The ninth annual Governor’s Bowl came and went, without much fanfare or attention. The talent showcase, featuring New Jersey’s best high school football players going up against the best that New York has to offer, was played two weeks ago at Michie Stadium on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.We do know that the New Jersey All-Stars took it on the chin, losing 23-6. We also know that Don Bosco Prep quarterback Mike Teel suffered an ankle injury early in the game and could not return, leaving the signal calling duties solely on the shoulders of Bergen Catholic’s Chris Allison for the rest of the afternoon.
We do know that Allison wasn’t successful in moving the New Jersey team into scoring position for most of the afternoon, struggling with his passing timing and precision.
Other than that, we don’t know much.
Well, it’s rumored that there was some local participation, that three kids from Hudson Catholic, namely the Rutgers-bound twin linemen Darren and Joe Salinardi, as well as quarterback Tom Bender (the future LaSalle product who was pressed into service as a punter) were on the New Jersey squad, as were St. Peter’s Prep standouts Leo Ferrine (bound for Notre Dame) and James Tindall (bound for the University of Massachusetts).
However, there isn’t much more to report.
That’s because the organizers of the game have done nothing to promote it within the realm of the media. There used to be press conferences, announcing the team, with members of the team on hand to conduct interviews. It’s hard now to even find a roster.
Seven years ago, when the Governor’s Bowl was first announced, there was a grand press reception at Rutgers University. The late Joe Coviello, the Hudson County football coaching legend, was selected to be the honorary New Jersey coach for the first game and he was assisted by his former assistant – and legend in his own right – Warren Wolf, who is the state’s all-time leader in coaching victories.
So there was the opportunity to address the idea that Coviello was heading back to the sidelines to coach once again with the man whom he showed the ropes back in the glory days of Memorial High School.
There was also a strong local contingent. It was vividly recalled that former Hoboken great Keeon Walker was selected to the New Jersey team and he posed for many pictures with Coviello, displaying the immense pride that Hudson County had in participating in the game. A classic from the past in Coviello combined with a rising star of the present in Walker. It was a perfect combination and one that certainly garnished its fair share of local attention, especially in these pages.
But now, the game has almost become an afterthought instead of being a showcase. It’s a forgotten step-child to the long-established New Jersey Scholastic Football Coaches Association’s North-South All-Star Classic, the one that featured locals Stephon Anderson (Hoboken), Nabil Salim (Emerson) and Tom Rodger (St. Peter’s Prep) a few weeks back.
The North-South game, played at Rutgers, drew more attention and coverage because the organizers, high school football coaches one and all, understand the importance of the local media in getting the word out about the Classic, which has now stood the test of time for more than a quarter century.
But despite the magnitude of the game and the higher talent level (the best players are now kept out of the North-South game and saved for the Governor’s Bowl), the war between the states just doesn’t carry much weight.
And why? Because the organizers can’t even send out a press release, informing anyone of the roster, the players, their backgrounds, their respective schools and subsequent college choices.
And that’s a shame. It should be a game that everyone looks forward to, especially with the game being played at a great football setting, on the campus of West Point in perhaps one of the most historic football venues in the nation. It should be a game played with majesty and pride, not a game shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty.
West New York native Dennis McCarthy, whose McCarthy Report scouting service is perhaps the best in the East Coast, helped to pick the New Jersey team by offering suggestions on players that he scouted and seen play.
In fact, when it was realized that the New Jersey team was without a punter two weeks before training sessions were slated to begin, it was McCarthy who recommended Bender, who heads to LaSalle next month with a chance to be a starter there right away.
Still, the game’s organizers didn’t dare to reach out and contact any of the local media to inform them that Bender was indeed added to the New Jersey roster.
If the Governor’s Bowl is going to be a forgotten child to the members of the New Jersey sports community – coaches, administrators, fans and media alike – then why bother even holding the game in the first place? After all, it’s supposed to be a showcase of the top players in each state, before they head off to their respective futures in college football.
If no one knows about it, then really, what kind of showcase is it?
Something has to change dramatically before the 2005 Governor’s Bowl, if there is such a game at all.
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