Raider Fans

Amid the grayness of one of the shortest days of the year, there was a bright glow to the Scotch Plains Fanwood High School parking lot
in the late afternoon on the Friday before Thanksgiving. It not only came from a cadre of school buses that would provide transportation but from the unbridled enthusiasm of students, parents and Raider fans who were preparing to split off in southern and northern directions to watch two Scotch Plains teams in search of playoff glory. Young boys in their Pal football jerseys played catch with each other while giggling girls in their soccer jerseys gabbed on their cell phones waiting for the buses to leave.

For many town residents, it was a difficult choice, for many it was an obvious decision but considering the circumstances it was an impressive showing of school pride and spirit. Although this writer would rather of watched the soccer team complete its incredible season against Wall at The College of New Jersey, I chose the football game at West Morris Central, because I was helping to load the band equipment and to watch my daughter perform in color guard. Another Scotch Plains parent had the choice between watching his son play the same tunes in the band he had heard dozens of times or watch his nephew play soccer. He opted for the band after prodding from his wife.

Earlier in the season it had appeared very likely that this would be a night free from Raider athletics. The football team struggled mightily and barely squeaked into the playoffs. Decided underdogs at second seeded Warren Hills, the Raiders exploded with their best performance of the season to score a stunning 21-0 victory. The soccer team started 1-2, but caught fire and won seventeen straight games, including a 1-0 victory on what was essentially Ramapo’s home field in the semi-finals Monday night.

There was a good amount of history surrounding both match-ups. The Raiders had twice beaten Wall in the state finals and had already taken care of Wall neighbor, Middletown South in the sectional finals the week before. The football team had never beaten West Morris, losing all three playoff games, prompting the saying “West Morris is where Scotch Plains goes to end its season.”

There was only one other high school in the state that had the dilemma Friday night and ironically enough it was the Raiders’ Group III soccer opponent, Wall, which would win both of its games. The games would start an hour apart, with the soccer game starting at 6 pm. everyone it seemed had somebody who would provide updates.

We arrived at a virtually empty West Morris football stadium at 5:30. It would eventually fill up but rush hour traffic would keep the Raider fan buses from arriving until right about game time. Meanwhile down at Ewing, the fan bus was fighting similar traffic.

As we got ready to watch the start of the game, my cell phone rang and the shocking news from Ewing arrived. Not only were the Raiders trailing at halftime but they had yielded two goals, as many as they had given in up in the past seventeen games. Not to worry, the caller said, we were down at West Orange 2-1 and came back with three unanswered goals. I spread the news to the Raider fans, some of who knew already and there was a look of shock but most firmly believed that the soccer team would prevail.

The start of the football game did nothing to pick up our spirits as West Morris quickly pounced on the Raiders’ weakness for giving up long plays and ran the first play from scrimmage 85 yards for a quick 7-0 lead. Scotch Plains would march smartly down the field on a time consuming drive to tie the score. We were hoping that it was a good omen for our soccer brethren fifty miles to the south. I kept looking at the cell phone wondering when the happy news of a Group III championship would arrive. As the clock said 7:40, I could wait no longer..

“One hundred Scotch Plains fans are breathlessly waiting for an update ,” I said breathlessly as the band noise and the crowd on his end made the connection barely audible. “I said please tell me 3-2 Raiders “ but he returned “I can barely hear you but it’s 4-1.”

Bad news spreads quickly and in minutes everyone knew that it was up to the football team to save the night. The first half ended badly as West Morris added a third touchdown in the final thirty seconds of the half to take an imposing 21-7 lead.

The Raiders fought hard to the very end, cutting a 28-7 lead to a touchdown but their last chance at recovering an onside kick failed and the old saying rang true once again.

Like they had done an hour before in Ewing, the buses loaded the Scotch Plains faithful for an unhappy ride home.

Terrence Charles (2004)

Anybody who has spoken to veteran Scotch Plains Fanwood soccer coach Tom Breznitsky knows that he is not prone to using superlatives. But Breznitsky, who recently became the fifth coach to have won over 500 games, has no hesitation putting his current sweeper, senior Terrence Charles in the stratosphere of his pantheon of his brightest stars.

“Terrence is as good as we’ve ever had back there,” said Breznitsky.
“He probably has the fastest first three steps of anyone I ever coached. There is no player we’ve faced that Terrence hasn’t been able to stay with.”

That quickness and speed, accomplished with an effortless grace makes Charles an easy player to overlook when watching the Raiders play. Sweepers, like offensive linemen in football, are often most successful when least noticed.

