Matawan and Fair Haven Borough Councils Bet on State Sectional Winner

When Matawan faced Rumson-Fair Haven in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II final last year, the Huskies were favored to win after beating the Bulldogs during the regular season 48-21.

So when Matawan Councilman Tom Fitzsimmons called his friend, Michael Halfacre, the mayor of Fair Haven, to wage a friendly bet, he never thought he would actually have to pay up.

"I called him and I jokingly said, you know how sometimes in the World Series teams from different states will bet each other, a team from Maryland will bet a bushel of crab cakes and a team from New Jersey will bet a basket of tomatoes," Fitzsimmons said. "We couldn't send each other cases of tomatoes, so Mike suggested the FoodBank."

The governing body from each borough agreed to pool their personal funds to place a bet - the loser had to make a $200 donation to the FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean.

The rest is history. Rumson-Fair Haven beat Matawan in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II final, and the Matawan Council had to cough up 200 bucks for for the FoodBank.

Fair Haven Council, however, decided to still donate the $200 they collected for the wager. Fitzsimmons said that even if Matawan wins this year, they will likely do the same.

"The money is of no concern to me, I'm much more concerned about having bragging rights over Mike. He's had them for a year now. I'm looking for revenge," Fitzsimmons said.

Halfacre is not worried, though, and said he is confident that Matawan will lose for the second year in a row.

"You can tell Tom that we are going to kick Matawan's butt," Halfacre said with a laugh.