BBYC Bulldogs Make 'One Team, One Dream' Come True

For a long time, the football players in Butler and Bloomingdale were adversaries. It was a friendly rivalry, but the game between Butler and Bloomingdale was one date both squads circled on their calendars. But in February of this year all that changed. The two organizations were finally going to join forces and merge. The BBYC was now formed.

As practice began back in August there was an excitement in the air. In the beginning, that excitement was tempered by some caution on how the two towns would handle the merger. The mantra from the start was “One team, one dream." The boys and girls from all squads embraced this philosophy from the first day. The boys on the B Squad (fifth and sixth graders) not only embraced each other, they were quickly determined to prove to everyone that they would be a team to remember.

On Nov. 19, The BBYC B squad would have their four months of hard work pay dividends. They were in the UCJFL Superbowl versus the Totowa Tigers. The game was hosted by BBYC at Memorial Field at the Butler Athletic Complex. On a clear, crisp evening, the atmosphere at Memorial was nothing less than electric. BBYC and the communities from both towns were out to support the B Squad. The BBYC Bulldogs would not disappoint and played the game of their lives.

The Bulldogs reached the Superbowl by defeating the Ringwood Rattlers 32-19 the week before. Now they were playing a strong team from Totowa for the championship. Totowa had a team which played old school smash mouth football. In a , the Tigers proved they could slow the high-powered Bulldog “Run and Shoot offense”. The results would be different the second time around.

Totowa started the game with the ball. But big plays by Joe Bastante, Patrick Brady, Josh Fane, Chris Grecco and the rest of the tough BBYC Defense stopped the Tigers and gave the ball to the Bulldog offense. To the surprise of Totowa, BBYC came out in “Dawg” formation, their version of the “Wildcat” offense. After a few runs by Sean Centinaro and Patrick Brady resulted in a first down, Centinaro took the direct snap on a sweep to the left, picked up great blocks from Brady, Bastante, and Josh Webb and raced down the sideline for a 48-yard TD. The extra point made it 7-0.

The Totowa kick-off return gave the Tiger offense the ball at the Bulldog 30 yard line. The great field position was too much of an obstacle for the BBYC defense to overcome. After a few tough runs, Baker Darwish, of Totowa, was able to rumble into the endzone to tie the game at 7-7.

In the biggest game of their young lives, the Bulldog Offense was ready to answer. After a couple of sweeps were stopped by the Totowa Defense, the Bulldogs faced a third down. Once again the Bulldog offense could not be slowed down. This time BBYC would run an inside trap play, and behind a bone-crushing block from Jake Grecco, Sean Centinaro would rocket down the middle of the field for a 65-yard TD. BBYC 13, Totowa 7.

This was just not an offensive show and the Bulldog Defense was playing tough, physical football. Sean Dunleavy, Austin Mendell, Webb and Grecco were the anchors of a tough defensive line. With defensive ends Shane Connelly and Steven Schubert forcing the flow back to the middle of the field, there was no place for the Tiger running backs to go. Then big hits by Grecco and Bastante forced a turnover and Patrick Brady of the Bulldogs came up with the lose ball.

A couple of short runs by Joe Bastante and Centinaro and the BBYC faced their first fourth down. The sweep was stopped by the Totowa blitz and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs. It was time for the BBYC defense to come up big again. After a few big runs and a couple of first downs by the Tigers, there was a slight shift in momentum. With under three minutes to play in the half, the Tigers had a first down inside the Bulldog 25 yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Jake Grecco would stuff the power side of the Tiger offense, stand up the Totowa running back and then Josh Fane would come up, strip the ball, and recover the fumble. A big play indeed.

BBYC would get the ball back on their own 25 yard line with less then two minutes in the half. But that is all the explosive Bulldog attack would need. On the first play from scrimmage after the big turnover, Centinaro would go off tackle to the right, behind a great blocks from Bastante and Brady, would race 75 yds for another Bulldog TD, making the score 19-7. A big return gave the Tigers a chance to score before the half, but defensive plays by Josh Webb and Brandon Wyble held the Tigers in check and BBYC went into the locker room with a 19-7 half-time lead.

The BBYC Bulldogs would get the ball to start the second half. Quarterback Declan Minogue was not needed to pass much on this cool evening, but the signal caller directed the Bulldogs, running the offense that used the brut running of Joe Bastante on the inside, the elusive running of Patrick Brady on the outside and sprinter speed of Sean Centinaro all over the field. This would be led by the offensive line of Jake Grecco, Shane Connelly, Sean Dunleavy, Josh Webb and Chris Grecco. The Bulldogs put together another drive, this time ending it through the air. As the offense lined up and ran a toss to Centinaro, the Tiger defense rushed up to make a play on No. 4. But Brady had sped past the Totowa defenders on a go route, and Centinaro threw a perfect pass to him, which resulted in a 48 TD pass to Brady. BBYC 25, Totowa 7.

The ensuing kickoff resulted in another big turnover, as Randy Wyble recovered the fumbled return attempt. Still in the third quarter, the BBYC offense was not finished yet. The Bulldogs would put together another drive, and with key blocks by Austin Mendell and Jonathon LoCicero, now on the offensive line, QB Declan Minogue and receiver Randy Wyble got into the act. Out of a spread formation, Minogue found Wyble on a backside slant route, fired a bullet which resulted in a 25 yard TD strike. The fifth TD of the day made the score 31- 7.

Totowa never gave up and the Tigers were not about to quit to end their great season. BBYC defensive backs Robert Voli, Randy Wyble, and Brandon Wyble were playing tough, smart football which made it difficult for the Tigers to establish any passing attach. So the Tigers had to stick with their run game. A big kick return gave the Tigers great field position and they were able to push across another score. The Bulldog “Gold” defense was inserted into the game for the extra point. The unit, led by Ben Bariso, Joey Tortola, Ben Dellaripa, Justin Stern, Jack Pluymers, Luke Nash, Matt Cicenia, Philip Ristoski, Alex Kaynak and Logan Martinez would come on to make a big stop to keep the Score BBYC 31, Totowa 13.

The defense with key plays by Voli, Schubert, Fane, Jonathon LoCicero, Josh Dass, James DeRosa, Jason Soderstrom, and Devin Conahay was able to stop Totowa on the next drive. This turned the ball over back to the potent Bulldog offense, which was not finished quite yet. The Bulldogs would score once again, this time on a 65 yard TD run by Sean Centinaro, his fourth TD of the day. This gave the Bulldogs a commanding 37-13 lead to start the fourth quarter. The Tigers’ "never say die" attitude resulted in another score, but the BBYC offense was then able to run out the clock, ending the contest with a final score: BBYC 37, Totowa 20.

The final whistle set off a wild celebration by players, coaches, family and friends on the middle of the field. It was a culmination of a season where not only 30 boys put forth an effort and determination second to none, but an entire organization came together to provide an atmosphere where days like this can happen. The BBYC B Squad Bulldogs worked hard, trusted and believed in one another, and made the “one team, one dream” mantra a reality for an entire community. They gave us all a night and a team to remember.