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?