Montclair Mitey Mites Roar Back To Defeat Paterson In Dramatic Fashion

The Montclair Jr. Bulldog Mitey Mites showing grit and determination after last week's opening game loss,  played their hearts out on Woodman Field on Sunday to shut out the Paterson Bulldogs 14 -0 in the second game of their season.

It was a game that saw both defenses working hard and not allowing either side to mount an effective passing game or running effort. However, the Montclair Jr. Bulldog Mitey Mites played like a team on a mission from the start. This was not the meek, callow newcomers that withered in the hot sun last week during their first game, which was against the Rahway Chiefs. These Mitey Mites were renewed and aggressive. Entering the arena after the weigh in, they sang rousing war chants of their own this time and ran a charge to the bench. 

This was a Mitey Mite team that came to play football.   

After enduring a week of ridicule and doubt for their opening game loss, the Montclair Jr. Bulldog coaches and players got down to business and practiced in the sweltering 90-plus degree sun all week until they got their plays and routines down. 

They ran with their helmets on, hit the heavy blockades, and crawled across the field on all fours untill nightfall. A father of one of the players asked his son after practice one night as they walked back to their car. "How do you feel?" and the boy said with vigor "I feel tough!" And tough they were, keeping Paterson scoreless and injuring their quarterback as the Montclair defense wore down the Paterson offensive line to take control of the game. 

Controversy erupted prior to the end of the first half as an official in charge of enforcing the Pop Warner rules began inspecting the Paterson Bulldog's team coaches handling of the player rotation and noticed they may have been cheating.  The Pop Warner rule requires that each player be given a certain amount of plays during a game. However, Paterson was accused of trying to play their better players for more plays and sidelining weaker players to give the team an advantage. This accusation led a rowdy contingent of the Paterson coaching staff to launch into a violent altercation — making threats, trying to intimidate the official, and physically knocking cameras away.  

Fortunately these actions went unnoticed by the players who displayed flawless sportsmanship throughout while continuing to play good football.  

However the Paterson boys did have problems. One problem was a light roster which began to put a strain on the team as the second half got underway. Their quarterback, who injured his throwing arm, was told by a coach "you have to try and throw because we don't have any other quarterback ..."  And the injured player hobbled into action with weak practice throws on the sideline.

This may have led to the Montclair Jr. Bulldog Mitey Mites defense scoring two interceptions. One interception was run over 50 yards to a touchdown by Arsheen Jiles, number 21. He continued to thrill the Montclair crowd in attendance when he ran the ball to score a second touchdown in the second half. With the successful extra point kick, one could see  the hard work in training clearly beginning to pay off.

The game came to an emotional close with an impressive near touchdown run by Montclair starting quarterback Chase Oliver, who was tackled and injured near the end zone just as the game ended. Oliver, who played football last year and was a starting quarterback at age 7, is now 8 years old and a third grader. One had to be impressed with the way he carried the burden of his team's need to win and shined all around as a player.  

Oliver's injury at first looked serious and there was talk of calling an ambulance as he held his knee in pain while lying on his back. When the whistle blew, signaling the end of the game, Oliver got to his feet and limped off the field. As his coaches and teammates praised his uncommon show of courage and the crowd cheered, Oliver embraced his dad and let out the tears.

Those tears were short-lived, however, as he realized that he had become a hero and that the Montclair Jr. Bulldog Mitey Mites had become a team.