Flynn's game-ending sack
October 31, 1986: For the 5th time in 3 seasons, East Brunswick High School and John P. Stevens High School play each other in football, at John E. McGowan Memorial Stadium, on Stevens' campus on the north side of Edison, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
J.P. Stevens (or just "Stevens" for shorter) opened in 1964, and first played EB in 1969, and had usually beaten them. The Hawks' wins over the Bears in 1977 and 1978 were not only key to them winning the Middlesex County Athletic Conference and Central Jersey Group IV Championships, but also made the difference in keeping E.B. out of the Central Jersey Group IV Playoffs. Another loss to Stevens kept EB out in 1981. EB were only 3-6 in 1982, but Stevens' team that year won it all, going 11-0, and is regarded as one of the best teams in Middlesex County football history.
In 1983, Stevens beat EB and made the Playoffs. In 1984, EB went to Stevens and beat them in the regular season, going on to win the MCAC title, finish the regular season undefeated, and reach and host the Central Jersey Group IV Final. But running back George Boothe, a key player, injured for the regular-season game, was healthy again, and he scored 3 touchdowns as Stevens beat EB, 27-26. A failed 2-point conversion became a "cursed team" moment for EB. It was our "Black Saturday."
In 1985, Stevens again went undefeated, beating EB by 1 point, 18-17, and then beating us again in the Central Jersey title game, 19-7. That game was moved to Stevens' crosstown rivals, Edison High, due to snow rendering their field unplayable, but Edison's was okay -- not that we could run or pass on it.
So going into the 1986 season, both teams had heavy losses due to graduation, but had enough talent to go for Conference and Sectional honors again. The regular-season matchup was set for Stevens, on October 31, Halloween Night. Stevens came in with a 22-game winning streak, not having lost since the '84 defeat by EB, and not just the Number 1 ranking in the County according to The Home News, but the Number 4 ranking in the State according to The Star-Ledger, the Newark-based Statewide newspaper. It was also their Homecoming, a crowd of over 5,000 came in.
EB were 3-2-1, having had both our Playoff chances and our GMC Red Division chances taken away the previous Saturday, in a 20-17 loss at Perth Amboy, where the officiating was, to put it politely, highly questionable. I was there, and I'm still questioning it, 36 years later. So we had a lot of frustrations and who better to take them out on than the team that had ruined our State Championship hopes 2 years in a row.
Both The Home News and radio station WCTC named it their Game of the Week. Bruce Johnson broadcast the game for WCTC; John Meggiolaro, Jimmy Allinder and Phil Hill did so for local cable station EBTV. But because of CTC's setup and Edison Township's own cable coverage, EBTV couldn't get space in the press box above the home stands. They had to set up over the visitor's side, at the south end's 30-yard-line, making for an awkward angle. It also exposed them to the weather, and it was unusually cold for Halloween. Then again, that made them feel like regular fans.
Stevens, coached by Tony Simonelli, wore their plain white helmets, with their home dark green jerseys and gold pants; while EB, coached by Marcus Borden, and like Simonelli he had taken his job for the 1983 season, wore their white helmets with a green center stripe, a script "Bears" on each side, and paw-print stickers for big plays, to go with all-white uniforms with green trim. Stevens kicked off at 7:00 PM sharp.
Neither team could score on its opening possession. On their 2nd, EB got a 34-yard field goal from left-footed kicker Josh Miller, who went on to become an NFL punter. On the Hawks' next possession, the Bears forced a fumble and recovered it in Stevens' territory, but could not capitalize, and I thought we would end up paying for that. Sure enough, Ray Patricco threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Sharp. But the extra point by Leon Theodorou, whose field goal won the regular-season game the season before, was wide right, and the 1st quarter ended 6-3 to Stevens.
Early in the 2nd quarter, Bryan Fortay, a sophomore but already one of the most heralded quarterbacks in the State, found a wide-open Bill Breunig in the west corner of the south end zone, capping a long drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass. Miller's extra point put EB up, 10-6. Stevens were driving as the clock ran out in the 1st half, but Ken Prus intercepted Patricco to end the threat and the half, with the score still 10-6.
