Sports

Road to Glory: Minutemen Ready for Championship Challenge

Mendham football to play in first sectional title game since 2004 on Sunday at 4 p.m.

It was mid-August and the heat was brutal.

But under the sweat and exasperation, Bill Carpluk saw something no one else did: A team capable of making history.

“I knew we had really good players,” the Mendham High School football head coach said. “We just needed to get everyone on the same page and working together.”

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Carpluk said he even told his wife “it would be a shame if we didn’t win because these players are just that good.”

The head coach, beginning the first season of his return to the sidelines after a seven season hiatus, is now preparing to play Philipsburg Sunday for the NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 sectional championship. It’s Mendham’s first title game appearance since 2004.

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Twenty-four sectional champions will be crowned in New Jersey this weekend, but not many, if any, have the same momentum the Minutemen do heading into their respective title tilts.

An up-and-down regular season in which the team went 4-4-1 was no true indicator of what was to come in the playoffs.

Mendham hit the road to battle No. 3 seed Colonia and forced its ground game upon the favored team. The Minutemen walked away with a 47-27 win after scoring on seven straight possessions, setting up a rivalry match against sister-school and defending champion West Morris Central.

Led by senior quarterback Jack Horan and receiver Jack Powers, the two hooked up for a seven- and 60-yard toss and catch scoring plays to give the Minutemen a 16-0 victory. The defense was dominant against the Wolfpack, snagging three turnovers while pitching a shutout.

But that was then, and the team has one game left to focus on.

“Their confidence is high,” Carpluk said of his players. “We’re playing good football, but they’re practicing well, treating it like they’re back at work.”

This is the first game of the season, aside from the opener, in which the team has had more than seven days to prepare. As is procedure, there are no playoff games during Thanksgiving weekend.

The team didn’t practice Thursday through Sunday of the holiday weekend, Carpluk said, and the time off has been good for the banged up players to get back to full strength.

“Phillipsburg will present new challenges,” Carpluk said about the team’s title game opponent.

Phillipbsurg, the North 2, Group 4 section’s top seed heading into the playoffs, is 9-2 on the season with losses to parochial school Immaculata and out-of-state rival Easton in the 107th Thanksgiving Day clash between the neighboring schools.

The Warren County team has romped through both its playoff opponents by scores of 40-20 and 42-14 over Scotch Plains and Iselin Kennedy, respectively.

One thing is for certain, though: the Minutemen and their fan base will be ready for whatever comes their way Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Rutgers University.

Mendham’s booster club will be hosting a pep rally Friday night as well, and more information can be found here.

“The students are excited,” Carpluk said. “This is great for the team and the players; it’s something for the community to get excited about. I’m just really happy for the (players) to be experiencing this.”

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