses to MoHills and Colonia loses to Carteret and New Brunswick, Union Hill, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, and South Plainfield all win. If this happens (extremely remote possibility), Mendham is SOL at #10 in Power Points rankings. In this case they would need at least one loss from two of any of the others. If Colonia wins and Mendham loses, Mendham only needs a loss from any one of the other teams to grab that last seed. But this would also be bad, as you would get to play either at Irvington, Newark West, or Morristown in round one. In that case, Mendham would want Motown at the #1 seed (I'll explain why if that actually happens).

- Best Case: Mendham wins, Colonia loses out; Mendham moves up to seed 4 and gets a home playoff game in round one vs either New Brunswick, Union Hills or Colonia (depending on what happens furhter down). For deeper in the picture...Morristown Wins, and Irvington and Newark West lose. The rest is kind of irrelevant...

- Most likely: Mendham beats Mo Hills, and improves to 49 points. This will keep them at the number 5 seed (unless Scotch Plains wins out making WMM #6), as a win by Colonia is also ML scenario. Mendham travels to #4 Colonia (or #3, currently: Motown) for round 1 of the playoffs.

Other ML: (7th gm wk, 8th gm Wk, ttl pts)
New Brunswick - L , W, ~42
Union Hill - W, W, ~46
Scotch Plains - ??, W, ~34-54
South Plainfield - xx, L, 28

Bottom Line:

If Mendham beats Mo Hills they are in, probably 4th-6th seed.

If Mendham loses, they will need some help - probably in the form of two losses each from Scotch Plains and South Plainfield - to stay alive. In this scenario I would say they have a 30% chance of still seeding 8th .


Note: Scotch Plains stands to accumulate mega huge points in the next two weeks. If they win both games, it could really shake things up, but this would be a death knell for Mendham if they lost to MoHills.

Weird Note2: If Mendham loses to MoHills and beats HP (7-2); West Essex loses to ParHills and beats Chatham (7-2); Par Hills beats WE and Weequahic (7-2); and Mo Hills beats Mendham and loses to Summit (!!) (7-2) we have a four way tie for first in the IHC Hills.

Even Weirder...Mendham could possibly be a co-champion of the Hills and NOT have a playoff berth. Try that one on for size.

FORGETABOUTIT!!!

Hanover Park, my alma mater and reason for the colors of this blog, decided to put a wrinkle in the plans of our little Iron Hills Conference this weekend. The wrinkle came in the form of Ryan Hinton and his goald and black Hornets, as they completely shocked the West Essex Knights in a 7-6 loss this Friday night.

Mendham also decided to put a big wrinkle into the standings t00. They upset, at least according to the Daily Record and the Star Ledger who picked them to lose by at least a TD, the Parsippany Hills Vikings 15-14 in come from behind fashion. But, I must give credit for this blog's own Val Halla for picking this game from the beginning. He even picked Par Hills score! Great Job Val Halla!

What does this mean? Lots of things. First of all, and most obvious, is that it makes three 6-1 teams; Morris Hills, West Essex and Mendham. Both Mendham and Morris Hills have a lose to West Essex.

How are we going to figure out who is the Conference Champs? Easy, Mendham plays Morris Hills this weekend at Mendham. This will shake out one of them. But it wont be easy as Mendham is undefeated at home and Morris Hills is undefeated on the road.

Then West Essex has to play two tough games first against Par Hills and then against Chatham. No matter how you cut it, this will be an exciting final stretch.

OTHER NOTES: We lost a great one this week. Brian Fleury, Delbarton's baseball coach and the school's athletic director passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. It is always the best ones that die early. Brian was a beloved coach by his players and by the parents. He was one of the guys who really cared about the kids. He was 40.

Rutgers upset #2 South Florida this week. Good for them...too bad they lost to Cincinati and Maryland. You can't help but to be happy for Rutgers for really turning their program around. But being the same general area as the Yankee's it is about time they bring a National Championship to New Jersey.

I still cannot believe the turn of events that happened this weekend. HP beat Wessex and Mendham beat Par Hills...freaking awesome stuff!

I am sure there are other things that went on this week but lets just stick with the most meanful for now.

PHOTO CREDIT GOES TO www.mchss.net

Mendham Passes the Test

SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL

Minutemen hang on to outlast Vikings in Nail Biter.