But the player who benefits most from Charles’ defensive play, Goalie Bryan Meredith notices and appreciates who plays in front of him. “He is a great player to have in front of you” said Meredith, who like Charles, was first team All Union county last year.

“Terrence is almost never out of position and stops a lot of hard shots before they ever reach me,” added Meredith. And the feeling is mutual.

“Playing in front of Bryan is great. I have the confidence in my goalie to know
that if I make a mistake he can cover for me right away. Having confidence in
your goalie is probably the most important aspect of playing in the back. You
need to know that at any point in time he will be there to support you and make
the right decision,” said Charles.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago Charles moved to America before he turned one and lived in Plainfield for the first 8 years of his life before moving to Scotch Plains

After lettering as a freshman, Charles has been a fixture in the starting lineup for the past three years. As a sophomore he played midfield before moving back to sweeper last year where he joined with senior Michael Hessemer, another All Union County player to form the backbone of a defense that produced 15 shutouts.

“ Now that I’m a senior I feel that I need to take more of a leadership role on the team. A lot of the younger players look up to not only myself but also the other seniors on the team. We feel that we need to show them and teach them what the Scotch Plains-Fanwood soccer tradition is all about, “ said Charles.

In addition to Meredith, Charles is joined by four other senior returning starters, Greg Leischner, Billy Albizati, Sean McNelis and Casey Hoynes-O’Connor, and juniors Jeff Bell and Joe Jacobi, who have helped meld a young team into another Raider powerhouse, currently enjoying a sixteen game winning streak, allowing only one goal and have given up only eight goals with seventeen shutouts.

Although all free kicks were taken the past three years by two time first team all state star Ryan Breznitsky, Charles proved in the most pressure packed games of last season that he was adept at making penalty kicks. In the sectional final against Middletown South, Charles made his kick as the Raiders won 4-2, Tom Breznitsky’s eleventh sectional title. In the state semifinal round against Ramapo, Charles connected again but the Raiders lost the shootout 5-4. Charles has converted all three of his penalty kicks this season

“I’ve been taking penalty kicks since I was a little kid. I would go outside
and practice them with my father. So coming to high school and taking penalty
kicks really weren’t too hard of a task. I was pretty nervous before I took
both of those kicks because of all of the hype of the games, but as soon as I
walked up to the spot all of the tension went away,” said Charles.

Although he is known for his defense, Charles has played every position including goalie.” I’ve done just about everything. I prefer to play defense because it allows you to defend or mark someone, and at any point in time be allowed to attack without the other team realizing it.”

In Breznitsky’s 500th victory at Cranford on October 20, Charles displayed his versatility as he helped the Raiders withstand the absence of center midfielder Casey Hoynes-O’Connor and lineman Sean Young by moving to an offensive midfield position at times. On several occasions Charles took a loose ball in the defensive end and using his explosive speed advanced the ball into the offensive end. When Cranford counterattacked Charles quickly recovered into a defensive position. In Saturday’s second round Union County Tournament game Charles filled in at Hoynes-O’Connor’s position and scored a goal in the second half in the Raiders’ 4-0 victory. A victory over Elizabeth tomorrow puts them in their eighth straight final.
“I have a lot of confidence in his decision making. He is like having another coach on the field ,” said Breznitsky.

Many top soccer colleges are anxious for Charles’ services including University of Connecticut, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, and Seton Hall University. But for Charles there is much work to do and feels honored to be one of the captains at Breznitsky’s 500th victory.

“I enjoy playing for Brez. He is an accomplished coach and knows what he’s
doing. I feel that he is not only a good coach but also a good motivator. He finds a way to get the most out of his players and that is why he has been so
successful over the years, “ said Charles.

“Being the captain of the team that wins his 500th is a great honor. Hopefully along with his 500th win we can bring him a state championship.”

The Seniors (2004)

They have been playing together for almost a decade and their homes are bursting at the seams with trophies won from almost every conceivable competition. Their uniform numbers are almost consecutive 8,10,11,12 and 13 and if you understand the recent history of Scotch Plains Fanwood soccer it is apparent why number nine was skipped. (See below for explanation)

The five senior starters of Scotch Plains Fanwood High School soccer team, striker Sean McNelis, center midfielder Casey Hoynes-O’Connor, stopper Greg Leischner, midfielder Billy Albizati and sweeper Terrence Charles have all started a minimum of two years, and all have at least three varsity letters

Their efforts plus that of the four other seniors AJ Appezzatto, Chris Annese, Chris Heuther and Stefano Gaetano melded with a strong junior class, sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Meredith and a precocious group of six freshmen to make the Raiders one of the hottest teams in the state, with sixteen straight victories including fourteen shutouts which ended with a 23-4 record and a 4-1 loss to Wall in the Group III finals.

