The last couple of days have been interesting when it comes to Don Bosco Prep‘s 2015 schedule.
First there is the news that the Ironmen, who won “mythical” national championships in 2009 and 2011, would celebrate the school’s 100th year by hosting the Centennial Classic. MaxPreps reports that DBP will Archbishop Rummel from Louisiana in late September. The Centennial Classic will also feature St. John Bosco of California taking on St. Peter’s Prep.
The news of the marquee match-up against one of Louisiana’s best was tempered by a story on NorthJersey.com that DBP’s October 30th game against Eastside High School might turn into a forfeit. According to the story by writer Darren Cooper, Eastside’s head coach Joe Stinson has sent letters to “several organization state his intention for the Ghosts to forfeit their game to Don Bosco.”
The story goes on to state that last season, Eastside lost 56-6 to Bosco and had multiple players injured in the game.
Stinson told NorthJersey.com, “The paramount job of a football coach has to be to keep his kids safe, and this game is not safe for the kids at Eastside High School. If I didn’t take the stand I am taking, then I would be condoning putting my kids’ safety at risk.”
The Eastside match-up is the result of the way the Big North Conference chooses its cross-over games between divisions. The 39-team league is made-up of eight divisions. The Big North – United division is the marquee league featuring Don Bosco, Bergen Catholic, DePaul, Paramus Catholic and St. Joseph Regional (Montvale), all private schools. Last year, High School Football America named the Big North – United as the toughest league in America.
Eastside is part of the Big North – Liberty Division that features Clifton, Fair Lawn and Passaic County Vo-Tech, DBP’s other crossover opponent in 2014 and 2015. According to the NorthJersey.com story, Passic Tech has already indicated that it will not forfeit its game against Bosco.
The Eastside decision may just be the tip of the iceberg for Big North – United teams, who are finding it harder-and-harder to find in-state public schools to play. The story adds that Pascack Valley is “weighing its options” when it comes to its game against DePaul. Old Tappan, Ridgewood and Wayne Hills are also said to be looking for alternatives to playing games against the Big North – United teams.
Below is the Big North Conference alignments for 2014 and 2015 with 2014 overall records.
Big North Conference
American Division
Cliffside Park (1-9)
Dumont (4-6)
Pascack Hills (6-4)
Ramsey (6-5)
Ridgefield Park (7-4)
Colonial Division
Northern Highlands (3-7)
Paramus (10-2)
Teaneck (1-9)
Wayne Hills (5-5)
Wayne Valley (5-5)
Freedom Division
Hackensack (9-2)
Kennedy (6-4)
Passaic (0-10)
Ridgewood (5-5)
Independence Division
Bergenfield (4-6)
Pascack Valley (10-2)
Passaic Valley (5-5)
Ramapo (8-3)
West Milford (4-6)
Liberty Division
Clifton (1-9)
Eastside (3-7)
Fair Lawn (2-8)
Passaic County Vo-Tech (10-2)
National Division
Indian Hills (6-4)
Lakeland (4-6)
Northern Valley (8-3)
Northern Valley Regional (8-2)
Tenafly (1-9)
Patriot Division
Fort Lee (1-9)
Dwight Morrow (3-7)
Mahwah (8-3)
River Dell (8-4)
Westwood (13-0)
United Division
Bergen Catholic (8-3)
DePaul (8-4)
Don Bosco Prep (7-5)
Paramus Catholic (10-2)
St. Joseph Regional (8-3)