Mendham 15, Par Hills 14

1st Qtr PH 7 M 0 (Fowler Run)
2nd Qtr 7 0 (Fowler Run)
3rd Qtr 0 15 Salerno 5 yd Run (Wiskow Kick); Puglisi 40 yd Pass from Schermerhorn (Salerno Run)
4th Qtr 0 0

Notes -

Par Hills' Fowler runs a great game, Mendham had some difficulty early with his shifty style.

QB Scialampo played well, but carted off field early in second half after sack. Second string QB steps up and does well. Scialampo later reported to have a broken Tibia.

Par Hills suffers string of damaging penalties in 4th Qtr inside red zone, at least one TD (and at least one close) is called back for illegal motion (x2), and Offensive Pass interference (not a TD but end-zone throw). Mendham holds on downs after PH was as close as 6 inch line.

Late in 4th Qtr Par Hills player called for Unneccessary roughness...PH turns ball over on downs on Mendham ~30 yd line...Par Hills Coach Albano called for Unsportsmanlike conduct for arguing with official.

Mendham QB Schermerhorn, RBs Salerno and Riposta give solid performance on O.

Santomo, Byrne, DeWitt Solid on D.

---More To follow later---

Mettle of young team will be tested

Are the Minutemen contenders or pretenders?

This time last year Mendham had locked in a playoff berth. They were 4-2, and in Section II, Group II for playoff pairings.

As usual, in the infinite wisdom of the NJSIAA, Mendham has been juggled up to Group III this year - you know, just to keep them on their toes. Because being in Group II with 3 time plus state champ West Essex is Easy right? But I digress...

This week they face last year's Group III contender ParHills. Gone are Gerardi and Lombardozzi. Par Hills only loss came to MoHills. MoHills and Mendham's only loss came to WestEssex.

If common opponents and head to heads are any way to compare teams then consider this: Par Hills lost to Mo Hills 28-13 a two score deficit. MoHills lost 28-7 to WEssex; a 3 score diff. Mendham-Wessex: 20-6...2 scores.

One of WEssex TD's came off of a Mendham pass (INT returned for a TD). Take that freak occurrence away, and you have a 1 score ball game. Mendham had a Dive that went 35+ yards by Junior standout RB Salerno; had he been a step faster, he would not have been run down by the WEssex D. Consider that hole could just as easily have been opened for one of Mendham's faster RBs and you have a tie ball game.

Other considerations:

-Mendham held the defending conference and State Champs to less than 100 yds Rushing, coming mostly on the legs of standout Anthony Hayek. No other team has done that yet this season.

- The above was done with two defensive starters on the bench nursing injuries, including standout DL and huge Senior Captain Pete Cavallero. They both returned the next game.

- Mendham leads the IHC Hills in Interceptions.

- Par Hills QB leads the Hills in TD passes.

So, by simple math, if Par Hills lost to Mo Hills and Mo Hills lost to WEssex by 3 scores, and Mendham lost by 2 scores...

Prognostication for Saturday's game?

ParHills will avoid the pressed air attack, and turn to the run behind Fowler and Scialampo. Their defense will have their hands full with Mendham's balanced and diverse offense.

Mendham's defense will bend but not break and discourage the air attack (if even attempted) by yet another Santomo INT and Puglisi sack. Quarterback Schermerhorn will pick apart PH by the air, while Salerno and Riposta pound them from the ground.

Both teams need to bring their "A" game. It will be a dogfight but my crystal ball says:

Mendham 20-14.

Friday Night Lights

Mendham rolls to 5-1, as Randolph takes a beating by E.O.

Who Will Out Last Who???

There are three 5-1 football teams and one 6-0 team in the Iron Hills Conference right now. West Essex is the only undefeated team while Par Hills, Mo Hills and (drum roll please) Mendham are all 5-1. This is actually pretty nuts as season winds up with their final three games.

Mendham, who's only loss is to West Essex, has to play Par Hills, Morris Hills and Hanover Park (4-2) in their final three games. They probably have it the toughest while Par Hills has no cake walk with Mendham, West Essex and Weequahic (3-3) to end it out. Morris Hills has it partly easy with Weequahic then Mendham and ending up with Summit (1-5).


But anything can happen as West Essex has to fight through Hanover Park, Par Hills and then a tough Chatham.

Here are my preditictions. I think Morris Hills is probably the toughest. But Sabo and gang seem to have too much of a swagger and I predict Mendham suprising them on Mendham's home turf. I think Mo Hills ends up 7-2. I think Mendham will win the rest of the games, albiet all tough battles and they end up 8-1. Par Hills will end up 6-3 with losses to Mendham, West Essex.

I think Chatham will upset West Essex late