In the middle of the 3rd quarter, Stevens had a 4th & 4 on EB's 33, and Patricco found Tony Mayers wide open. Had he caught the ball, he would have been unopposed for a touchdown, but he dropped the pass. But on their next possession, he didn't drop a pass, and took it 28 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. But when Stevens went for the two-point conversion, Mayers tripped in the end zone, leaving the score at Hawks 12, Bears 10.
Miller missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. A pass interference call wiped out an interception by Prus and gave Stevens a 1st down. But a strong defensive stand, led by linebacker Robb Schaffer, forced Stevens to punt. Breunig took Mayers' punt on his own 40, then handed it to Prus, who headed for the east sideline, and took off, untouched, and took it to the house. It was the kind of end-around play that Stevens, with the now-graduated George Boothe, had used so effectively against EB the preceding 2 years. Miller added the extra point, and the 3rd quarter ended Bears 17, Hawks 12.
In the 4th quarter, the Bears held the Hawks on one series, then another, holding them on 4th down by maybe 8 inches according to the officials' measurement, with 4:09 to go. A Fortay-to-Prus pass on 3rd & 10 gained a 1st down with 3:06 to go.
Stevens' defense held, but on Fortay's punt, Stevens went for the block, but, instead, were called for roughing the kicker, giving the Bears a new 1st down with 2:14 to go. It was the kind of penalty that usually happened against East Brunswick -- called correctly, or otherwise -- rather than in their favor.
With 1:03 to go, Fortay threw 31 yards to Prus for what could have been a touchdown, but the Bears were flagged for holding. Stevens got the ball back on their own 27 with 55 seconds to go, but a dropped pass, a completed pass for a 1st down, an incomplete pass to stop the clock, and a sack of Patricco by John Flynn, and the clock ran out: East Brunswick had won, 17-12, ending J.P. Stevens' winning streak, throwing E.B.'s fans, myself included, into ecstasy, and throwing both the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division and the Central Jersey Group IV power point totals into chaos.
On EBTV, Phil Hill said, "J.P. Stevens has been tricked, and East Brunswick has been treated." And so it was true. That was a great night. Along with winning the Middlesex County baseball title the preceding June, and the County basketball title (also beating Stevens) the following February, one of the greatest nights I had as an EBHS student. We knew our chances of making the Playoffs or getting even a share of the Division title were slim, so this win made our season.
The following Friday night, we beat Cedar Ridge of Old Bridge, 28-0. That was our 8th game, and thus the last one for which any "power points" we gained would count. (It's complicated, and I won't explain it here.) The Friday night after that, we beat Sayreville, 33-14, to finish with a record of 6-2-1.
A weird thing: In my father's senior year at Barringer High School in Newark, in my mother's senior year at Belleville High School, and in my senior year at East Brunswick High School, the football teams at each school ended up winning 6, losing 2, and tying 1. And none made the State Playoffs. Of course, Dad and Mom didn't have the State Playoffs to make, as the NJSIAA didn't start them until 1974. Even more unfortunately, when my sister was a senior at EBHS, the team didn't do nearly as well, breaking the pattern.
Under most circumstances, 6-2-1 would have been considered a really good season. But losing our 1st-ever home night game, 22-0 to Madison Central, and then getting hosed by the officials away to Perth Amboy left us feeling a bit under-satisfied.
Then came Thanksgiving Day, where, without our even playing, a combination of results left us with a share of the Division title. It was a weird occurrence in a season of weird occurrences, but it gave us a championship.
*
October 31, 1986 was a Friday, Halloween. Baseball season had ended the preceding Monday, with the New York Mets winning Game 7 of the World Series over the Boston Red Sox.
College and pro football were in midweek. The NBA season opened that night, with 9 games:
* The New Jersey Nets beat their rivals, the New York Knicks, 108-97 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Washington Bullets, 120-102 at the Boston Garden.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana pacers, 108-104 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Charles Barkley scored 31 points.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons, 120-104 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac,
Michigan. Adrian Dantley scored 33 in defeat for the Pistons.
* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz, 103-77 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 134-104 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 127-123 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Reggie Theus scored 33 for the Kings.
* The Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 107-106 at the original ARCO Arena in Sacramento.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat their rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, 127-110 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. In defeat for the Blazers, Kiki Vandeweghe led all scorers on the night with 36 points.
There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. I guess facing Wayne Gretzky and all the Edmonton goons was scary enough for the Canucks on Halloween.
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