Football Game Cancellation Causes Controversy

Though everyone will remember this Hillbilly football season for the fact that the team went undefeated and claimed a state sectional championship, the season was not without some controversy. As much as many citizens of Verona enjoyed their Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27th, the usually lively and fun-filled day simply wasn’t the same this year. Much to the dismay of Verona High School’s Hillbillies and their ardent supporters, the annual football game against Caldwell High School’s Chiefs was officially called off due to snowfall.

Verona became covered in several inches of snow, not long before the Thanksgiving game was scheduled to occur, which meant trouble for the Verona and Caldwell athletic departments. With the high school’s lower field out of commission, VHS Athletic Director Gary Farishian and CHS Athletic Director Rich Porfido discussed the possibility of postponing the game to the Friday after the intended date and relocating it to Verona’s Centennial Field.  On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 26th, the official decision to reschedule it was announced.

However, Mr. Farishian arrived at Centennial Field on Thanksgiving morning to find it covered with four inches of snow and a large sheet of ice. Another announcement was released soon after stating that the game would be cancelled, not postponed.

Mr. Farishian was notified of the possibility of moving the game to Saturday. He revisited Centennial that morning to find that it was still unplayable; thus it was cancelled ultimately.

Officials did not react very well to this community tradition being abandoned. Criticism was particularly directed towards the township’s supposed negligence to clear the snow and ice from the field in order to allow for the teams to play. In an interview for MyVeronaNJ, Councilman Michael Nochimson stated that the decision was “inexcusable” and that “The Township should be in a position to assist and say ‘Yes’ to any reasonable request made by our [Board of Education]…” Councilman Nochimson addressed claims that plowing would cause damage to the field by adding that there are affordable rubber attachments that could be used to preserve the turf, additionally pointing to the fact that other schools were able to plow their fields and therefore play their Thanksgiving games.

Outcry regarding the situation also arose through social media, according to Mr. Farishian. Residents of both townships took to sites such as Facebook and Twitter to vent their frustration, with some speculating that Verona cancelled the game simply to avoid tarnishing their undefeated record. VHS senior and regular Hillbilly game attendee Kyle Kazanfer commented that critics such as these are out to “ruin [Verona’s] reputation” and discredit the team’s hard work, concurring that it was safer for Verona to not have the game.

Caldwell was offered the chance to count the cancellation of the Thanksgiving game against Verona as a forfeit. Unlike Verona, this was to be the final game of their season. However, they found another willing opponent in Bernards High School, thus fulfilling the maximum allotted number of games for their season.

Generally, the Verona Hillbillies do not appear to be dismayed by the lack of a football game this Thanksgiving. Coach Chris DeMond believes that the athletic department made the correct decision, adding that he was “proud that we stuck by it” as we “showed a lot of character.” Senior Luke Connell, a member of the team, expressed that he would have liked to play the game, but he is not very upset by its cancellation. Senior quarterback Frank Ferrari explained that the team as a whole wanted to play, especially since it has been three years since the Hillbillies last beat Caldwell. However, Ferrari managed to find a silver lining in the situation, stating that they were able to rest before their State Championship game against Cresskill at MetLife Stadium on December 5.