WESTWOOD, N.J.—Police Chief Michael R. Pontillo and the Westwood Police Department were among the first to congratulate the Junior Cardinals football team on their Junior BCJFL championship win Nov. 28 at Westvale Park.
On their way to the top, the team beat Midland Park and Northern Valley. Then they beat Norwood, 12–7.
“It was a beautiful day and an even better game. Thank you to the coaching staff for teaching, mentoring, and coaching these boys,” Pontillo said.
The department thanked coaching staff Chris Bulger, Dave Dellarata, Kirt Galligher, Joe Scalia, Ben Wingate, Phil Bicocchi, and Joe Lavenzola. “Nice work and thank you for your commitment to the children of the community. Great way to end the season and congrats again to all the boys and coaches, nice work! You will remember this day for many years to come!”
They also thanked the cheerleading squad, saying “Your voices raised the spirits and pushed the team ahead when they needed it most.”
This was the first year of a combined Westwood and Washington Township football and cheer program, for fifth and sixth graders, under the Bergen County Junior Football League. The players—formerly representing the Westwood Wolverines and Washington Township Falcons—will start as Cardinals prior to their play for Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School, where the towns comprise a school district.
We called Bulger for a reaction to the win and for his view of a remarkable season, overshadowed as it often was by the pandemic.
He said, “We were excited about the opportunity and the upcoming season, knowing that we would have large numbers, and the more complete-type squad that we had this year.”
Covid was a huge concern, and it wasn’t clear the team would get to play, he said. “We were nervous about that. But we had a great season. We won the championship… They were very happy, they were very excited. They worked hard all season.”
Bulger said the title was all the more special because the Cardinals lost a month of practice in two two-week shutdowns. “We were the only town that had to go through that. And we were still able to go to the championship and win it.”
He said “The whole Cardinal organization did a great job this year with the transition between the two towns.”
Township of Washington Mayor Peter Calamari, Rec Director Eamonn Twomey, and Cheer Program Coordinator Desserie Morgan announced the programs’ merger earlier this year, a step they said was informed by a drop-off in township registrations.
“This was the only practical way to ensure those children and parents who wanted to participate in a recreation football program had access to one,” they said online.
After this year, the three said, “a new, private organization will be formed to ensure equal representation from both towns” to support the programs.
“We are pleased to continue to build on our relationship with our neighbors in Westwood for the mutual benefit of all our residents. Cooperative efforts like this are a natural fit given our shared school system, and provides another area of benefit for our children and are just another example of what makes the Township of Washington such a terrific place to live and raise a family,” they said.