On
a beautiful Sunday Fall Afternoon at Barbour Ponds Field in Wayne, NJ, the
Boys & Girls Club of Garfield Junior Boilermakers found Super
Bowl success in just the second season of the Bergen Passaic Youth
Football League (BPYFL). The Junior
Boilermaker Intermediate Team ... led by Coach Michael Messina, quarterback Brian
Vargas, and the hard hitting intensity of running back and middle linebacker Christian
Batista beat the Wyckoff team 28 to 6 for the Super Bowl Championship. The Jr. Boilermaker team jumped on Wyckoff
early and never looked back, ending the season with an undefeated 10-0 record
and the BPYFL Super Bowl Championship!!!
"It
is all about the kids", said Coach Messina, a former Boys & Girls Club
of Garfield member and the former Quarterback of Garfield High School in a
jubilant post-game celebration ... which included a Parcells Like Gatorade Bath
in the waning moments of the game!!! Messina,
went on to thank his wonderful staff of coaches, many of whom he played
with, coached or coached him... "They are a loyal and committed group, who
give the kids everything they've got ... I cannot be more thankful for their
efforts".
The
Jr. Boilermakers were honored by the attendance of Miles Austin Jr., father of
the Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Miles Austin, an alumni of the Boys
& Girls Club of Garfield and a member of the 1994 Junior Boilermaker
Championship Team,
Later
that same day, Coach John Szuchs, Sr. Team, played in their second consecutive
BPYFL Super Bowl and lost a hard fought game to Dumont 20 to 14.
It
was the culmination of a wonderful season, scripted by the Jr. Boilermaker
Program, as all three Junior Boilermaker teams made the playoffs. Again the season began back in June with kids
from all three age brackets participating in the Justin Tuck Football Camp run
by ProCamps. The Tuck Camp has each year
for the last three years helped prepare the Junior Boilermakers for a very
successful season.
“In three short years, our team of coaches,
players, and support personnel have revitalized Youth Football in Garfield, and subsequently have earned a reputation as a
town and a program where we are recognized as a model program in a model league. In short, it is a
program that will continue to grow and prosper ... while setting athletic,
educational, and social examples for its participants, fans, and league
membership.” said Garfield Junior Boilermaker Director Jim Miller.
