Thoughts on the Recent Closing of St. Anthony’s

Closing of Jersey City Powerhouse Brings Back Sad Memories of St. Peter’s and McCarrick Closings

Last week, I learned of the closing of national powerhouse, St. Anthony’s of Jersey City despite Herculean efforts by boys basketball coach and principal, Bob Hurley, who probably kept the school open for at least 20 years according to some. The closing of St. Anthony’s and the heartbreak for many Jersey City and Hudson County children is a scene and feeling all too familiar to many in Middlesex County.

Read James Corrigan’s article on the closing of St. Anthony’s, “Requiem for a Friar.”

Since I graduated South Plainfield, High School in 1988, three Catholic schools have been closed by the Archdiocese of Metuchen. First it was St. Pius of Piscataway in 1990. Ironically, current St. Joseph’s assistant coach, Bill Kilduff coached the last boys basketball team at St. Pius. Several players from St. Pius transferred to Bishop Ahr after the closing, which helped the Trojans reached the GMCT Final Four two straight years and it’s last GMCT crown in 1992.

Fast forward to the 2006-07 season, and the announcement that St. Peter’s was going to close in June. It was very sad to see that school close. Not only did the Greater Middlesex Conference lose a great deal of history, tradition, and excellence with the closing of St. Peter’s, but also the Cardinals were beginning to show signs of turning things around.

Head coach Glen Fleming, and his staff, which included Rodney Britton and then recent graduate, Ryan Shellhammer, had assembled a squad that was not only competitive, but could also contend for the GMC Gold crown after the program had been in decline since the school’s last GMCT Elite appearance in the 1998-99 season. The basketball program showed signs of trouble during the 1996-97 season when the varsity was led by Tony Lee, Mars Mellish, and Rodney White.

I happened to see several St. Peter’s games that year as a volunteer assistant to Jeff Lubreski at South Plainfield. I can recall getting to the games early and watching the JV team play, and lose by 30, 40, and even 50 points. While the varsity would reach the semifinals and lose to eventual 1997 GMCT Champion, North Brunswick in a rubber match between the two schools, the talent at the lower levels had sharply declined. There would be a brief rebirth for the 1998-99 season, but it didn’t last long.

In the first year of GMC Hoops which was in 2000-01, St. Peter’s was in the White Division, and taking its lumps. Struggles continued during the 2001-02 season, and the Cardinals moved down to the GMC Gold Division for the 2002-03 season. Fleming, who played at the school during the mid-1980s, endured several more years of struggle, finally had something coming together in that final season with the likes of Travis Evans, Dominic Appiah, and Justin Morgan.

All of these players and several others were set to return for the Cardinals in the 2007-08 season. Had the school not closed, this team, which would have also probably had Dominic Appiah’s younger brother, John, would have been a very formidable team to beat in the GMC Gold, which went down to the wire between South Amboy and Dunellen before the Guvs won their only division title with a dramatic comeback win over the Destroyers in February 2008.

Video: Watch the next to last home game ever played at St. Peter’s between the Cardinals and New Egypt in Februrary 2007.

Fleming was also no stranger to these kinds of school closings. He experienced the same thing when Bishop Francis, formerly Essex Catholic closed several years earlier in 2003. Both Dominic and John Appiah would transfer to Cardinal McCarrick, and both made an impact. Dominic was a key piece to McCarrick’s Blue Division and GMCT Championship along with the likes of Mike Burwell and Julio Rosario. The younger Appiah, John, was a member of McCarrick’s last really great freshman team that same year.

Both Appiah brothers also excelled at football at McCarrick. Dominic Appiah went on to play postgraduate football at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, and then Division I college football at Boston College. Meanwhile, John Appiah was a member of the last McCarrick team to win the Non-Public B South Championship over Gloucester Catholic after knocking off defending T of C winner. Trenton Catholic in the semifinals. The team consisted of Ahmid Williams, and a freshman named Marques Townes.

