NORTH BERGEN AND BEYOND — North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco announced plans for a parade to honor the North Bergen High School football team, which captured the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV state championship Saturday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.
Sacco announced that the parade honoring the Bruins will begin this coming Friday morning at 79th Street and Bergenline Avenue, at the mouth of Hudson County Braddock Park. The parade will kick off at 11:30 a.m.
The parade will continue down Bergenline Avenue to 76th Street and then down 76th Street to North Bergen High School, where a victory celebration will take place in the high school gymnasium. North Bergen High School will have a half-day schedule on Friday to honor the Bruins, who defeated Montclair, 14-13, in thrilling fashion on a touchdown pass from Sergio Rodriguez to Debray Tavarez on the final play of the game.
It marks North Bergen’s first state championship since 1997 and the win came in the final game of legendary coach Vince Ascolese’s career. Ascolese had announced a few weeks ago that he was retiring after 50 years as a head coach, the last 39 in North Bergen.