For as wild an ending as the Holy Lateral provided in last year's New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association North 1, Group 3 title game, it pales in comparison to the pregame activities before the anticipated rematch between Wayne Hills and Northern Valley (Old Tappan).
Following a four-hour, closed-door hearing in Newark Thursday afternoon, State Administrative Law Judge Ellen S. Bass upheld the Wayne Board of Education's suspension of nine Wayne Hills players charged by police with aggravated assault, denying the motion for emergent relief filed by attorneys on behalf of the student-athletes.
Although New Jersey Acting Commissioner of Education Chris Cerf will offer an official verdict Friday morning based upon Bass' finding, players' attorney Ron Ricci told nj.com Thursday evening he expected the judge's decision to stand.
"The application is still pending," said Ricci, the players' attorney. "We could still have an opportunity but the game is over. But they have other sports and stuff that they can put into question.
"The most pressing issue we lost on. We're expecting (the Commissioner of Education) to follow the judge's decision."
The suspension came following an alleged Oct. 29 incident in which two teenagers from rival Wayne Valley High School were badly beaten. However, despite being previously suspended by their town's board of education on Nov. 16, the nine players were reinstated the following night and played in the Patriots' (10-1) 48-21 sectional semifinal victory over Paramus on Nov. 18 before the suspension was reinstated on Nov. 25.
Eight of the players are minors, with the lone exception being standout senior wide receiver Andrew Monaghan, 18.
Neither Wayne Hills nor Old Tappan returned phone calls from MaxPreps. Wayne Hills has not issued public comment since the incident. In addition, reporters covering the Paramus game were denied field access.
These recent events have otherwise cast a cloud over one of the state's most anticipated title contests this weekend. Especially after last season, where star quarterback and New Jersey's top recruit Devin Fuller rallied Old Tappan from a 14-point deficit before Troy Zaffino received the Holy Lateral from Brian Dowling and rumbled 76 yards for the winning score with 23 seconds left that capped an improbable 24-21 victory and secured the program's sixth sectional championship in seven seasons.
Although Wayne Hills finds itself in a rare underdog role because of the incident, Old Tappan's trip back to the title game was unlikely considering a 1-3 start as Fuller worked through early-season injuries. However, the state's most electrifying player has helped the Golden Knights win six of their past seven games.
Brian Falzarano covers New Jersey and the New
York-Metropolitan area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at brian.falzarano@gmail.com.
