Dickinson and Emerson’s boys, Marist’s girls gain state sectional titles
This is the tale of two coaches who recently doubled as successful prognosticators.
The HCIAA girls’ basketball playoffs had just completed the first round and Marist’s girls’ basketball team had just suffered a heartbreaking loss to Ferris. That was it. The defending HCIAA champion was one and done, finished in the Lady Knights’ first playoff contest.
However, veteran head coach Bill DeFazio wasn’t totally crushed. Sure, he was disappointed about losing in the first round of the county, but he wasn’t devastated. So much so that he made a promise to a local sportswriter about the upcoming NJSIAA state playoffs.
"I’m telling you," DeFazio said at the time. "We’re going to win the (NJSIAA Parochial B North) state sectional. Mark my words. You heard it here first."
At the time, one had to wonder what in the world DeFazio was thinking. After all, his team was struggling down the stretch of the regular season. And the Knights had received the No. 13 seed into the state tournament. Not an easy road. It would mean game after game of the state playoffs on the road, playing in front of unfriendly territory.
A few days later, Emerson’s boys basketball team’s Cinderella run in the HCIAA playoffs had come to a crashing halt, as Dickinson manhandled the Bulldogs in the county finale. The Bulldogs somehow entered the playoff picture through the back door, receiving a free pass into the playoffs when Marist was forced to forfeit its entire season. Yet, Emerson upset crosstown rival Union Hill, then Memorial to get to the finals, but the dream died hard there against a much stronger Dickinson club, hell bent on making history in earning the school’s first HCIAA title in 28 years.
But Emerson rookie head coach Drew Morano – the son of coaching legend Hank Morano, who once coached the Bulldogs for decades – knew right away that he still had the makings of something special.
"We might have lost this game, but I know we’re going to make some noise in the (NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group III) playoffs," Morano said. "I think, with a break or two, we can win the sectional."
Again, the instant thought was one of coaching insanity. How in the world could a coach in his first year of varsity experience actually start thinking about winning a state sectional title, when there have been countless others who have gone throughout their entire careers without ever sniffing a title?
But DeFazio and Morano obviously both knew what they were talking about.
DeFazio’s Marist team won the Parochial B North girls’ crown, defeating St. Mary’s of Rutherford to earn the title, before losing to St. Rose of Belmar for the overall title. The Lady Knights became the lowest seeded team (13th) to ever capture a sectional crown.
Morano’s Emerson team also captured the unthinkable, winning the Group III sectional championship, defeating Fort Lee in the finals.
The success of Hudson County’s basketball teams didn’t stop there. Dickinson also won its state sectional title, winning the North Jersey Section 1, Group IV title, knocking off Passaic in the final game.
It was a tumultuous time for the Rams. What should have been a glorious time for the team, winning both the state and county titles, has been clouded by the suspension to star performer Chi Chi Nwadike due to a drug arrest – and the controversy surrounding the possible coverup of the arrest by school officials.
There was other success for Hudson’s hoopsters during its own version of March Madness. St. Peter’s Prep enjoyed its finest run in the state playoffs since 1984, advancing to the Parochial A North final game, before it ran into a steamroller known as Seton Hall Prep, only the No. 5 team in the entire nation.
Weehawken advanced to the North Jersey Section 1, Group I semifinals, before losing to eventual Group I state champion Waldwick.
All in all, it was a memorable run for Hudson’s hoopsters. Usually, when March arrives, there is only one Hudson County team left playing in the state tournament, namely St. Anthony.
This year, the Friars were the ones that took the early exit and it was time for three other teams to capture their share of state glory. Three state sectionals and a finalist, all from the same county. Not a bad accomplishment. Hudson County, for ages known as the hotbed of basketball in the state, has a reason to shine once again, thanks to the girls from Marist, and the boys from Dickinson and Emerson.
It was definitely a job well done by all three champions.