Realignment of the northern tier of the state is necessary, they say, to ensure an equitable balance of power, and to address the ongoing dilemma of certain parochial schools who basically dominate in two sports: football and basketball.

Yesterday, a vote was taken on the plan. Whether or not the realignment takes place in 2009 or not until the 2010-11 school year, one thing is for certain: a contingent of schools are not happy with what the NJSIAA has basically crammed into a rushed voting framework.

For schools such as Montclair High, which is slated to wind up in a very logical and geographically friendly Essex County Division A of Super Conference 1, the realignment solution could not be much more conducive to a promising future in terms of local rivalries being enhanced.

"Sure, there are going to be some problems in scheduling certain sports, but for us, the new conference setup should be very positive for Montclair, and we’re very happy with the new plan," said John Porcelli, the Mounties’ vice principal for athletics and activities. Porcelli was asked by NJSIAA Executive Director Steve Timko to speak on behalf of the plan during yesterday’s expected final vote. "There is also going to be some flexibility in scheduling, which I think will help some of the smaller schools in our conference, like [The Montclair Kimberley Academy], Immaculate [Conception] and Newark Academy.

"For instance, even though MKA is in [Division C] with schools such as Caldwell, they won’t have to play them in football because, depending on the sport, there is going to be a schedule made based on some sort of ‘power’ formula, depending on the school’s strength in football, or whatever sport it is, and in terms of enrollment."

As positive as the realignment plan is for MHS, which is in a large-school division with East Orange Campus, West Orange, Seton Hall Prep (boys only), Columbia, Barringer, Bloomfield, Livingston and Mount St. Dominic (girls only), the benefits of the new small-school division for both MKA and IC remain to be seen.

Meanwhile, as the realignment plan is pushed forward, the question still remains: Could there once again be a revival of the proposal to divide private schools from publics for good in the autumn of 2009?

Last Dec. 3, 2007, a vote among NJSIAA member schools fell just eight votes shy of forcing public and private schools into separate conferences. After that vote, several public schools threatened to secede from their conferences if the NJSIAA did not address the ongoing issue of realignment. In the following months, a realignment committee met and came up with the current framework that affects only North Jersey where the mega parochial powers dominate.

Once the Dec. 2007 vote was narrowly lost by the publics that wanted separation, sponsoring new legislation for the public/private split had to wait two years. Well, that two years is moving along quickly, and the problem of parochial dominance in North Jersey is not going away, even with the NJSIAA’s realignment plan.

"There are definitely some public schools in Bergen County that are not happy to be lumped in divisions with Don Bosco [Prep], St. Joe’s [of Montvale] and Bergen Catholic," said Porcelli.

Joe Lennon, a Montclair native and former player and coach at Immaculate, is the longtime athletic director at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne. He sees the private/public debate resurfacing in 2009-10.

"I think it’s inevitable that the argument to separate publics and parochials will be rekindled," said Lennon, who retired four years ago as the head football coach at DePaul, but still coaches baseball. "The publics coming up just eight votes short last December just told you then and there once again that this is a hot issue.

"In terms of realignment right now, we love our new division [A in Super Conference 2] with Wayne Hills, West Milford, Wayne Valley, Passaic Valley and Lakeland. That group of teams makes perfect sense in terms of traveling and top geographic rivalries.

"But I just can’t keep wondering that the public/private debate is not going to go away."

REMEMBERING 'HUCK'

Mike Palma remembers when he joined fellow Montclair High student manager Larry McRae as a passenger in a car headed down the Garden State Parkway on a rainy morning in 1972, in anticipation of a huge Mountie football game at then state power Brick Township.

The driver of the car taking two wide-eyed teenagers on an autumn Saturday sojourn to the Jersey Shore was Warren "Huck" Garoni, the colorful and always quotable equipment manager for the MHS football team in the 1970s and ’80s.

"I remember we drove ahead of the team bus, and when we got down there, we found out the game was postponed due to the rain," said Palma. "Huck ended up taking us on a drive around the Shore for the afternoon. It was quite an enjoyable time, especially for a 16-year-old who didn’t get down that way very often. We didn’t go to the beach or anything, but when you were with Huck, you always had a good time."

Garoni, who almost always had a smile and a wry comment during any conversation, even with the media, recently passed away, taking with him another indelible part of the Mountie football tradition.

Although he relocated to Vermont years ago, Garoni had already etched his spot as a key personality in the Woodman Fieldhouse and on the Mounties’ football sideline.

Whether it was giving out a free soda to a player of the game, or selecting what jersey number a rising junior could don in Mountie Blue and White, his touch was felt by many a player and manager.

"Huck oversaw the blue shirt," remembered Pete Hanley, who was a lineman for the Mounties in the mid-1970s. "You would wear yellow in practice as a freshman and orange as a sophomore, but when you earned that blue shirt, perhaps at the end of your sophomore year, or as a junior, Huck presented it to you.

"I always looked up to the older linemen, like Vinnie Aufiero and Sean O’Berry, and appreciated the fact that they took the time to teach me a great deal, even though going up against them in practice was tougher than the actual games.

"When Huck handed me that Mountie Blue jersey with Vinnie’s No. 70 on it, that was a moment I will never forget.

"Huck solidified the transition for many of us, and those little things add up to the big picture and are important, and he was an important part of the great Mountie football tradition."

And as a sideline presence, keeping an eye on the proceedings as his friend, Butch Fortunato, guided the troops, Garoni could also make bold and accurate predictions.

"I remember we were playing Westfield in 1973 when we snapped their 48-game unbeaten streak, and [Blue Devils coach Gary Kehler’s son] Glen Kehler scored the game’s first touchdown for a 7-0 lead," said Palma. "Huck said right then and there, ‘We will win this game!’"

As it turned out, the Mounties did roar back to win, 20-15.

"Huck was my boss and a huge Mountie fan," said Palma. "He was definitely a big part of what went on every day in Woodman Fieldhouse, and with the players, whom he always enjoyed spending time with and sharing his stories and, of course, his point of view.

"He’ll certainly be missed by those who knew him."