Regan looks to lead Morris Knolls

Just ask Randolph head coach Tarig Holman how he feels about the granddaddy of Morris County football coaches, none other than Morris Knolls head coach Bill Regan.

“Coach Regan is my favorite coach in Morris County football,” said Holman, the first-year Randolph head coach talking about the man who has spent the past 41 years as the head coach at Morris Knolls. “I have so much respect for Coach Regan. Every clinic that I go to, he’s sitting right in the front, taking notes. He has definitely committed his entire life to the betterment of young men.”

The two coaches and two storied football programs will get together Saturday at 1 p.m.

“Coach Regan helped me get my first scholarship offer,” said Holman, who played at Randolph and later went on to play at the University of Iowa and finally Tampa Bay in the NFL.

In 1996, after Randolph played Morris Knolls, Regan made a phone call to an old friend on behalf of Holman.

“Coach Regan was a longtime friend of Lou Tepper, who was the head coach at the University of Illinois at the time (1995),” Holman said. “Coach Tepper said that if Coach Regan said I was good enough for his program, then that’s all he needed to hear.”

Holman has never forgotten the way Regan reached out and helped an opposing player.

“He means a lot to me,” Holman said. “He’s one of the coaches that I respect the most. If I can build the same kind of respectful program like the one Coach Regan has built at Morris Knolls, then I’ll be doing just fine. There will always be this commonality between Coach Regan and myself.”

Holman turned 39 Thursday, but don’t dare try to ask Regan for his age.

“I would tell you, but I don’t like to lie,” Regan said. “I don’t tell my age to anyone.”

This season has been sort of a rebirth for Regan, who has collected 230 victories over his storied career and has had his share of successes, but they have been a bit scattered in recent years.

A win this weekend would give the Golden Eagles a 5-1 mark, the first time Morris Knolls had won at least five games in a season since going 5-5 in 2013. They went 6-4 in 2011 but have not qualified for the NJSIAA playoffs since 2007. A win in this game would more than likely clinch a berth in North 1 Group IV.

It’s a Golden Eagles team that has come of age, with several members of the team playing varsity for three seasons, including running back Jayson Parisi.

“Experience always helps,” Regan said. “But I think it’s an overall group attitude that has worked hard and been at it practically every day since the summer. It’s been a real good team effort. Their work capacity is unparalleled. We’ve gotten better every day since June, a little bit at a time. I’m just delighted to coach these guys. They’re a lot of fun. We’re all having a good time as well as getting the job done.”

While the Golden Eagles and their famed veer option offense roll along, Randolph is just trying to hang on.

After consecutive losses to West Morris and Delbarton, the Rams own a 2-3 record and sit in eighth place in the latest North 1 Group IV power point standings. A loss would push their record to 2-4 and leave them playing for pride the rest of the way.

“At times, we have proven we can play with anyone,” Holman said. “But we just have to be consistent. We have to finish drives and score. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Regan credits the play of a deep backfield and a solid offensive line for the team’s revival.

“It’s not really a one-man operation,” Regan said. “We have a bunch of halfbacks that are doing well. Joe Stango scored three times last week. Dylan Lesch and Shawn Brumfield have helped. Nick Vittorio is our starting quarterback. The offensive line has blended consistently.”

The Drugac twins, Luke and Dean, line up on the right side of the line, with center Joe Fullum, left guard Billy Tuttle, left tackle Mike Forsyth and tight ends Augie Blumhoefer and Brian Chegwidden finishing out the offensive line.

“They do their job without a lot of recognition,” Regan said. “They’ve made a significant impact on our team.”

Holman continues to use two quarterbacks, Carmine Capalbo and Alex Vanderbilt.

“They’re able to handle it right now,” Holman said. “They’re both captains, and both are playing well in their own right. We go from series to series to see who should be playing.”

And of course, the Rams have a talented tailback as well.