McNelis saved much of his heroics for the biggest games, including the state semi-finals when his goal with sixteen minutes left edged Ramapo 1-0. In the Union County Tournament finals against Union, McNelis took Leischner’s perfect cross to score the only goal of the game with 19 minutes left. The day before in the opening round of the State Group III tournament against North Hunterdon, McNelis had converted a pass from Albizati for the only goal.

“He’s a four year starter and a gamer. He just has a nose for the goal,” said Coach Tom Breznitsky of McNelis.

When Breznitsky won his 500th game on October 20 in Cranford, it was appropriately enough Leischner who scored the winning goal and assisted on the clincher by Heuther in a 2-0 victory.

“ It was cool scoring the winning goal on such a big day, “ said Leischner.
“It meant a lot to us to contribute to his 500th victory.”

“This is a very talented bunch of kids. They all bring a lot of skills to the table and it helps that they’ve played with each other for such a long time,” said Breznitsky.
“Greg can help us in a number of positions. He kicks well with both feet and knows his role. Sean has been a great player for us. We asked him to move around a lot this year and he has been a great asset wherever he has played. Billy has a great understanding of his role as a center midfielder. He has been excellent all year taking corner kicks and direct kicks. Casey has excellent skill and great vision.”

Of Charles, a two time first team all Union County player, Breznitsky said “Terrence is quick as any player as I’ve ever had back there. He has a tremendous understanding of defense and his role.”

The seniors started playing together when they were nine years old on Scotch Plains Fanwood Sabers travel team coached by McNelis’ father, David.
“We learned the basics of the game, learned how to trust each other's game, and had a lot of fun,” recalled McNelis.
“ We played on various club teams over the years and eventually wound up all together again on the Morris United Mayhem club team and then the high school team,” said McNelis.

McNelis is not certain how the others got their numbers. “My Dad always wore number thirteen, so I asked wear it also. The
thing I am most proud of is that I am playing my fourth year of varsity soccer, and he is able to be there to watch me, and cheer on our victories.”

“Last year when myself, Greg and Terrence were three of the defenders we actually realized that our numbers were ten, eleven and twelve,” said Albizati.

“Before a few games when we would try and come together the three of us often said "right here 10 - 11 - 12" So it was something that we picked up on a few games into last season.”

“ When we were younger and all played on the Sabers, Terrance actually had number nine,” said Albizati.
“But once he got into high school he had to change his number because Ryan (Breznitsky, the coach’s son and a two time all state player) had it. My number before high school used to be seven so my number had to get changed once I made the team as well.”

Hoynes-O’Connor always wore number eight and Heuther always wore fourteen. Gaetano’s number on the Sabers was ten, meaning the numbers could actually go from seven to fourteen consecutively.

Albizati, Hoynes-O’Connor and Leischner were the only players to stay together on the Sabers from third through eighth grade although the others played most of those years.

“We all have been playing together a long time. so it is safe to say that we know exactly how one another plays. Once we got into high school and when the soccer started to become more serious and we started to have practice everyday we all started to become even closer not only on the field, but off the field,” said Albizati.

Albizati and Leischner have also had success in tennis, both playing doubles but not playing together. Albizati teamed with Jeremy Sanders to finish third in the county at first doubles.

Albizati notes that the Raiders have won four Watchung Conference championships, three Union County championships and one sectional championship, but there was one championship not won. “The state championship was the one we all wanted the most. but that is a very difficult thing to do,. You not only have to be good, but you have to be extremely lucky as well.” said Albizati.

Hoynes-O’Connor, Charles and Albizati were three of the shooters in two pressure packed penalty kick shootouts the Raiders
competed in against Middletown South and Ramapo in the sectional finals and state semifinals. In the 4-2 win against Middletown South both Hoynes-O’Connor and Charles made their shots. Albizati didn’t have to shoot. Against Ramapo all three connected but the Raiders lost 5-4. They were hoping that their final year ended up with a victory but it was not to be.
“Soccer has been a huge part of my life, my family's life, and it will be a little sad to have it end, ” said McNelis.