This moment, on a freezing night in Hasbrouck Heights, warmed the hearts of many and forever linked two families and two communities.
Following their 14-0 win over Hasbrouck Heights on Friday night, two Becton seniors stepped through a crowd of their teammates and presented a signed jersey to their head coach and his family.
With a maroon uniform in their hands and silver signatures shining on the No. 30, seniors Joe Crifasi and Cencir Bacote handed over the jersey to Jack Maher Sr., and after a long hug, headed over to their head coach, Jack Maher Jr., for even longer one.
The No. 30 belonged to another Maher — Michael Maher, who died last Saturday at the age of 39 after he fell into a coma and never regained consciousness. The family spent weeks in Massachusetts as Michael Maher fought for his life. What caused the coma remains a mystery, but Maher Jr. hopes an autopsy provides answers.
“There was one time we were there, and I swear to you I touched his arm and his eye brows moved up,” Maher Jr. said. “That was a couple of weeks ago.”
Things took a turn for the worse last Friday, and the family said their goodbyes Saturday.
Through a difficult last few weeks, Maher’s players and their parents did everything they could to show their support. They bought gift cards for restaurants surrounding the hospital. They dropped off meals locally and made sure they won Friday for their coach, his brother and his family.
“We just wanted to show how much we appreciate him,” said Crifasi, Becton’s senior quarterback and captain, who has been the team’s top offensive threat in its 4-0 start.
Crifasi said he and his teammates came up with the idea to present Maher’s family the jersey as a way to show them that “Michael will always be their 12th man.”
“We know he’ll always be watching us,” Crifasi said.
It was a gesture that meant so much to Maher Sr., who told all of the Becton players that they were a part of his family too during an emotional post-game celebration.
“This was the number that my son wore when he played at Wood-Ridge," Maher Sr. said after huddling with the team at midfield. “These kids and their parents showed so much love and affection to my family and my son, Jack. They’re like a second family to us. I don’t know them all, but I do now. I’m overwhelmed with all of their generosity, their prayers and love for our family.”
The Maher family was somber but proud that Jack Jr., in the midst of a family tragedy, continues to give back in so many ways.
“When I came back from missing a couple of practices, I told the coaches and players ‘this is what I need to get my mind off things,’" Maher Jr. said. “It’s like 2-3 hours to break free from my thoughts. Football is my out. It always has been.”
With the win Friday, Becton clinched the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference’s Meadowlands Division title and earned its spot in the conference’s championship bracket. It’s the first time since the NJIC created its conference championship that Becton has reached the final four.
The Wildcats got there with defense. They posted their fourth straight shutout Friday and held Hasbrouck Heights to just one first down in the second half.
They’ve now outscored their first four opponents by a combined score of 128-0.
Junior Tommie Minaya had two sacks, senior Marcus Duran had an interception and junior Sonny Ragusa ran for two touchdowns — one with 17 seconds left in the first half and one at the start of the fourth quarter — to provide Becton with the only points it would need.
Ragusa’s first-half score was set up by a 48-yard pass from Crifasi to Bacote that bounced off of two Hasbrouck Heights defenders before Bacote hauled it in. Three plays later, Ragusa powered in for a 4-yard score that felt like a gut punch after Hasbrouck Heights took more than nine minutes off the clock on a 16-play drive that resulted in no points. The drive started at Hasbrouck Heights' 2-yard line and stalled at the Becton 36.
In the middle of that Hasbrouck Heights drive, quarterback Steven Faussette, one of the New Jersey’s leading passers, took a hit and left the game with an injury. He did not return and was replaced by junior Jake Diaz, who could not escape Becton’s relentless pass rush.
Duran’s interception at the Heights 13-yard line sealed the game with just over two minutes to play. Becton moved the ball to the 1 before taking a knee to end the game and cap an emotional night for its head coach.
“I told my players: Bad things happen in football games, and bad things happen in life," Maher Jr. said. “You learn that at an early age by playing the game of football. It’s a game that teaches you different life lesson.”
Patrick Lanni covers the Super Football Conference (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic) and North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. He can be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com