Manville-Bound Brook always something special

Rivalry produces great games

By: Rudy Brandl
   Manville and Bound Brook have hooked up in some memorable athletic events during my 17 years covering high school sports.
   Last night’s football game at LaMonte Field, the 49th meeting between the neighboring Group 1 rivals, figured to add another exciting chapter to the feud between the Mustangs and Crusaders. Bound Brook wanted to avenge last year’s 27-21 overtime loss. Both teams were looking to end their very good seasons on a high note while gaining bragging rights.
   This local war has extended to almost every sport but reached a new level when the annual football game was moved to the Thanksgiving holiday. Manville and Bound Brook started playing on Turkey Day in 1999, the year Hurricane Floyd ravaged both towns in the middle of September.
   The series, which Bound Brook led 28-18-2 entering last night’s game, hasn’t always been entertaining. There have been many lopsided games, but don’t let anyone tell you these games don’t mean anything. They’re always hard-fought and the fans really get into the spirit of holiday football.
   In most years and every season since the annual game was moved to Thanksgiving, both teams have sported losing records. Most of the time, avoiding last place in the Valley Division has been at stake in this game. In some cases, both teams entered the game without a victory on the season.
   This year’s game featured two teams enjoying their best seasons in well over a decade. Major bragging rights were on the line in this year’s season finale. Let’s hope this one lived up to the hype and anticipation.
   My memory bank remains full of Manville-Bound Brook thrillers. Most of the classics have come in wrestling and softball, where both small schools are traditionally strong. The MHS wrestling program has been in a rebuilding mode during the past five years and both softball teams have taken a step back since their glory days of the 1990s, but the Crusaders have remained very competitive on the mats.
   The wrestling wars of the 1990s packed the gyms of both schools. The teams even met in a few postseason thrillers. Two of my favorite MHS-BB wrestling battles took place in the same 1997 season.
   Manville won a riveting regular season meet at Bound Brook in January when Kyle Tenisci stayed off his back by fractions of an inch in the final minute of a crucial 189-pound bout to help the Mustangs hold on for a one-point victory. A month later, Manville used one of its patented pin parades to roll over Bound Brook in a playoff match.
   Earlier that year, in the spring season of the previous school year, the Manville and Bound Brook softball teams met in two of the biggest games I’ve covered. Bound Brook edged Manville by a single run to win both the Somerset County and Central Jersey Group 1 championships. That was the last time two Group 1 schools met for the county crown. The larger schools have dominated the tourney ever since.
   Back then, Manville and Bound Brook were two of the best in the county. Manville was led by standout pitcher Gina Herrera, who hurled every inning in her four-year varsity career with 500 strikeouts. After beating Herrera and the Mustangs by a 2-1 score on a Saturday night for the county title, Bound Brook found a way to scratch out a run in the ninth inning for a 1-0 victory in the CJ 1 final five days later.
   Winning high school football teams are something new in both communities, which only added to the anticipation of last night’s game. Even when the Mustangs and Crusaders were struggling, they often managed to produce exciting football games.
   Two of my series favorites involved former MHS multi-sport star Drew Corsilli, who went on to enjoy success on the collegiate gridiron at Lycoming. Corsilli kicked the game-winning field goal in the 1997 game as a sophomore when the Mustangs prevailed in the most exciting 3-0 contest you’ll ever see. Two years later in the Hurricane Floyd game, Corsilli was a one-man show on Thanksgiving Day in Manville.
   Corsilli scored every point in that game using his legs to run and his right foot to kick the winning field goal. He scored both MHS touchdowns and later deflected three pass attempts intended for Bound Brook receiver Anthony Melesurgo in the end zone in the final seconds of a 16-13 victory.
   Many of the games in the early part of the Turkey Day series were lopsided blowouts without much drama. Two years ago, a bunch of rain-soaked reporters left LaMonte Field doubting they’d ever be interested in covering another Manville-Bound Brook game.
   Things changed quickly, and both programs deserve credit for making this year’s game something special.