Brick Schools Aim To Keep Rivalry Strictly On The Football Field

BRICK, NJ — In the days immediately following the nightmare flooding that inundated more than 170 homes in Brick in mid-August, the students showed up in droves at Greenbriar I. Some were wearing green and white. Others were dress in green trimmed with gold.

On Saturday, the green-and-gold will be on one side of the field, and the green-and-white on the other, for the 39th annual crosstown rivalry football game. While there have been issues in the recent past, efforts have been made to emphasize unity —#1town364 — and curb issues off the field.

That was clear when the students came together three weeks ago with one purpose: To help the senior citizens whose homes were damaged with the cleanup, so the process of repairing and rebuilding their lives could begin sooner rather than later.

There were members of the Brick Memorial Key Club and the Brick Township Drama Club working side-by-side, helping residents as they tried to dry out sentimental items in hopes of saving them. There were basketball players and soccer players and lots and lots of football players, carrying furniture, removing appliances, ripping up sodden carpets for those who were not able to do the heavy lifting needed in the wake of the storm.

"Over 30 players from each team are making a difference and showing the true character of Brick," the person behind the Brick Memorial football Twitter account tweeted.

He included a poignant hashtag: "#1town364".

Saturday is that 365th day. In the last few years, the game has been problematic, with mean-spirited taunts between the fans and simmering feuds that led to a fight between students in the Brick Township fan section last year. The district suspended 10 students in the wake of the fight.

Administrators have taken other steps, too. The fight, which erupted when a Brick Memorial student tried to retrieve a Mustangs' "Warlords" flag that was taken by a Brick student and held in the Brick Township student section, led to a number of changes to for fans coming to all home football games in the district.

Flags and shirts with slogans were banned. Backpacks were banned, and so were water bottles and outside drinks of any kind. The reason for the ban on outside drinks and water bottles, acting Superintendent Dennis Filippone said at the time, was because the fight was fueld in part by alcohol use at the game and before the game.

Those bans remain in place this year. But in an additional effort to curtail bad behavior, the start time of the game has been moved to 11 a.m. on Saturday. It will be the 39th meeting between the schools, going back to the fall of 1980, when Memorial held its first official classes (though the Mustangs weren't in their own building until January 1981, due to construction delays).

When the Mustangs and the Dragons take the field at Brick Memorial's DiFabio Field, there will be plenty of hitting and tackling to be sure. The Mustangs, who come in with a 49-0 win over Central Regional under their belts, are aiming to win this one. Brick Township, which will be playing its first game of the 2018 football season, has won the last five meetings between the schools. But administrators and coaches are hoping the hitting is limited to the students in football pads in the field, after a year of intensive efforts to tone down the rivalry and build a sense of unity.

Among the visible efforts was the inclusion of Brick students at the student-led Town Hall held at Brick Memorial in March following the shooting in Parkland, Florida. Brick students were included not merely as spectators, but also in the questions to the town and district leaders at the forum.

The biggest reminder, however, was one borne of natural disaster. It was efforts that hearkened back to the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, where students turned out in droves to help those in need and to help each other. Green-and-gold and green-and-white, side-by-side, elbow-to-elbow, helping their neighbors pick up the pieces from the Aug. 13 storm.

"This is what makes BRICK great!" the Brick Memorial football account administrator tweeted.

It's a message everyone hopes is remembered on Saturday.

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Photo by Rob Brown, published with permission