Celebrating our 134th anniversary in West Hudson

They will not call Kearny the "American Football City" for no reason.

Especially after the dramatic events of the past week, on Saturday afternoon, the Kearny High School Men’s Football Team advanced to the entire NJSIAA Group IV State Championship. This may be the fourth most exciting and exciting victory in Kardinals’ rich and legendary show. sky.

In the fourth semi-final last Tuesday, Cardinal was about to defeat former regular Elizabeth in the fourth semi-final, recovering from two goals behind, and miraculously tied the score with a 1:01 rule. , And then won the game in the fifth round in the penalty stage of the tiebreaker of the game, will face the freehold town in the fourth group of the state championship on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, when the Cards family participated in the fourth group championship game at the University of Kean, they launched an offensive explosion against the Patriots. This has almost become synonymous with the Cards family, ranking the first in 24 games this season. Nine times scored an incredible 6 goals.

Led by the team’s top scorer, Juan Rojas, he scored two goals and assisted twice. Cardinal never fell behind and won 6-2, allowing Cardinal to win 6-2. (22-1-1) Won the fourth overall state championship.

This marks the 33rd time that Kearny has won their respective state championships since 1923, and the first time since 2017. Before 2017, Kardinals also won state championships in 1999, 2002 and 2004.

This is also the second state championship of the current head coach Bill Garka.

"The first one is more stressful," Galka said. "This is a little more interesting. We have great support from the people in town who come to watch us and other people who watch online."

When Kardinals’ team bus returned to Kearny after winning, they were escorted by the pua police on Kearny Boulevard, equipped with flashing lights and sirens.

Galka said: "Trust me, we thank all our supporters for taking the time to pay tribute to us during the busy days."

For all intents and purposes, the dream of adding another state crown should have died on Tuesday at Carnego.

Kardinals handed the first two goals of the game to the upstart militia, who controlled the game from five minutes.

With 20 minutes left in the game, Rojas took a penalty kick and the lead was split in two, giving Card some hope.

However, when a Kardinal defender received a red card expulsion with 3 minutes left in the game, Kards was forced to beat two men in the rest of the game-a difficult task that was almost unimaginable.

Miraculously, Cardinals tied the score from Rojas in just 61 seconds in the regular season. After the two teams lost a point in overtime, they entered a penalty shootout. Dalton Davila scored a decisive goal that made the Cadiz team an incredible entry into the state championship.

"That's crazy," Rojas said. "Get down from two goals like this? It's just crazy. But I never lost my confidence."

Kardinals will not let this happen again.

"We performed well and are ready to play," Rojas said.

In the 16th minute of the first half, Davila grabbed a goal from Nico Gomez in the scramble in front of the goal. The Cards came on the court and took a 1-0 lead.

After Kearny goalkeeper Joshua Rodriguez shut the Patriots out and made three wonderful saves, Kards came out again, and of course Rojas was in the middle. Rojas passed the ball to Alan Antonelli, who passed the ball home just over a minute before halftime. This goal gave Card a little breathing room--but not much.

"Getting a second goal is always important," Galka said. "But we didn't get the third goal."

The game continued until the 63rd minute, when Freehold Township took a direct free kick from Logan Mullaney. In this way, the lead was cut in half, and the result was somewhat suspenseful.

"It's commendable that they came back to us," Galka said. "We must master the game again."

Rodriguez made another direct free kick in the 66th minute and made two big saves without letting the game fall into a tie. One minute later, it looked like Rojas had extended his lead to two goals, but after he took a free shot, he pushed the ball to the right.

Two minutes later, Rojas has not yet been rejected. He drove the ball very well, spun once, and then controlled his body about 30 yards away. Roxas then launched a laser explosion, and permanent goalkeeper Richard Locke never had a chance to stop. This is Rojas's 21st goal this season, but it may be his most beautiful goal.

Card had two chances to score the fourth goal, but both shots from close range crossed the crossbar.

Sure enough, the Patriots once again tied the score to a goal, and Josh Hochser scored a goal in the 73rd minute. They will not leave easily. The team usually does not participate in state championship games.

But Cardinal pulled the game back one city in the last 10 minutes, scoring three goals. Alejandro Alvarado was pulled down in the penalty area and gave Carney a penalty. Rojas practiced the penalty for his 22nd and final goal of the season. You can almost feel the collective exhalation of the fans on the sideline of Carney and the stands on both sides of the stadium. It's impressive to see Kardinal's loyal supporters come to the league and fill up two stands.

Alvarado fought back at Rojas with 5 minutes left, scoring his 16th goal of the year, chasing the score to 5-2, and Johan Baez had one left in the game. Scored the 13th goal of the season in minutes and kicked off the celebration on the Cardinal bench.

Shockingly, seven of the Cardinals this season have scored double-digit goals-the balance of scoring is unheard of. Cardinals have scored 114 goals in 24 games this season, averaging 4.75 goals per game. No wonder they only lost once this season.

"Forty years from now, we will look back and realize that this is really great," Rojas said. "This team is like my second family. We have had a great time all season. I thank God very much, it's amazing. This is one of the best days I have ever had."

"It's overwhelming," said Rodriguez, the network administrator. "I can no longer show my excitement."

On Saturday, the Kardinals all rallied to commemorate the young Christian Escandon, who suffered a serious knee injury in the first five minutes of the game against Elizabeth on Tuesday night. Escandon was on crutches on the sidelines, but he was wearing a T-shirt commemorating Escandon under the jersey with a few teammates on the court. Galka thought Escandon had just entered his own form.

"In the past three weeks, he was one of our best players," Galka said. "He was great. He did a great job on the ball. It was a terrible moment for him to get injured and miss important games."

Escandon's knee will need surgery in the near future. Due to two torn meniscus ligaments, Escander needs 9 months of rehabilitation, but it should be fine for the start of next season.

Galka has a feeling that Kards is ready to explode.

Galka said: "I told my wife (Patricia) that we are going to score six goals." "Before I left home, I said that we would win 6-0. The kids believe in themselves, too. Believe in each other. I think once we pass Elizabeth, we are ready for big things. This team is very similar to 2017, with strong cohesion and deep friendship. I will miss (11) senior citizens, but now it is It's time for the young people to stand up."

As for the 33 state championships from "American Football City"?

"This is well documented in books and movies," Galka said. "It is safe to say that this nickname is still alive and healthy."

Sports writer Jim Hague has worked at The Observer for more than 16 years-his name is one of the most well-known names in all sports journalism. St. Peter's Prep and Marquette alumni started his career in journalism after Marquette on Daily Record, where he worked until 1985. After working briefly for two other newspapers, he joined the now closed Hudson Dispatch in September 1986 and stayed there until 1991, when its doors were finally closed.

It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that The Hague's reputation and reputation as one of the most diligent sports journalists in the country was enhanced. During this time, he won multiple New Jersey Press Association Awards and North Jersey Press Club Awards.

In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers-he is still with them to this day.

In addition to his work in The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also a special correspondent for the Associated Press, covering the men's basketball of Seton Hall University, the football of the New York Red Bulls, and occasionally the hockey of the New Jersey Devils.

He also works at The Morristown Daily Record, which is the newspaper where his journalism began.

During his career, he has also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provides materials for Star-Ledger. There, he covered the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

The Hague is also known for his announced work-he completed PA work for Rutgers Newark and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The Hague is the author of "Bradok: The Rise of the Cinderella Man".