October 28, 1988: It was billed as the Game of the Century in high school football in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It turned out to be one of the most memorable games of the 20th Century, all right, but, from my perspective, for all the wrong reasons.
In 1987, I graduated from East Brunswick High School. The following schoolyear, we beat Madison Central High School of Old Bridge, 19-14 at Madison's Vince Lombardi Field, a key game in winning the title in the Red Division of the Greater Middlesex Conference. EB and Madison had been neighbors and rivals since Madison began playing football in 1963.
They met again in the Semifinal of the Central Jersey Group IV Playoffs, at EB's Jay Doyle Field. It was a miserably cold day, and Madison coach Bob DeMarco had gotten his team's wishbone formation working perfectly. Madison won, 33-0, and went on to beat Neptune for the title.
Embarrassed, East Brunswick coach Marcus Borden abandoned his pass-oriented offenses, and installed his own version of the wishbone. It worked pretty well. Going into their game on October 28 at Lombardi Field, the New Brunswick-based local newspaper, The Home News, ranked Madison Number 1 in its circulation area (which included some spillover into Somerset County), and EB Number 2. The Newark-based Statewide newspaper, The Star-Ledger, ranked Madison Number 1 in the entire State.
The Home News promoted it like it was a "Game of the Century." Their high school football editor, Gene Haley, made their picks, and he predicted a 28-24 Madison win. Given that home field advantage is usually considered a 3-point boost, it was a fair pick.
It was an electric Friday night, and over 5,000 fans packed into that old pit along U.S. Route 9. Madison took the field wearing light blue helmets, navy blue jerseys and light blue pants. East Brunswick took the field wearing all white uniforms, with green trim. We were looking for revenge and Playoff position. They were looking to make history.
They did. We won the toss, but our 1st drive ended with Bryan Fortay, one of the most heavily recruited quarterbacks in the State, being intercepted by linebacker Rob Stanavich, who had nothing but green real estate in front of him, and he high-stepped into the end zone. We came back with a field goal, and it was 7-3, so it wasn't so bad.
Madison came back with another touchdown. We drove, but couldn't get close enough, and another field goal attempt went wide. It was 14-3.
That was it. We couldn't stop them. At all. They went through our defense like a hot knife through butter. Over and over again, their fight song, to the tune of the University of Michigan's "Hail to the Victors," rang out across the field to our side. It was 27-3 at the half. I left. It was 4.7 miles from Lombardi Field in Old Bridge to the house where I grew up in East Brunswick, and I walked all the way. I didn't stop off for a drink or a snack.
By the time I got home, the game was over. Madison Central had won, 55-3. That is not a typographical error: The Number 1 team in the County had beaten the Number 2 team, fifty-five to three.
They had run up the score against the team they hated the most. Crosstown rivals Cedar Ridge, they always beat, and merely pitied; East Brunswick, they hated, and they wanted to send a message. It was received, loud and clear.
It was the local equivalent of the 1940 NFL Championship Game, when the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins, 73-0. Which brings up the question: Suppose we had made that field goal when it was 14-3. What would have happened? I'll tell you what would have happened: We would have lost, 55-6.
Somehow, EB sucked it up, and won the next week, beating Bayonne, 38-22 at home, and clinching the 4th and final seed in the Central Jersey Group IV Playoffs. Madison remained undefeated, and got the 1st seed. We had to go play them again. This time, they didn't run up the score: They only beat us, 31-7, and went on to beat Middletown South, to make it back-to-back titles.
They extended their winning streak to 24 games in 1989, before coming to East Brunswick. We beat them, 10-9, in one of the greatest games in EB history. They still won the Conference title, and got to a 3rd straight Central Jersey Group IV Final. This time, though, Middletown South beat them.
In 1994, the two Old Bridge schools, Madison Central and Cedar Ridge, were reconsolidated into Old Bridge High School. But the 1988 Madison Central team is still considered the greatest high school football team in Middlesex County history, over any of the many championship teams of South River, Highland Park, and J.P. Stevens in Edison. Since it happened 15 years after the undefeated State Championship team of Cedar Ridge in 1973, anniversary reunions of both squads often coincide. And since the combined school began to face East Brunswick on Thanksgiving, such reunions were often held at halftime of that game, forcing EB fans to face their late-'80s tormentors again.
A few years ago, Lombardi Field was redone, and the sides were reversed: What was the visitor's side is now the home side, which makes sense, since that's where the locker rooms and public restrooms are. Now, it's the visiting team that has to make the long walk to their side.
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October 28, 1988 was a Friday. College and pro football were in midweek. Baseball was out of season. The NBA season began 7 days later. There were 5 games in the NHL:
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Hartford Whalers, 5-3 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-4 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* The Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 2-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
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