Speaking of McCarrick, the Eagles would suffer a similar fate several years later. Although it was still a shock, it was not a surprise. There were several times when I was told that the school was in trouble. Joe Lewis, the fiery coach, who guided the team from mediocrity to one of the elite schools in the GMC including three sectional championships, two GMCT titles, and numerous division titles, probably kept the school open for another 5 to 10 years doing what he did there.

Following Lewis’ departure in 2012, the Eagles had three different coaches in successive seasons. I knew that feeling all too well at South Plainfield. My first three years at SPHS from 1984-1986, our basketball program had three different head coaches before Jeff Lubreski took over in the summer of 1986. Having that kind of turnover at the top makes it very difficult to establish continuity, and success. Finally, in 2014-15, McCarrick moved down to the Blue, and got someone who was going to stem the tide: Ben Gamble.

Gamble, an assistant with Bob Hurley came in with a staff that included former St. Joseph’s and Piscataway assistant, Jayson Reid, and brought in some new players such as Gilberto Cue, Nyquan McCombs, Elijah Mitchell, Hodari Bazemore, Josh Greene, Santiago Dervishaj, and Bryan Harris. The Eagles rolled through the Blue Division schedule that year, and earned the third seed in the 2015 GMCT, but then was upset in the Round of 16 by 14th seeded Sayreville. McCarrick then lost in the 2015 NJSIAA Non-Public B South Quarterfinals to Wildwood Catholic. At that time, there was no sign that McCarrick would close that year.

Video: Watch the final game ever played at Cardinal McCarrick against Wildwood Catholic in the 2015 NJSIAA Non-Public B South Quarterfinals.

Unfortunately about two months later, the Archdiocese of Metuchen announced that the school would close in June. The sudden announcement even caught Gamble off guard. Other basketball powerhouse schools such as St. Patrick’s, Mater Dei, and Wildwood Catholic suffered difficulties and in the case of St. Pat’s, closed, but they would all rebound.

Gamble along with McCombs, Mitchell, Greene, and Harris moved on to Mater Dei, and helped the Seraphs win the 2016 Shore Conference Tournament, and reach the Non-Public B South Semifinals before losing to Gill St. Bernard’s. Gamble then won another Shore Conference Tournament title this past season. Like the closing of St. Peter’s, the shutting of the doors at McCarrick was a tremendous loss in terms of history, tradition, and excellence to the Greater Middlesex Conference.

I understand that there is a great deal of friction between the Publics and Non-Publics, especially amongst their followers, players, and coaches, even here in Middlesex County. However, let’s try to keep this in mind: The success of these schools athletic programs helps makes it possible for many, who don’t have an athletic bone in their body, to get a good quality education, especially in the inner cities, whether it be Jersey City or New Brunswick. Do some of these schools ruin it for the others? Yes. However, there are many that bring good as well.

On a personal note, my family is Catholic. My mother is a devout catholic, who goes faithfully to church every week. She goes for her own reasons, mostly to help her find a place to relax and forget about the world around her for a while. I, on the other hand, have grown cynical of the Catholic Church, and these school closings are some of the reasons. I feel that this institution could do more to keep these schools open, and they choose not to. Meanwhile, I read articles such as the one posted today on nj.com regarding the Archbishop of Newark’s future retirement home, and it makes me as well as many wonder.

One thing that it makes me and many others wonder is what would Jesus think? You often hear that expression a lot. Jesus wasn’t into material things. As a matter of fact, there is one excerpt from the Bible, which discusses how Jesus witnessed people using the temple as a marketplace, and he was upset and drove these people out. You can read about it online at http://www.goodnews.ie/drivestraders.shtml. Today’s Catholic Church seems to have trouble following that example with the exception of Pope Francis, who lives modestly, and he has criticized bishops for living “like princes.”

In addition, the Catholic Church also recently suffered from scandal, which has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Consequently, a Catholic School education has suffered as a result of all of this. Many schools all across New Jersey in addition to the ones here in Middlesex County and St. Anthony’s have vanished. At a time, where education is becoming more and more important in today’s society, and there is growing debate about school choice and vouchers, the decline of Catholic schools is taking away one good choice for families and their children, especially in places where they are most needed, the inner city.