After stepping down as the head football coach at Harrison High School, where he spent the last two years, Hoboken native Matt Gallo said that he was considering his options toward the next step in his coaching career.
Gallo would have never believed the opportunity that simply fell into his lap.
The 26-year-old Gallo was hired recently to become the new head football coach at St. Anthony, where he had spent three years as an assistant under former coach Sean Fallon (now at Dickinson) before heading off to Harrison.
Ironically, Gallo steps into the position with the Friars that was recently held by Gallo’s high school coach and mentor Ed Stinson.
“I got a little lucky there with St. Anthony,” said Gallo, who faced a tough situation at Harrison, winning just two games in each of his two seasons there. “Being from Hoboken, it’s a great situation for me. It’s like home for me. It’s where I grew up and played and it was where I wanted to coach.”
As for replacing a legend like Stinson?
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Gallo said. “I always looked up to Coach Stinson and I’m going to try to continue some of the things he did at St. Anthony and build upon them.”
Gallo likes what he’s seen so far in weight training sessions.
“It’s a very talented building,” Gallo said. “No doubt about it, the talent is there. Of course, whenever you lose a lot of seniors, it’s always going to be tough. But I think we can just keep reloading in terms of the program.”
Gallo inherits a program that won eight games and advanced to the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 1 state title game for the first time in school history. However, there are only 20 kids returning, so Gallo has a little bit of work on his hands.
“I knew a lot of these kids from when I was an assistant here,” Gallo said. “I think it’s already been a pretty easy transition. The kids knew who I was. There are a lot of the same people. I think the kids have been extremely responsive. We have a lot of kids who want to be great football players and aspire to play at a higher level. I was very inspired by their work ethic.”
Gallo said that he’s encouraged about taking over the Friar program.
“I’m a Hoboken guy and I still live there, so in terms of proximity, it’s tremendous,” Gallo said. “There’s a lot of talent in the building already. It’s a tremendous opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Gallo said that he has already enlisted the services of former Hoboken players Michael Casazza and Robert Braxton to be assistant coaches, as well as former St. Anthony player Derek Sims…
Speaking of St. Anthony, athletic director and baseball coach Buddy Matthews has found himself laid up for a bit, after he suffered a brutal torn hamstring injury while pitching batting practice to the Friars last week.
At press time, Matthews was considering whether he should have surgery to repair the damage. If he does have the operation, Matthews could miss the upcoming baseball season, which is when Matthews is at his happiest.
Here’s to hoping for a very speedy recovery in whatever road he chooses in getting better. Matthews is truly one of the great guys in Hudson County athletics…
There are three former local products who are currently playing in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, better known as March Madness.
First, Myles Davis, the former St. Peter’s Prep standout, is a starting guard for Xavier, who will play the University of Mississippi in the opening round. Davis will lead the Musketeers against Ole Miss, which defeated BYU in the play-in round Tuesday night.
Then, Robert Morris won its play-in game Wednesday night, coming from behind to knock off North Florida in thrilling fashion, 81-77, thanks to the heroics of two former Hudson Reporter All-Area honorees.
Lucious “Lucky” Jones, the former St. Anthony standout, led the way for Robert Morris with 21 points and seven rebounds. Kavon Stewart, the former Hudson Catholic great, added seven points and six assists for the winners. Both local products hit clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the victory for Robert Morris.
So what do the Colonials get as a reward for winning their first NCAA Tournament game in 32 years? They get to face Duke, the top seed in the South Region, Friday in Charlotte.
That’s fine for Jones. He said the Colonials will be ready.
“I like our chances a lot,” Jones said during the post-game press conferences from Dayton Wednesday night. “I know our coaches will get us the scouting report and we’ll be ready. If we go out there and believe in ourselves, go there with confidence, we should be fine. People are going to know a lot about Robert Morris now.”…
We have yet another sad note to report. Bob Dalton, the retired Jersey City Police lieutenant who went on to become the Dean of Students at Hudson Catholic in retirement, passed away Monday after a long battle with cancer. Dalton was 62 years old.
Dalton was also a highly respected youth coach in baseball and basketball, coaching in the Greenville American Cal Ripken Bambino Baseball League for ages, as well as coaching St. Paul’s of Greenville in CYO basketball.
Dalton was diagnosed with lung cancer about a decade ago and went through a special procedure in helping a possible recovery. He was actually cancer-free for about five years, but then the hideous disease came back with ferocity last fall.
Bobby was one of the nicest and considerate people around. In fact, most of his life was spent serving and helping others. His endless dedication to kids was astounding.
Bobby leaves his wife, Jill, his sons, Chris and Adam and five grandchildren. He was truly the salt of the earth and will be missed by so many people…
In closing, the car died with a bad alternator in midtown Manhattan last Sunday. A call to AAA to receive a tow back home to Hudson County kept getting delayed and delayed. One hour became two and two became three, if you catch the drift.
So AAA was then ignored (why does one pay for emergency road service when there’s an emergency and you’re left on the side of a street for four hours?) and a call for help from some local officials got Albert Garcia of Guttenberg and East & West Towing of Union City to come to the rescue. Albert, a native of Cuba and a hard-working man who said he doesn’t mind being called “Cherry Garcia,” was there in less than a half hour and towed the car back to safety.
There are no words how to thank Albert Garcia for his quick response and impeccable personality, other than to add his name to this column. Thank you, Albert. His business card reads, “We meet the nicest people by accident.” That is so true…
Next week, the Hudson Reporter All-Area Boys and Girls Basketball Teams will be revealed, as well as the first peek into spring sports…
Hudson Reporter Final Boys’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (28-2). 2. Hudson Catholic (24-4). 3. Marist (21-5). 4. Union City (17-8). 5. Dickinson (16-9)…
Hudson Reporter Final Girls’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. Secaucus (27-1). 2. Lincoln (22-6). 3. North Bergen (15-10). 4. Ferris (17-7). 5. Marist (14-8)…–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.