Kalikas Return As Head Coach At Johnson
A Topical Story At Aug. 7 BCC Media Day

UNION - The last time Gus Kalikas was the head football coach at Johnson High School in Clark was the 2008 season when the Crusaders reached the Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional state championship game for the first time.

An emotional Kalikas held back tears on the field at Rutgers that day after his Crusaders were edged by Manasquan 19-14 for the title. It was the final game of a five-season stint as the head coach for the 1990 Johnson graduate who previously played for the Crusaders.

Now the longtime Johnson Athletic Director is stepping into the role of head coach again after the fine job one of his former players, 2006 Johnson grad Anthony DelConte, did the last 11 seasons.

This time when Johnson opens at home against Brearley Week One on Sept. 5 he may hold back a tear or two of joy. That's because for one season Kalikas will get to coach his son Jack, who is a prominent returning senior for the Crusaders.

"Obviously, it's dream come true," Gus Kalikas said at the third annual Big Central Conference Media Day held at Kean University's Harwood Arena on Thursday, Aug 7.

Kalikas did coach his son Jack once before and that was in middle school. Jack Kalikas, a returning linebacker and backup quarterback, will continue playing lacrosse in college at the Division 1 level at the University of Vermont.

"I will embrace this special experience and will be able to share some fond memories for sure," Gus Kalikas said.

Jack Kalikas is aware of the fact that Johnson lost several key players to graduation, including quarterback Robert Gallagher, 1,000-yard rusher Ryan George and senior receiver Joshua Maltez-Torres.

"I'm really excited for my senior year and the opportunity to play for my dad," Jack Kalikas said. "Some might say we will be down a bit this year because of the seniors we lost, but we're going to take it day by day and work as hard as we can. We know the amount of work we have to put in."

Kalikas guided Johnson to a 31-21 record in his first five seasons at the helm from 2004-2008. Included were the 2006 team going 9-1 and 9-0 in the regular season and the 2008 squad finishing 8-4, including playoff wins at home over Somerville and Point Pleasant Boro.

The only loss the 2006 team suffered was a 23-20 overtime setback at home to Raritan in a first-round Central Jersey, Group 2 playoff encounter.  

DelConte's 11-season record as Johnson's head coach from 2014-2024 was 56-48. DelConte guided Johnson to the state playoffs in each of the past three seasons, with the 2022 and 2023 teams finishing 6-3 and last year's squad 7-2.

DelConte's teams in 2015 (7-4) and 2017 (8-3) also made the playoffs, both winning playoff games and reaching the Central Jersey, Group 2 semifinals.

In March of 2024 DelConte, a mathematics teacher at Johnson, was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education as an Exemplary Educator of the Year through the 2023 New Jersey Exemplary Educator Program.

BCC President Scott Miller, the first Union County head coach to guide a team to a 12-0 record when he led the Brearley Bears to the 2006 North 2, Group 1 sectional state championship, was pleased with the third edition of BCC Media Day.

For the second straight year it was held for one day at Kean after the inaugural event was spread over two days in 2023 at the Iron Peak Sports & Events facility in Hillsborough.

"We'll continue to do it over one night," Miller said. "I think this year it went a lot smoother, having the teams in the same divisions going in the same time slots. We were much closer to being on schedule this time and there was less wait time for the kids to get their pictures taken."

Official practice commences around the state of New Jersey on Monday, Aug. 11, so media day also gave teams the opportunity to mesh with their upcoming opponents on a much friendlier basis.

"It's a good opportunity for teams to see each other in a different manner," Miller said. "It's a more relaxed setting. It also gets the juices flowing a bit before practice begins." 

Doing the interviews for Big States Sports, which covers the entire state for football, were 1986 North Warren graduate Joel Konya and 2015 Bloomfield grad Zack Smolen.
Chet Parlavecchio, Jr., now in his ninth season at the helm of the New Providence Pioneers, also lost a quality quarterback to graduation in T.J. Munn.

"I know it's a cliche, but we're out to improve every day," said Parlavecchio, who last year guided New Providence to a 9-3 finish that included reaching the North 2, Group 1 sectional state championship game.

Returning senior linemen with Parlavecchio at media day included with Gui May, No. 52, and Joe Ping, No. 60.

"We have a lot of chemistry on this team," May said.

"We really work well together and communicate," Ping said. "Even though we lost our quarterback we think we can pick up where we left off."

New Providence opens at Gov. Livingston on Sept. 6.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood has an eight-game regular season schedule this season, one less than last year when Shaun Johnson took over as head coach. The Raiders went 3-7 a year ago.
Since Scotch Plains went 7-4 and reached the North 2, Group 3 semifinals in 2007, the only season above .500 was the 2020 squad closing at 5-2 and with a five-game winning streak during the shortened pandemic campaign.

