>>reggie@jps

5.22.02 - junction boys 2001

“ Be back on the field six’o clock at night, if your mom asks whether Coach Zarro is crazy, say yes, “ said the head coach of John P. Stevens High School football team, Coach Zarro. It was a hot summer day and the coach wanted the whole football team to have an extra practice session at night. Without any complaints, the forty-two players were back into the locker room fifteen minutes before the practice and ready to work hard. We, as a team, were on time for only one reason, which was to win the state championship trophy that is placed in coach’s office. And we were determined and committed – as a family.

As 2000 season ended with an improved record of 4-6, the players were still not satisfied with the result; therefore, we were back into the weight room in December to get ready for the new season that was nine months away. Every player worked hard under the new lifting program and each one of us wanted to get bigger, stronger, and faster. During the off-season lifting, we also gathered to do some extra football drills under the leadership of seniors. Everyday after one and half hour of weight training in the weight room, we would go outside to break into groups according to positions and sharpen our skills. With the extra time and sweat we had put in, we were confident that the new season would be a special one.

After months of lifting and training, the new season had finally arrived. It was mid-August when we received our shoulder pads and helmets, and the three weeks of double session, which consisted of morning and afternoon practices, had officially begun. Every morning, we would come into the locker room half-awake; however, once the practice started, we gave in one hundred percent of their energy to face challenges. When someone fell down, we helped him out as a team; when the starting offense slacked off, we motivated each other to be better. As a result, we had come through many obstacles as a team. Also, when Coach Zarro felt that we needed more practice, he would call for an extra session at night. Although we were tired by end of the afternoon practice, we knew that by doing the extra mile would lead to success. In addition, during the three weeks of double sessions, the football team had scrimmaged other high schools such as Clifton, Paramus Catholic, and Bellville. In those three scrimmages, we had become a whole new improved team since 2000; we scored average six touchdowns per game and gave up only one touchdown to each opponent. After those three pre-season games, we believed that when regular season started, we would be the top team in our Red Division.

The season opener was September 7th, and our football team was scheduled to play North Brunswick High School at its home field. Before that game started, the media was in favor of North Brunswick; nobody had faith in our team except ourselves. However, after the whistle was blown to start the game, we were like a group of awakened lions from the sleep that took the football and marched down the field of eighty yards to score our first touchdown within the first two minutes. We had surprised everybody and we had outscored North Brunswick by score of 54-13 by the end. Yet, that was only a beginning of the season. With tough games coming up against Old Bridge, Woodbridge, and Piscataway, we knew that we must work harder in order to prove our toughness.

In the next several days, we went through tedious football drills everyday and kept our intensity high. We played Woodbridge two weeks later in the rain. Although the field was muddy that added difficulty for us to play; we still managed to comeback from behind with three minutes left in the game to win. After Woodbridge game, we played Old Bridge at our home field. During the Old Bridge game, we performed one of the greatest comebacks of the season; we were down by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of the game, and we scored twenty-one points within the twelve minutes of the quarter to tie the game and won it in double over-time with a miracle touchdown pass.

It was two weeks after the Old Bridge game when we put up another thrilling victory over Piscataway High School. Despite how media had described Piscataway as the potential championship team, our defense had shut their offense down to only thirteen points while our offense scored thirty-three points on their defense. After that game, we had finally anchored our first place with the record of 5-0 in Red Division.

With the amazing winning streak in the regular season, we headed to the postseason with a high expectation few weeks later. We had finally faced one of the toughest opponents, which was Hunterdon Central. Hunterdon Central had decent players like us, and they were leading us with score of 19-7 in the last four minutes. However, with many talented players on our team, it was only the matter of time for us to strike back. First, we scored one touchdown to tighten the game at 19-14, and then we recovered an onside kick to give our offense another chance to score. With three minutes left on the clock, we used the time wisely to score our last touchdown to win. After the miraculous victory, we were confident and ready to play in the Central Jersey Group 4 Championship.

The Championship Game was schedule in December 1, 2001. It was a game that we considered as “ all or nothing “. Finishing the season with 11-1 record would be unbelievable…to other people only; we wanted to bring back the first championship trophy to school since 1985. The game was against with Old Bridge for the second time of the season. Although the many people predicted the game to be a high-scoring game, it turned out to be a low-scoring one. Both teams played with the best defensive ability to stop each other from reaching the end zone; Old Bridge was leading us only with score of 7-6 in the last three minutes. With little amount of time left, our receiver caught a pass from the quarterback and dashed eighty yards down the field before being tackled in front of the end zone. After that big play, our running back received a hand-off and ran the ball into the end zone to put us to crown.

Our season had ended with the perfect record of 12-0. Although we never expected that much of success in the beginning, we were not surprised either in the end because we had worked so hard throughout the year, and we definitely deserved to be the champion. With another season waiting for us in just four months, we have once again started our conditioning. And we all look forward to the new season to meet new challenges.