The St. Peter’s Prep football team should learn the words to “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” before next August.
That’s because the Marauders are headed to Ireland to become the first New Jersey high school football team to play a game overseas.
According to head coach and athletic director Rich Hansen, the Marauders will travel abroad to face either New Canaan of Connecticut or Belen Jesuit of Miami in Dublin Sept. 2, 2016.
The game is part of a promotion by Global International, which is organizing the Georgia Tech-Boston College game that will take place the following day, also in Dublin.
“I got a call from Global International, which is looking to promote American football abroad,” Hansen said. “They were looking for high school programs that best fit their profile. It’s also part of a larger Jesuit initiative that is expanding educational opportunities globally. We’re getting a chance to promote American football in Ireland.”
Hansen said that it helped that the Marauders won the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 4 state championship last year and captured the No. 1 ranking in the entire state.
The funding for the journey will come from a variety of sources, including sponsorships, parental contributions, and the school budget.
Hansen said that the trip comes at a perfect time for his program.
“From every aspect and every angle, it’s a good trip for us,” said Hansen, who mentioned that the trip comes at the same time that Boston College will be in Ireland, and four former Marauders (Jonathan Hilliman, Charlie Callinan, Michael Giacone and current Marauder senior K.J. Gray) will be there with the BC program.
“It’s also a great opportunity for our alumni to travel with us,” Hansen said. “Ireland is known for its unbelievable golf courses. We’ll have 220 seats available and reserved on our flight for friends, family, and alumni.”
Hansen, who is one-quarter of Irish descent, has never been to Ireland. Nor has any other football team from the Garden State.
“It’s a unique opportunity,” Hansen said. “Our kids will remember this trip for the rest of their lives.”…
After a 20-year hiatus, St. Anthony is bringing back the Skyline Classic this Christmas season, featuring the fabulous Friars and seven other top teams from the Eastern region.
According to legendary Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, the two-day basketball bonanza will take place on the Friars’ home court of the Community Education and Recreation Center (CERC) on Dec. 27 and 29.
“We’ve played too many games on neutral sites,” Hurley said. “We were talking about Christmas and thought wouldn’t it be nice to be home. We looked around and found schools that are in the same boat. The teams are getting two games with a day in between. A lot of the schools said that they planned to travel here and stay in the area.”
Hurley said that tournament director Eric Harrield has been hard at work, putting the eight-team field into place. This will not be a tournament form. It will be a chance for all of the participants to get two highly competitive games, knowing their opponents ahead of time.
The field features Our Savior New American of Centereach, Long Island, Iona Prep of New Rochelle, Brighton of Boston, as well as New Jersey powers Pope John, St. Augustine Prep, Christian Brothers Academy and Trenton Central.
“We’ll have eight good teams with very competitive games,” Hurley said.
The tourney will feature several of the top-ranked players that have already committed to top colleges.
Reebok is on board as one of the major sponsors, as well as investment firm KCG in Jersey City and Krossover, the basketball film organization.
“We’re going to be home for the holidays,” said Hurley, who said that the Friars have been on the road during the holidays every year since 1978. “We don’t have to raise funds for this tournament and will serve as a fundraiser for the school. We’re thrilled to be home.”
The Skyline Classic will also serve as an event to give back to the community during the holidays with a sweater, sneaker and coat drive.
Hurley said that the Skyline Classic will also present an array of awards in honor of some important members of the Friar family that are no longer with us, like former athletic director Sister Mary Alan, Jermaine Rivers, Mark Harris, Sydney Raeford and Sean Rooney. The Most Valuable Player of the tournament will be the recipient of the Det. Melvin Santiago trophy, in honor of the slain Jersey City police officer. Det. Santiago’s younger brother, Danny, now attends St. Anthony as a freshman.
It’s going to be an exciting time during Christmas in downtown Jersey City, thanks to the return of the Skyline Classic, which once was a national tournament held at St. Peter’s College and hosted by the Friars…
A bit of sad news took place last week when the famed Union City Boxing Club closed its doors forever.
The club was formed by former amateur boxer Joe Botti back in 1989 and serviced several thousand aspiring boxers from Hudson County and beyond.
After three previous stops, Botti brought his equipment to the abandoned Gilmour School on 17th Street and spent the last three years there, but now, with Gilmour scheduled for major renovations, Botti and the club were forced to move. Since the club had nowhere to go, Botti made the painful decision to shut the club down.
“I felt really bad,” said Botti, who had to remove all of the equipment, especially the ring, and put it into storage. “I had most of the kids helping us to move it all out. I give the city of Union City credit for always looking to help us. I feel bad because a lot of the kids won’t have the ability to train.”
Botti said that he currently had 35 aspiring boxers regularly training at his gym.
“We had approximately 10,000 kids come through the program for the last 27 years,” Botti said. “We had kids from Union City, Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Guttenberg, and West New York. We did a good job keeping kids off the street and out of trouble.”
One of those is professional super middleweight Jason “Monstruo” Escalera, a full-time grocery store meat manager for Food Basic who has been a professional since 2008 and a pro record of 15-4 with 12 knockouts.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Escalera, who was training at the Union City Boxing Club five days a week after work. “The gym has been there for a long time, since I started boxing when I was 13 years old. I owe a lot to the club. People have asked me how the club made a difference in my life. It made a big difference. Who knows what I could have been if I wasn’t a boxer and where I could be now? I could have been a trouble maker and taken the wrong step. But boxing kept me away from it. I chose boxing and wanted to make something out of my life.”
The 30-year-old Escalera returns to the ring in December in Las Vegas. He fought on cards seven times at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen and made his pro debut in the Park Theater in his home town in 2008.
Escalera said that he can go to other gyms in the area, like Global Boxing in North Bergen, where he has sparred a few times.
“The people know me there,” said Escalera, who will maintain his association with trainer Botti even without the Union City gym.
“It hurts a lot,” said Botti, who is a full-time police officer in Union City for the last 18 years. “It’s been tough to take. I hate to throw in the towel, which is the worst thing to do in the fight game. I hate to think it’s over. I put everything in storage with the hope someday we can open someplace else. This is the first time since 1989 we’ve been closed, so it’s tough.”
And it’s a huge loss for the community…
Well, so much for the Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week jinx. Four prior honorees had sensational weeks last week on the gridiron. There was Lincoln’s Zymire Gordon, who threw for an astounding 346 yards and seven touchdowns. There was Weehawken’s Joan Andujar, who carried the ball an amazing 42 times for 228 yards and three TDs. Secaucus’ Evander Pons had 190 yards rushing on 22 carries and two TDs. And North Bergen’s Axel Fuentes had 166 yards on 17 carries and one TD. All earned Athlete of the Week honors earlier this year and all had eye-popping weeks.
Hudson Reporter High School Football Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (5-2). 2. Lincoln (7-0). 3. Hudson Catholic (7-0). 4. Union City (4-3). 5. Hoboken (4-3)…
Hudson Reporter High School Soccer Top Five: 1. Union City (15-4). 2. St. Peter’s Prep (12-4-2). 3. North Bergen (10-7). 4. Dickinson (13-5). 5. Ferris (8-9)…--Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.