"Last year was a good learning experience for me," Johnson said. "We try to do right by the kids to teach them to succeed on and off the field. Every coach knows that we make mistakes as well and we hope to improve upon them."

Thomas Dowling is a key returning senior offensive lineman for the Raiders. "We had some off games last year, but that's in the past," Dowling said.

"We're looking to the future. We feel that we're more comfortable with Coach Johnson now and are looking forward to having a great season."

Scotch Plains opens at home against Rahway on Sept. 5. The Raiders will have their game-scrimmage at Roselle on Aug. 28.

Plainfield is now guided by first-year head coach Donald Jones, who starred for the Cardinals before graduating in 2006. Jones, as a senior, was a standout on the 2005 team that went 6-4 and reached the North 2, Group 4 playoffs.

Plainfield did not finish over .500 again until the 2023 squad finished 6-5 and did not make the playoffs again until last year's team lost at Passaic Tech 18-12 in an opening North 2, Group 5 matchup.

James Williams did a fine job in his four seasons as the head coach at Plainfield, guiding the Cardinals to a 5-5 record in 2021, 5-6 in 2022, 6-5 in 2023 and 6-4 in 2024. Last year's Cardinals defeated Westfield for the first time since 2011, a 14-9 Plainfield win over the Blue Devils at Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield.

Jones played collegiately at Youngstown State and then in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, wearing No. 19, after going undrafted. He was also on the roster of the New England Patriots.

Jones also briefly played for the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

A broadcast major at Youngstown State, Jones, in 2016, signed on to be the co-host of The John Murphy Show, a daily talk show on WGR radio MSG Western New York that was sponsored by the Buffalo Bills.  

"It's great to be home," said Jones, who was an assistant coach at St. Thomas Aquinas the last three seasons. "I used to be a ref, I used to be in the media working in television and radio and now I've come back home to be a coach.

"When I took the job in December the kids were already dedicating themselves in January by working really hard in the weight room."

Plainfield made great strides the last four years under Williams and turned the corner from a program that struggled to win on a yearly basis.

"The culture for me is the right way to do things," Jones said. "The kids are responding well so far."

"We thank him (Jones) for taking the job," said returning two-way senior lineman Raymir Brighton.

For the first time Plainfield will open against Westfield. The Union County Thanksgiving Day rivals will clash Aug. 28 at Plainfield.

For over 100 years it was Plainfield playing Westfield on Thanksgiving. That will not be the case anymore. Starting next year, according to Jones, the teams will face each other every year in the final regular season game.

"With the state making the season earlier and all the changes it makes things much more challenging," Jones said. "I understand the tradition."

When Jones was a senior in 2005 his final high school game was a 9-0 win at Westfield.

"We'll still get to play them and we'll still treat the game as a special one," Jones said. "We'll still call it a 'Classic' and it will still have the same feeling and meaning."

The only Thanksgiving Day football in Union County remaining is when Roselle Park hosts Roselle every other year as is the case this year. When Roselle hosts Roselle Park the game is now the night before at Roselle.

Matt Andzel, a 2002 Westfield graduate who played on the varsity for head coach Ed Tranchina, succeeded Jim DeSarno as Westfield's head coach last fall, guiding the Blue Devils to a 5-6 record his first season. Andzel was previously the defensive line coach for DeSarno and was an assistant on DeSarno's staff for 11 seasons before being named Westfield's 13th head coach.

"Matt did a great job succeeding Jim DeSarno as our head coach," said Westfield assistant coach Lee Gallman, who represented the Blue Devils along with several players at media day. "This year we're going back to our roots and embracing the little things that help translate into wins."

A key returning two-way lineman the Blue Devils is senior Jake Zemsky, No. 52.

"I trust the coach next to me (Gallman) with my life," Zemsky said.

Eugene Kline took over as head coach at Elizabeth last year during the season and this will be his first full year at the helm of the Minutemen.

Elizabeth won four in a row at one point last year, including a 34-33 North 2, Group 5 home playoff win over Morristown, before finishing with a winning record of 6-5. It was the first time the Minutemen finished over .500 since 2018.

"How we finished was a credit to our kids and our coaching staff," Kline said. "Last year was a tough time, we got through it and we moved on."

Elizabeth won only 12 games during its five straight losing seasons before last year's squad challenged Passaic Tech in the North 2, Group 5 semifinals, falling 35-26.

"This year the kids have gotten bigger, faster and stronger," Kline said. "We're excited about where we are."

Elizabeth opens at Linden on Aug. 29. Linden also has a new head coach in Mark Ciccotelli. 
"Our goal this year is to focus week by week," said Elizabeth returning junior wide receiver-defensive back Nahjae Smith. "Even if we're not at practice we'll do anything we can to make the team better."

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