Between Bridgewater "East" Minutemen & Bridgewater "West" Falcons
The rivalry was very intense. It was a natural rivalry because of the closeness of the Schools, Playing on Thanksgiving morning made it that much more fun. Beating West to cap off a perfect season, twice, could not have been any sweeter. The fact the players all pretty much knew each other personally added to the rivalry.
When asked about a game that stands out from the rest. Steve Havran recalled:
The 1969 East-West game stands out for a lot of reasons. Mainly though, it was the last game to complete a perfect season. I remember specifically our second offensive play. We were basically a ball control running team. Coach Greiner really surprised me when he called for a play action pass on that second play. As it turns out Gary Debes had beat his man and we scored a touchdown. The team and crowd went crazy. At the end, it seemed like the clock stood still, as our defense had to make a big stand, and they did hold, saving the perfect season. It was an unbelievable feeling.
I was a sophomore cornerback playing against Ron Fulop who was the All-State QB. The place was overflowing with a boisterous crowd. Towards the end of the first half and the score at 14-14, I intercepted a pass on our own 5 yard line with no one in front of me. I ran about 20 yards and dropped the ball when I went to switch it to my other hand! After stumbling around for a moment, I elected to drop on the ball - there was no West player in site! Game ended in a tie and I didn't sleep well for months!
In the 1969 game against "West" Bruce made up for any previous mistakes as he scored what proved to be the winning touchdown on a fake punt. Punter Bob Latorra threw a perfectly executed screen pass to Bruce Hennemuth. Today, when asked about the play (42 years later) Bruce said:
“I do recall the fake punt. We practiced it for days - Greiner was always thinking about surprises. Bob Latorra threw a good pass and it was pretty much clear sailing with all the downfield blocks.”
Bruce Hennemuth also remembers the intensity of the 1970 Game against "West":
It was the hardest hitting game of the year. I remember running 35 times in my senior game. There were some large pile-ups with tough wrestling/gouging going on at the bottom of the pile. I had the ball ripped from my arms twice while I was pinned to the ground. I complained to no avail to the refs who called it a fumble both times. Luckily, we shut them out so the fumbles didn't cost us the game.
("East" in Black) photos by Dennis Moore
