Flag Football Charity Tournament Honors Fallen Millburn Coach

MILLBURN, NJ - The death of longtime Millburn football coach Carmen Guarino in June sent shockwaves through the community as they mourned a beloved colleague, father, spouse, mentor and friend. Now, a group of former players have created an event to honor Guarino and raise money to fight cancer.

Former Millers Alex Schoen, Michael Lieberberg, Mac Novich and Steven Montuoro have created the Carmen Guarino Classic, a flag football tournament scheduled for 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Dr. Keith A. Neigel Field, 462 Millburn Ave.

"We decided to team up with the Millburn football team's Fifth Quarter Club to throw a charity flag football event in Carmen's honor," Montouro said. "All proceeds are being donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network."

An educator at Millburn High School for 19 years, Guarino had been undergoing various cancer treatments when he passed.

Coach Guarino was the Varsity Football Coach for many years and coached the Bowling team and was one of the Spring Track coaches as well. According to Millburn Principal William Miron, Guarino was the consummate educator and his students and athletes learned much from him.

"He was respected and well-liked - indeed, I venture, to say, that he was one of the most popular coaches we have ever had at Millburn High School," Miron said after Guarino's death.

This is not the first time Guarino has been honored in recent months. In September Millburn had a ceremony at halftime of the game. Guarino's family was present at the ceremony, including his wife Helen, his sons and daughter. Millburn High School presented the family with a jersey bearing the number 12, representing the number of years he coached the Millers.

According to Montouro, this event is something Guarino would approve of.

"We will do exactly what Carmen would have wanted us to do: play football," he said.

Those interested in attending the event can get more information from their Facebook page. And those who cannot attend but would still like to donate can do so through their fundraising page.

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