For the second straight year, the St. Peter’s Prep football community rallied together on a recent Saturday afternoon to remember the legacy of Jerome Pederson, affectionately known as “Gee,” the valuable do-everything for the Prep athletic department for several years until his untimely death from a massive aneurysm at the age of 27 in March, 2001.
More than 40 former Prep grid standouts all came back to the Rev. James F. Keenan, SJ Athletic Field near the school to participate in a touch football game. There was a barbecue after the game, some hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages and more importantly, some laughs.
All the proceeds of the day went toward the Jerome Pederson Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has blossomed over the last two years, thanks to the hard work of organizer and former Prep grid standout Lawrence Alexander.
“I’ve found out that it’s now just a really good excuse for a family reunion,” said Alexander, who anticipated the day raised close to $8,000. “It’s become a really cool family reunion for children. I know a lot of guys brought their kids. It’s not about football anymore. It’s more about family. The family component means much more.”
Alexander was worried that the second Jerome Pederson Memorial Football Classic would not be as successful as the first one last year.
“I thought that it might have become commonplace, but that’s not the case at all,” Alexander said. “We have people here from all over the country.”
Alexander mentioned that his former freshman coach Tony Crisalli came all the way from Atlanta for the day.
“There are also some new faces in the crowd that weren’t here last year,” Alexander said. “I hadn’t seen Tony Crisalli in 17 years. It’s really a great day. If we’re doing something in Gee’s name, then we better make sure we’re doing it right. What this did was make us think about family. I spoke with [retired Prep teacher] Ken Dandorph who said that he always thought of us as being his sons. And the one thing we shared was that Jerome was just as much a part of our family as anyone. We’re all family.”
Before he became a professional boxer and a member of the Jersey City Fire Department, Patrick Farrell was a Prep football player. Farrell took his talents to play football at LaSalle University as well.
Farrell was among the alumni who made an appearance at the festivities.
“These guys have been like my family since Day One,” Farrell said. “It’s nice to come back and see all these guys and celebrate a guy who had the same love for this place as I have. It’s nice to have this so we can celebrate Gee and what he meant to all of us. I think it sheds light on how fragile life is. We lost a guy that way. People don’t realize how much of an impact he had on us. I’m glad to be able to come back and keep his name alive.”
Pedro Cirino was one of the more celebrated football players in Prep history, eventually having a great career at Boston College. If it weren’t for a severe hamstring injury that occurred right before the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Cirino would have easily been an NFL player. As it was, he had a tryout with the New York Jets, but he never really recovered from the injured hamstring.
Cirino, who is now a social worker for the state of New Jersey, was on hand for the event.
“I love this place,” Cirino said. “It changed my life forever. I owe a lot to Prep. I’m forever indebted. I’m never far from home when I come back. Jersey City will always be home.”
Cirino was also glad to honor Pederson, with whom he had a special relationship.
“Jerome was perhaps the biggest part of our program,” Cirino said. “He did so many things and was a big part of our tradition.”
Cirino was a big part of the second NJSIAA state championship the Marauders captured in 1994.
“Jerome was a classmate, but he was also a friend,” Cirino said. “He was what we stood for. I’m glad we have this special day for him.”
Needless to say, it was a great day to raise some money and to remember truly a special young man who was certainly a man for others…
It might have been the middle of July, but it didn’t mean that North Bergen High School girls’ basketball coach Dan Reardon wasn’t hard at work.
The granddaddy of all Hudson County girls’ basketball coaches, Reardon, who successfully fought a battle against cancer of the lymph nodes last year, was working with his team at the Kearny summer league, dealing with the reality that his three-year scoring standout Icies Hammer has now graduated and moved on to play Division I basketball at Fairleigh Dickinson.
“I think we’re going to play more aggressively now and look to score off our defense,” Reardon said after North Bergen defeated Kearny in the league. “I think we’ll have four natural rebounders, so that’s a good place to start.”
Come November, Reardon will begin his 29th season as the head coach of the Bruins. Time sure flies.
Reardon likes having a league like the one in Kearny that enhances his players during the summer months.
“We’ll play 25 games here and six at a team camp in Albright College,” Reardon said. “This is where you get better.”
Reardon said that he liked the development of senior center Destiny Cabrera and junior guard Nohelia Olivas during the summer league. Standout point guard Jillian Jover has been busy playing AAU basketball this summer, so she was not with the team in Kearny.
“This summer league gives other kids a chance to play,” Reardon said. “It’s going to help us later in the season.”
Talk about dedication. Reardon regularly travels back and forth from his summer home on the Jersey shore to come to the summer league games…–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.