New ground in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference broke on Wednesday at Montclair State University as the league held its first-ever conference media day.
All 25 teams in the conference were represented by their head coach and multiple student-athletes.
It’s a new year in N.J. football and in many cases, it’s a new version of the NJIC
What are the hottest topics of discussion in the league? Scroll for five things we learned on Wednesday in Montclair.
Mass divisional shakeup
Football has seen major realignment across every conference ahead of the new season with the NJIC seeing some of the most significant changes. The league is moving from five divisions to four with seven teams in the Colonial and six making up the Liberty, Meadowlands and Patriot divisions. The Union Division served as a developmental division, but its teams have been spread out across the league. Below, find the squads in new divisions for 2024, and see the complete divisional layout here.
Teams in new divisions: Bogota, Butler, Elmwood Park, Glen Rock, Lodi, Manchester Regional, New Milford, North Arlington, Palisades Park-Leonia, Pompton Lakes, Rutherford, Secaucus, Waldwick-Midland Park, Wood-Ridge
40 percent of the league has a new coach
Along with the divisional realignment has come realignment for large chunk of the league’s programs. A ridiculous 10 teams of the 25 in the conference have a new head coach at the helm. Two legendary coaches in Hawthorne’s John Passero and Pompton Lakes’ Scott Mahoney make up two of the names who stepped down. The duo combined for 247 wins and 42 years in the head coach’s chair. Below, meet the conference’s new faces in charge.
- Ali Beh, North Arlington
- Rob Bernier, Saddle Brook
- Jim Cleary, Park Ridge
- Tom Curry, Secaucus
- Dan DiStasi, Waldwick-Midland Park
- Angelo Guarnieri, Hawthorne
- Justin Johnson, Pompton Lakes
- Kyle McCourt, Glen Rock
- William Straub, New Milford
- Brian Wenzel, Hasbrouck Heights
Rutherford has serious shot at 4-peat
Rutherford have been the kings of the NJIC the last three years, winning three consecutive NJIC championships, becoming the first program to do so when the Bulldogs defeated Park Ridge in the final last fall. Rutherford enters the season as arguably the favorites to win a fourth straight title, but it won’t be easy.
Coach Steve Dunn said Wednesday his team has plenty of question marks on its roster having to replace players like two-time All-State tight end Ryan Ward, leading rusher Cole Goumas and leading tacklers Luke Cerulli and Chris Lora. However, Rutherford still has plenty of talent coming back, including standout safety and slot receiver Chris Gioia, who missed the final five games last season due to injury.
Managing expectations and the pressure of a potential four-peat will be something Rutherford will have to navigate this season.
“I feel good heading into the year,” Dunn said. “But when you win as much as we have, I think that target grows and I think the pressure grows the more you win. Your expectation is to win and these kids know that. And these kids don’t want to be that group to stop that streak. It’s something we talk about a lot and we’re sure however big that target is we’re gonna find a way.”
Becton vs. Lyndhurst season opener will be epic
The first game is always important, but this one is different for Becton and Lyndhurst. The two teams are rivals and their Week 0 contest is monumental with both squads having aspirations to win the NJIC Colonial. Becton returns many key pieces from its 5-5 campaign in 2023, including senior quarterback Jonathan Palsi who broke his collarbone after a 4-2 start to the year. The Wildcats went 1-3 without him. For Lyndhurst, quarterback Shawn Bellenger and running back Roddy Morinho accounted for 26 touchdowns last fall and the seniors will be leaned on heavily in the new year. The Golden Bears went 4-5 and were the NJIC Liberty champs in 2023. The anticipation for Week 0 is high.
“I teach in Jersey City and I was sitting outside in January doing lunch duty and freezing, and then Rich [Tuero] calls me,” Becton head coach Jack Maher said. “He said, ‘Did you see the schedule? We play each other Week 0.’ We’re boys, but we’re big rivals. It’s definitely going to set the tone for the rest of the season. They’re really good.”
“It’s a huge game,” Lyndhurst head coach Rich Tuero said. “It’s a trophy game. It used to be the Hall of Fame game when we played them on Thanksgiving. It used to be the final game before the playoffs when I played, and it’s on opening day this year. It’s a huge game for the division. Jack is a great coach and we expect it to be a legit battle.”
St. Mary (Ruth.) looking to go up another level
It ended up being a breakthrough season for St. Mary (Ruth.) and head coach Paul Johnsen last fall. In his second year at the helm, Johnsen guided the Gaels to a 6-5 record and a berth in the Non-Public B playoffs where they lost to eventual runners-up, DePaul.
Johnsen is bullish on his team heading into this year after graduating just one senior from last year’s team. Senior running back Nasir Owens returns after rushing for 1,216 yards and 14 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver B.J. Cunningham also returns after having a team-leading 764 yards and 12 scores.
Johnsen said numbers are up and that this is the best position his team has been as he enters his third season at the helm. St. Mary is looking to compete for a division title and reach the NJIC playoffs for the first time in program history.
Luis Torres can be reached at ltorres@njadvancemedia.com or via direct message here.
Ryan Patti can be reached at rpatti@njadvancemedia.com or via direct message here.
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