NORTH BERGEN – The Board of Education’s battle to reclaim its high school football team’s 2011 state title is apparently headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“A petition to the United States Supreme Court will be filed,” said Patrick Jennings, a Hackensack lawyer representing the North Bergen Board of Education. “And we expect to prevail.”
NJ.com reported that the state Supreme Court on Monday denied the Board of Education’s petition to hear its case on restoring the high school football team’s 2011 state title.
The petition had challenged a recent ruling that rejected an appeal to reinstate the state title that was stripped because the school illegally recruited two players.
Jennings would not expand on why he remains confident that they will be granted another hearing.
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association stands by its decision.
“NJSIAA believes the New Jersey Supreme Court’s order speaks for itself,” NJSIAA spokesperson Michael Cherenson said. “If North Bergen decides to continue to pursue this matter, we will continue to defend our position.”
The series of events that began in December 2011 when North Bergen upset Montclair 14-13 on a last-second touchdown to win the NJSIAA North 1, Group 4 title.
Just two months later, the NJSIAA stripped North Bergen of its title after The Star-Ledger revealed that two players had been illegally recruited to play for the Bruins and were moved into homes owned by late, long-time head coach Vincent Ascolese.
The school appealed the state’s first-ever decision to relinquish a title in January of 2014, but the request was denied by a state appellate panel in April of this year.
Less than three weeks later, North Bergen filed an appeal to the state supreme court.
For more on this story, read Jim Hague’s ‘Tasty Tidbits’ column in this weekend’s Hudson Reporter newspapers.
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