Story by Vincent Landolfi, Jr. • Photos by Patrick Olivero
MIDDLETOWN – Alumni football players and cheerleaders from high schools in the Middletown area came together Friday, Oct. 25 at Middletown North High School to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Middletown high school football.
Photographs, uniforms and equipment, along with memorabilia, were displayed in the Wall of Champions area of the gymnasium honoring players and cheerleaders from Leonardo High School – which became Middletown High School and then, in 1976, Middletown North and South high schools – and Mater Dei Prep. While he may not have been present for that first game, 94-year-old Leonardo High School alumnus Paul Frisco was part of the undefeated 1942 football team and was present at the celebration to share his stories from that unforgettable season.
During the century of gridiron competition, Middletown high schools have combined for 28 state championships, 40 divisional titles, and 19 unbeaten teams.
Early competition took place in the East Jersey High School Athletic Association, a precursor to what we now know as The Shore Conference of Schools. The 1919 schedule included opponents like Point Pleasant, Freehold, Asbury Park, Neptune, Lakewood, Chattle (now Long Branch), and Atlantic Highlands (now Henry Hudson which no longer has a football program).
Some of the greatest players in Shore area history have come from Middletown. The first Wall of Fame inductee was a post-World War II running back named Ted Lauer, considered one of the town’s greatest athletes. Standout running back Stephen Pitts led Middletown High School South to its first state championship in 1990, then played at Penn State University. Another Middletown South running back legend, Knowshon Moreno, starred at University of Georgia then played in the backfield for the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. The Peter brothers, Christian and Jason, were two stellar defensive players who were part of the rich history of Middletown South football. Both played at the University of Nebraska and in the NFL. Christian played for the Giants, Colts and Bears while Jason was a first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 1998.
Several of Middletown’s football teams are among the most successful ever from the Shore Conference. The 1964 Lions who ran an old-school style “T” formation finished undefeated at 9-0, averaging 135 yards per game passing when hardly anyone threw the ball. A short time later, the unbeaten 1969 team, named No. 1 in New Jersey at season’s end, held five opponents scoreless and beat undefeated Toms River 14-8 in what many consider to be the greatest game ever played at the Shore with 10,000 fans in attendance.
More recently, there was the Moreno-led Eagles of Middletown South, which had three consecutive unbeaten seasons from 2003-2005 and was named the No. 1 football team in New Jersey in 2004, while setting a Shore Conference record of 43 straight victories.
Mater Dei Prep notched a championship in 1969 and has had a powerful football resurgence lately, grabbing the NJSIAA Group II section title in 2016.
After the celebration, Middletown High School North played Mater Dei Prep in a regular season game. Alumni from the celebration marched onto the field to the cheers of the crowd. Mater Dei defeated North that evening 37-0, but the Lions should take heart in the fact that they played better than Leonardo High School did in that first game Sept. 16, 1919: That team lost to Asbury Park 55-0.
