At 5 p.m. today, the game clock will start on the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 football championship between Verona High School and Cresskill High School at MetLife Stadium.
It is Verona’s 17th trip to the playoffs since 1977 and the Hillbillies fifth turn in the championship game. Verona beat Cedar Grove in 2001, lost to Hoboken in 2005 and to Kenilworth’s David Brearley High School in 2006, and returned in 2008 to beat Hoboken.
Verona goes into the championship with a 10-0 record, the best in the history of VHS football, according to Jack Wickham, who has kept stats on Verona sports since the 1950s. The Cresskill Cougars are 9-2 going into the final game, at the top of the Meadowlands Division. They are in their first year under a new coach, who is a Cresskill alumni. Last year, Verona defeated Cresskill 30-28 in the first round of the playoffs with a field goal in the closing seconds of the game.
If that wasn’t enough to get Verona excited about this afternoon’s game, there will be a pre-game tailgate for Verona fans at MetLife Stadium, courtesy of Frank Anthony’s, Frungillo Caterers and Verona Spine & Wellness. Tickets are $9 for adults and $3 for students and parking is $12. The parking lot opens at 3 p.m. The Marching Maroon & White will perform a pre-game show on the field at 4:30 p.m. VHS has sent a letter to all students and their parents reminding them that the school’s code of conduct policy will be strictly enforced.
If you can’t be there in person MyVeronaNJ.com will have a running commentary on its Twitter feed, @MyVeronaNJ, and NJ.com and Fios 1 Sports will live-stream the game from this Web post.
And now for the icing on the cake: Another fabulous poster from Jeff Stiefbold.
Good luck to all the players!
Photo copyright Jeff Stiefbold, used by permission.
