Historic moment for Prep basketball team
Marauders win first HCIAA title since 1963
It sits there, as clear as a bell, underneath the far basket in the hallowed relic known as the St. Peter’s Prep gymnasium. Among the countless banners that grace the brick walls, honoring the countless championships that the school has earned in his rich athletic history, the faded maroon banner that honors the school’s basketball champions of the past has had little activity of late – especially in the category next to "County Champions."
"You look up there and see football has recent ones and baseball has recent ones," senior point guard John Cossolini said. "But basketball, there’s 1961, 1962, 1963, and then nothing."
Jimmy Supple, a senior whose father, Jim, Sr. played on the Prep team to last leave a mark on that banner some 38 years ago, said he glanced at the wall every day before practice.
"Every practice, I looked at it," Supple said. "I knew it was 1963. It’s up there for everyone to see. I looked at it every day. And one of my uncles, Paul Paytas, is a member of the Class of 1945 and a member of the relay team that won a national title. He said that every time he walks into the gym, he looks up to the banners and there’s a gleam in his eyes."
A year ago, the Marauders had a good chance to put a new addition to the banner, but the young team, which finished second in the regular season, lost in the first round of the HCIAA playoffs. Altering the banner and creating new history would have to wait another year.
"When we lost last year, it left a burning desire in all of us," said Supple, who is one of five senior starters. "We were still young, but people were expecting us to do well. When we lost in the first round, it acted as a huge wake-up call to all of us."
"I think it made us realize that there are no nights off in Hudson County," senior center Brian Robinson said. "Last year was a real big realization for all of us. Knowing that this school hadn’t won for a long time was a big deal to all of us, especially the seniors, because this was our last chance to accomplish it."
Head coach Joe Macchi said that there was never any official mention of the title drought.
"The kids walk into the gym every day and they see the banners," Macchi said. "I don’t think we ever had to allude to it. The banners are there. The kids knew deep down. They all wanted to leave something on that wall."
Macchi didn’t realize he wasn’t even born the last time the Marauders won the county title. In fact, they weren’t even the Marauders back then. They were known as the "Petreans," the Sons of Peter. The official nickname was changed to Marauders in the mid-’70s.
"To be honest, I never really gave it much thought," Macchi said. "But there have been a lot of players and coaches to play and coach in this gym. Growing up, I remember (the late) Brother (Joseph) Wuss sitting in the balcony at the top of the stairs at every game. There is a lot of history here."
Last Saturday, the Marauders created their own history when they defeated Marist, 66-60, to bring home the first HCIAA title in 38 years. Jarett Love scored 24 points and earned the Most Valuable Player trophy. Senior Emmanuel Thompson added 14 points and Robinson scored 11.
"It’s a great feeling and I’m very proud of these kids," Macchi said. "They’ve all worked so incredibly hard. The commitment that these kids have made over the last two years, playing through two summers and camps and summer leagues. It was a long and hard road, but it’s something they achieved through hard work. They’re a great group of kids who happen to be good basketball players. I’m really proud of their effort."
The players know they’ve created history and will put something on the walls that will remain there for many years, decades, ages to come.
"It’s an incredible feeling, almost indescribable," Supple said. "It’s been too long since Prep won it. I feel so proud that we’re the ones to put another year up on the banner."
"It’s the biggest accomplishment of my athletic career," Cossolini said. "It’s so awesome. You see all the years up there and now there will always be our year. I don’t know how to feel. I’m still a little stunned by it."
Cossolini was able to earn a county title a year after his little sister, Annie, won one with St. Dominic Academy’s girls.
"That was the one thing my sister had over me," Cossolini said. "Now, I have mine."
Now, the Marauders will head back to the NJSIAA Parochial A state playoffs, where they lost to Seton Hall Prep in the sectional final a year ago.
"I think this shows that we’re a team to be reckoned with," Supple said. "It’s not impossible, not by any stretch. We’re ready."
Although it hasn’t been 38 years since the Marauders won a state crown. They won state sectional titles in 1992 and one before it in 1984 and in 1972 as well. But it would be a nice way for the seniors to go out, to add 2001 on two parts of the banner. That hasn’t happened since 1958. Even longer.
CAPTION
The 2000-2001 HCIAA Boys Basketball Champion St. Peter’s Prep Marauders pose with their championship trophy. From left are: John Cossolini, James Della Vecchia, Ken Teschlog, Joe Pecora, Jimmy Supple, Sean Finnegan, Brian Robinson, Dan Healy, Emmanuel Thompson, Scott Cunningham, Nick Hamilton and head coach Joe Macchi. Missing from the picture is Jarett Love.