“If anyone on our team is a football player, it’s Carlo Zarro,” Holman said. “We’re going to be depending a lot on all our players, especially Carlo. We also have to play solid defense against their veer offense, which is not easy to defend. We tried all week to replicate the tempo, the speed of it all. It’s just hard to replicate. They not only run the offense, which is tough, but they run it so well. We have to find a way to make that work and try to slow them down.”

Regan knows full well of the Morris Knolls-Randolph rivalry, which gets fueled a little this week because it’s Homecoming weekend at the school.

“Randolph has had a proud football tradition for a long time,” Regan said. “I told our kids this week that it goes back to 1964 for me. We had a lot of close, hard-fought games against them during the (win) streak years with John Bauer Sr. and Jr. We had four close opportunities to snap the streak and lost one by a foot, one by a yard, one by a point and one by a questionable call by the official.”

Needless to say, it should be a very interesting matchup Saturday.

Here’s a look at the rest of the schedule this week, as teams begin to jockey for NJSIAA playoff positions:

FRIDAY

Chatham (4-1) at Vernon (1-4): The Cougars, easily the feel-good story of the 2015 season, continue their push toward a possible state playoff berth, thanks to the play of quarterback Alex Sands and running back Matt Nestler. A win here might be enough to clinch a playoff berth for the Cougars.

Madison (2-2) at Jefferson (3-2): Not only is this a matchup of two teams in the middle of the pack in the NJAC Freedom Division, but it also represents two teams that cannot afford another loss if they have state playoff hopes. Joe Mobley is the Dodgers’ best breakaway running back, while Connor Brown holds that same distinction for the Falcons.

Hopatcong (2-3) at Butler (3-2): The Bulldogs have reeled off three straight wins after starting the season on a down note with two losses. The emergence of freshman running back Sean Centinaro has definitely helped their chances.

Parsippany (0-5) at Dover (2-3): The winless Red Hawks cannot catch a break and now have to keep up with running back Dwayne Brown and the speedy Tigers. Strong nose tackle John Burk will look to contain Brown.

Hackettstown (3-2) at Hanover Park (5-0): Hanover Park had a field day last week led by linebacker Anthony Olivieri in the huge win over Lenape Valley.  The Hornets will look to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the NJAC Freedom Division when they take on Hackettstown.

Kinnelon (0-5) at Pequannock (4-1): These two heated rivals are going in opposite directions. The Colts will look to standout lineman David LoCasio to try to curtail the running of Golden Panthers quarterback Tommy Crooks.

Mount Olive (1-4) at Roxbury (5-0): The top team in the NJAC National Division race takes on the cellar dweller. On paper, it may not look like much, but as well as the Gaels are playing and looking, there are no easy games in this division. Jason Drury of Mount Olive and of course Grant Dixon of Roxbury are two of the best signal callers in the county.

SATURDAY

West Morris (3-2) at Morristown (3-2): It just seems that every team in the NJAC National has a 3-2 record right now. The Wolfpack will look to Cooper Sloan to lead the way in the battle of great-named quarterbacks against Morristown’s Cameron Boswell. Those names are right off a central casting movie lot.

Pope John (4-2) at Morris Hills (2-3): Although his team was spanked last week by Chatham, veteran Morris Hills head coach Mike Sabo will have the Scarlet Knights ready for the high-flying Lions. Daymon Fleming has all the tools to be a great quarterback for the Knights.

Parsippany Hills (3-2) at Montville (0-5): The Vikings and Jared Salgado will look to move closer to a playoff spot with a win over the struggling Mustangs.

Boonton (4-1) at Whippany Park (1-4): The Bombers, led by Gage Cabalar and Quinn Sweeney, look to rebound after last week’s tough loss to North Warren. The Wildcats finally got a win last week with their 34-27 victory over Wallkill Valley.

Mendham (1-4) at Delbarton (3-2):  The Minutemen are still smarting from the tough overtime loss last week to Morristown, when they stormed back from a 28-0 fourth-quarter deficit only to lose in overtime. Minuteman quarterback Danny McHugh (292 yards passing and three TDs last week) will lead the way, while Delbarton has fleet-footed Andrew Sanders to carry the offensive load.