BUTLER − Its reached the point that faithful Butler football fans, coaches and players wonder if this is the greatest Bulldogs team of all time.

That’s the conversation that pops up when a program wins back-to-back sectional titles, three in a seven-year span and 10 all time.

The debate lives on following the Morris County school’s latest triumph, a 28-14 win over Kinnelon in the North 1, Group 1 title game on Nov. 14 at Hempstead Field.

“I think comparison is the thief of joy. But I would put this team up against any past Butler teams to be honest,” senior quarterback David Smith said. “Last year we had a lot of talent, but this year we have a lot of grit and spirit. We went down early and any time that happened last year, it was hard to get back up. This team knows what it takes to win and we’re ready to battle through adversity.”

The atmosphere in Butler exemplified what high school football is all about. With an overflow of 3,500 fans packed in the stands and surrounding the field, the vibe resembled past championship games played at local venues.

“This place was incredible tonight. You can’t get this kind of atmosphere at a neutral site like a MetLife or Rutgers stadiums,” Butler coach Jason Luciani said. “It’s all well and good, but I challenge anyone in the state to find an atmosphere like this one.”

As it has all season, Butler rode behind its star quarterback and aggressive style of defense on Friday night. Smith wasn’t perfect, throwing two interceptions, but he was good enough to help the Bulldogs keep its undefeated season going and secure another sectional title.

The senior playmaker ran for a game-high 213 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score. His first touchdown, a 1-yard keeper, tied the game 7-7 with 7:14 left in the opening half. His second rushing score put the Bulldogs up 21-14 and turned out to be the game-winner with 5:56 left to play. Smith put the game out of reach when he connected with receiver Evan Croker from 24 yards with under two minutes left.

“David was phenomenal tonight. He made some mistakes early, but he never faltered,” Luciani said. “The touchdown he threw at the end was something we set up and he executed it perfectly.”

Kinnelon (10-2) struck first and opened the scoring when quarterback Matthew Siciliano connected with Soren Porada from 24 yards with 9:16 left in the first half. Porada’s grab capped a 12-play, 25 yard drive that started when a Colts punt out of the end zone deflected off a Butler defender near the 35-yard line.

Butler scored twice in the second quarter with running back Yadi Perez scoring on a 2-yard run to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 14-7, with 1:56 left in the half.

“We put all our work in. We trust the coaches and work hard every day. We couldn’t be more happy with the outcome,” said Perez, who ran for 61 yards. “Kinnelon is a well-coached team and they were in it all game.”

What it means

Butler advances to the Group 1 state semifinals next Friday when it will host Cedar Grove in a rematch of last year’s semifinal won by Cedar Grove, 52-21 in Essex County. The Panthers defeated New Providence, 37-13, in the North 2, Group 1 sectional final on Friday night.

This was the 30th all-time meeting and second playoff encounter between Butler and Kinnelon. The Bulldogs lead the series, 24-6.

Kinnelon and Butler faced off annually from 1964-83 when both were in the Skyline Conference. From 2009-15, the schools were annual opponents in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. In between, Butler shut out Kinnelon in the 2002 North 2, Group 1 sectional quarterfinals.

Butler is a back-to-back sectional champion for the third time in program history. The Bulldogs accomplished the feat in 1982-83, as well as four straight championship years from 1994-97. This senior class has been a part of the greatest run for the program since those four titles in the mid-1990s, going a combined 31-3 since the start of the 2023 season.

Kinnelon was playing in a sectional final for the first time since 2012, when the Colts won North 1, Group 2. It has been a season to remember, setting a school record with 10 wins and winning the SFC National Blue division. The argument could be made that this is the best Kinnelon football team of all-time.

They said it

“It doesn’t get better than this really. We had over 3,000 people here and we heard every one of them. I wouldn’t want to play in front of any other town. They may have been from Kinnelon but we felt like everyone was here for us. We were able to finish our story and bring it home. We feel all the love from this town. When you get this kind of turnout and people recognize you walking down the street, you know what you’re playing for and the amount of history we have. We feel the love.” – Smith.

“We have a really special football team. I wasn’t around for some of the early championship teams here at Butler, but you can make an argument for this team finishing 11-0 and being one of the best ever.” – Luciani.