7/14/2011 - Vernon Drops To Group 3
The monster. The sleeping giant. The Goliath to every David in Sussex County.
Yes, we have heard them all when it comes to Vernon Township High School, the lone Group 4 school in Sussex County and the first and only school to have that distinction in county history.
Since 1988 when Vernon jumped from Group 3 to Group 4 the grumblings about its size started and how it was not fair for the Group 2 and 3 schools in the then-Sussex County Interscholastic League to play the Vikings.
In fact, when realignment was first brought up years ago by former Wallkill Valley AD Mike Van Zile, he cited Vernon’s size as a reason for changing the landscape of football as we know it.
As we know, realignment came and the SCIL was broken up and Vernon, the boogeyman on top of the hill off Route 565 in Glenwood, was banished to play larger Morris County schools in the first phase of the newly-formed Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference.
After a bit of tweaking last year, Vernon was the only Group 4 in the American Division, much to the chagrin of some in the conference (this means you Morris Hills and Jefferson).
Well, it is safe for the Group 3 (and some of the braver Group 2) schools to come out of hiding because the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association recently released its general classification and football classification and Vernon is now a Group 3 school in all sports, including football.
And Vernon is not only a Group 3, but the Vikings are not even the biggest Group 3 in North 1. That distinction belongs to ever-growing Mt. Olive with 1,112 students in grades 10-12.
The other changes in football groups announced were that Kittatinny, a longtime staple in the Group 2 playoffs is now a Group 1, while Hopatcong will jump from Group 1 back to Group 2 after three years as a Group 1.
Vernon, which had 1,164 students last school year, now has 1,089, a difference of 75 and the trend doesn’t seem like it is going to change according to people I have spoken with in the district.
The drop in group did not come as a surprise to Vernon AD Bill Edelman, who has been at the school since the Fall of 1984.
“It is something we’ve seen coming,” said Edelman, who was the boys basketball coach at the school and became AD in the mid-1990s. “Mr. (Anthony) Macerino our former superintendent talked about it years ago, the decline in our enrollment, and now we’re seeing it first hand.
“Our numbers are down across the board in all of our sports,” he added. “It is what it is.”
The school knew it was coming in other ways as the Vikings were a Group 3 in wrestling last year and in boys and girls lacrosse. Yes, those sports have different classifications, but the writing was on the wall.
When it came to Vernon’s Group 4 status, it seemed the sport that drew the most attention was football (what else is new) due its unique power-point situation.
In fact, being a Group 4 worked against the Vikings when it came to playing in the SCIL. Vernon virtually had to go 8-0 or 7-1 to make the states due to playing small schools.
In 2008, Edelman and Vernon football coach Chuck Tepper petitioned the state for entry in the playoffs with a 6-2 mark. They cited the size differential and the fact the team had to be nearly perfect each week, a tough task to ask of high school kids.
Their request, of course, was turned down. But along with realignment the state also changed its power point formula putting less emphasis on opponents’ group size but on wins.
But like I said, Vernon (4-6) was the lone Group 4 in the American last year and probably would not have had enough power points to qualify for the North 1, Group 4 tourney with a 4-4 or 5-3 mark.
Critics would point out that the one year Vernon played all the large schools in Morris County, the Vikes went 1-9. But that was a perfect storm as the Vikings graduated one their best classes the year before and were in rebuilding mode.
In my opinion, if the SCIL was still intact in 2009, Vernon would have gone 5-4 or 4-5, but that’s my two cents.
Now as a Group 3, Vernon has a better chance of gaining enough power points to get in. But as we all know, North 1, Group 3 is one of the best in the state with Wayne Hills and Ramapo.
“We saw it coming and I like it,” said Tepper of dropping to Group 3. “It puts us on an even playing field. With the exception of Roxbury (Group 4), everyone else we play are mostly 3s.
“Group 3 is a tough place to be as far as playoffs and we know that with Wayne Hills, Ramapo, Sparta and High Point,” he added. “We still have to go out and beat the teams in front of us and earn a shot at the playoffs.”
Vernon has made the states twice as a Group 4 under Tepper. Vernon qualified in 1999 and fell to Wayne Valley and the Vikes won a game in 2005 when they beat North Bergen 31-14 before falling to eventual champ Morris Knolls 21-7.
That Knolls loss will always stick in Vernon fans’ minds because the Vikes lost their outstanding starting quarterback Dan Lisa early in the game when it was just 14-7.
“Group 4 was more wide open once you got in,” said Tepper. “But we want to go to the next level and win a championship in Group 3.”
Since becoming a Group 4 in 1988 Vernon has had limited sectional championship success. The Vikes have won three girls soccer crowns and have competed well in track and cross country.
But even Vernon’s very successful boys soccer program has not fared well. Vernon’s only boys soccer section crown came in the mid 1980s as a Group 3.
The field hockey team had great success in the early 1990s with five section titles, but a few of them were awarded because no one else qualified in North 1, Group 4. The state addressed the issue and realingned field hockey and since that realingment Vernon has not won a crown.
Matt Ferguson has built a nice county power in boys hoops, leading the Vikings to several SCIL league and Festival crowns, while guiding the Vikings to the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex final last winter.
But come states it has been one-and-done for the Vikings, except for 2009 when the young and undermanned Vikings stunned Memorial of West New York before losing a heartbreaker to Passaic in the next round.
Since he took over the program, Ferguson has developed the Vikings into a perennial state playoff qualifier, but Vernon only has one win to show for it and that is a shame.
That is no knock on Ferguson and the Vikes; it is testament to the quality of hoops schools in North 1, Group 4. I feel the days of one-and-done are over for the Vikings.
I’m not saying they are going to go out and win a section crown next season, but they have a much better chance of winning a couple of games before seeing the likes of a Teaneck, like Sparta did last year.
In girls hoops, Vernon had the No. 1 seed in the section two years ago and was a high seed last winter earning home games. But Vernon lost to No. 16 Passaic County Tech in 2009 and to a 7-17 Montclair team last season in the opening rounds.
Vernon advanced to the section semis in 2003 behind Erin Murphy, Gloria Pinck and Krissy Licursi before losing to North Bergen, its best run as a Group 4 team.
“When you look at the marquee names you have them in both groups,” said Vernon coach Bill Foley. “I would consider High Point, Ramapo, Teaneck and Pascack Valley marquee teams in Group 3.
“In Group 4 you have the Montclairs and East Oranges, but you have to look at their seeds and who they play,” he added. “The top teams don’t always have the high seeds in Group 4 because of their schedules. And having been fortunate to have had a couple of top seeds the last two years you find that out.
“But overall, I feel top to bottom Group 3 is deeper,” he continued. “But like before, we still have to go out and perform.”
Foley is absolutely right. It doesn’t matter what group you are in you have to perform. I think dropping down to Group 3 will help Vernon in certain sports and hurt it in others, but at least the myth of the sleeping giant will be put to sleep for at least one year.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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