Horrific final score of Irvington-Belleville football game

In all my years of covering high school athletics, now in my 35^th year of seeing some amazing and incredible things in my beloved state of New Jersey, the results of one game today sickened and disgusted me more than any other in my career.

Irvington defeated Belleville today in a football game by a final score of 84-0.

That’s no misprint. That indeed was the final tally.

And get this! The wonderful people from the Irvington athletic department tweeted out that score like it was something to be proud of. Thanks to AD Dr. John Taylor for tweeting that out. Rah, rah, sis boom bah.

What do you get for running up the score like that? Bonus points? Parting gifts from Monty Hall? A win is a win unless it’s a demoralizing one like this one.

Someone responded to my rants today to say “Isn’t there a mercy rule in New Jersey? Is there a running clock?”

Well, there sure is. But it only kicks in after halftime, when a team is up by 35 or more points. There’s nothing in place for BEFORE halftime. In this case, Irvington led, 70-0, at the break. And yes, for good measure, head coach Ashley Pierre (E-mail apierre@gmail.com) instructed his team to score two more times after the marching band was done playing.

Now, let’s face facts. There is no way that something like this should happen. There is such a thing called good sportsmanship. When the score became say 40-0 in the first half, Coach (using that term very loosely) Pierre could have called off the dogs and put in the second string. Even the third string. The junior varsity. 

Hell, the freshmen could have received a few snaps.

But when the score reached 40 before halftime, that obviously wasn’t enough. No, Pierre needed 30 more points before the break. That’s sickening.

And then, they needed to score two more touchdowns AFTER halftime. That’s even more sickening.

The thing that bothers me the most about this isn’t so much the idiocy of everyone involved with the Irvington football team. It’s the fact that they totally ignored that there was another team there today. There was no regard to Belleville coach Mario Cuniglio and his band of Buccaneers. This is a team that has been struggling, but has been trying hard all year to get ready for this football season. They put their time and effort into getting ready for a year that they were all hopeful to be more competitive.

And then this happens, demoralizing a program, a coaching staff and more importantly, a bunch of teenage boys, sending them all perhaps to the brink of despair.

In my opinion, this coach and athletic director BOTH no longer have a right to participate in high school sports. Sure, you never want to play with one’s livelihood, but there has to be some repercussions for what transpired today. And apparently, with the way the score was tweeted out like one publicizes say the birth of a child, then there was no thought at all to what took place.

Obviously, they think like they did nothing wrong.

But this was a wrong like no other in the true spirit of competition in high school sports.

I don’t know how Cuniglio restrained himself after the game from laying one to Pierre’s kisser. I give him credit for doing so. But a lot of other coaches might not have had such restraint. At least Cuniglio knows a thing about sportsmanship. The opposition? Not so much.

So if you’re a reader of this blog regularly, I implore you to take the time and write, call, email even carrier pigeon your disgust to the powers-that-be in Irvington. The principal, the superintendent, everyone should not be omitted from the ire and anger.

I’ve already called the powers-that-be to offer my utter disgust. The crusade will continue Monday morning.

I don’t know if my friends at the NJSIAA will want to discuss this matter, but they should address it. It can’t be ignored. A simple slap on the wrist just won’t do.