Columbia High School (CHS)
Annual Alumni vs Varsity Thanksgiving Game Results
(1970 - present)
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Year
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Score
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Winner
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Alumni
Roster
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Varsity
Roster
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Notable Info
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1st
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1970
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25-22
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Alumni
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First graduating class returns to scrimmage the Varsity. "The Alumni jump off to a 10-2 lead, but the Varsity players come back to take a 17 to 16 advantage before finally succumbing." (Larry & Paul Schindel) |
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2nd
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1971
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Varsity
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In 1971 the Varsity consisting mainly of the same players as the year before, defeat the Alumni. |
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3rd
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1972
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22-20
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Varsity
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The legendary '72 team returns against their high school counterparts. |
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4th
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1973
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Alumni
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5th
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1974
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Alumni
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6th
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1975
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36-12
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Alumni
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7th
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1976
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Alumni
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8th
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1977
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Alumni
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9th
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1978
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23-22
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Alumni
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10th
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1979
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33-14 (?)
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Alumni
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11th
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1980
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Varsity
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12th
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1981
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?
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13th
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1982
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Alumni
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14th
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1983
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Varsity
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15th
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1984
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Alumni
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16th
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1985
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Varsity
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17th
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1986
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Alumni
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18th
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1987
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Alumni
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19th
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1988
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Alumni
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20th
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1989
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Varsity
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21st
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1990
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?
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22nd
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1991
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Alumni
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23rd
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1992
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Alumni
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24th
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1993
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Alumni
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25th
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1994
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Alumni
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26th
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1995
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20-20
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tie
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27th
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1996
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21-19
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Alumni
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28th
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1997
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21-5
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Varsity
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29th
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1998
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21-11
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Alumni
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30th
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1999
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21-10
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Alumni
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31st
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2000
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21-15
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Alumni
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32nd
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2001
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21-9
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Varsity
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33rd
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2002
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21-19
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Alumni
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34th
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2003
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21-10
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Alumni
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35th
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2004
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21-15
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Varsity
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36th
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2005
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24-22
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Varsity
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37th
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2006
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21-19
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Alumni
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Pouring rain. Varsity ahead at half 11-7. |
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38th
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2007
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21-11
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Varsity
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Varsity went up 7-0 and took half 11-3. Weather: low 40s and strong gusty winds. Approximately 36 alums gathered to play. A few more in attendance. '72 grad Joe Barbanel's streak lives on. There is a growing buzz for next year. The 39th Annual and the 40th Anniversary. |
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39th
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2008
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21-17
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Varsity
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The CHS family had a competitive evening tonight. The Columbia '09 team took the first half 11-1. The playing time rotation amongst the Alumni was to play chronological order (beginning with the earliest classes first). First rotation saw John Newmark, '70, Joe Barbanel, '72, Ed Summers, '72, Robin Newmark, '74, Dave Paris, '79, Larry Anouna, '87, Alex Perry, '87. Three rotations in resulted in a hole for the Alums 0-9. The fourth rotation consisted mostly of the '08 class that won the UPA's HS Easterns championship last May. They only managed one point as the Currents closed out the half, 11-1. It was agreed-upon prior to the game that we would play with a strict chronological order in the first half and use the "super" teams in the second half. Second half saw younger athletic teams narrow the gap. Leading the charge was Emilio Panasci, '00 (currently plays for New York's PoNY) and Evan Padget, '05 (captain of Colorado Mamabird). Final score, 21-17 to the current team. One amazing second-half highlight that stands out was an Alumni score on an Ed Frowely, '03, catch in the corner of the endzone (nearest to the Rock) and inches from the brook. Ed's defender, senior Jordan Taylor, '09, narrowly missed the D on a horizontal layout only to find his body falling into the brook. More amazingly, Jordan landed and with his momentum jumped over to the other side of the brook. None of the alums can ever recall a similar incident happening. |
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40th
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2009
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15-13
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Varsity
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The Maplewood police paid a visit around 10:30, reporting the neighbors were complaining about noise. They insisted on shutting the game down at 11pm. At 11 o'clock, the Varsity was ahead at 15-13. This is the Varsity's unprecedented third victory in a row ('07, '08, '09). Five wins in the last six years. All-time series record is 24-13-1. (1981 and 1990 results still unknown). In the first 20 years, the Alumni had won 13 times and the Varsity 6. In the second 20 years, the Alumni have won 11 times and the Varsity 7 times and together tied once. |
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41st
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2010
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21-19
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Varsity
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The 70s:
Joe Barbanel, ’72
Ed Summers, ’72.
The 80s:
Alex Perry, ’87.
The 90s:
Jason Bass, ’98
Anthony Nunez, ’98
Paul Lacy, ’98
Ben Haim, ’98.
The 00s:
Emilio Panasci, ’00
Ed Frowley, ’03
Evan Padget, ’05
Will Watts, ’05
Jaryd Emmens, ’05
Stephen Panasci, ’06
Ryan Thompson, ’06
Eric Cooney, ’07
Zander Padget, ’08
Declan O’Connell, 08
Alex Holtz, ’08
Jeremy Golden, ’09
Jordan Taylor, ’09
Michael Brenner, ’09
Mike Sender, ’09
Josh Sender, ’09
Loren Whitaker, ’09
Ben Richardson, ’09
Eli Graves,’10
Tony Zhang, ’10. |
Evan Walter, ’11
Matt Wright, ’11
Caleb Williams, ’11
Sebby Kaiser, ’11
August Kaplan, ’11
Conor Albino, ’11
Brian Phillips, ’11
Marques Brownlee, ’11
Chris Aguerio, ’11
Lucas Snarski, ’11
Connor Thompson, ’11
Saul Graves, ’13 |
2010 was another classic. The Alumni threw their best punches and didn't hold back. The traditional chronological rotations were set aside in favor of a more competitive strategy, younger generations going first with the old guard mixed in on later lines, along with a consistent O line. Current team struck first and managed a two-point lead as early 3-1 but the Alumni’s youth-first strategy eventually paid dividends allowing the old school a 7-4 lead.
The current team played unafraid, however, breaking the Alumni’s O line several times to narrow the first-half lead to, 11-10.
Early second half, the Alumni played sloppily with a few careless drops and huck-aways, allowing the Varsity to charge ahead. The not-so-little-anymore kids ran off a 5-2 run forcing the alums to call a time-out. 28 strong joined together in a rare huddle. Coming out of the timeout, alums resolved to force straight up for the first few stall counts and then force backhand, taking away Columbia’s dominant forehands.
Varsity pushed ahead to at least 17-14 and then 20-15. Alumni tightened the rotation and brought it to within one at 20-19. Varsity wins what was probably the most competitive game in our 41 years, 21-19.
Surprisingly, the current team brought only 12 of their 23 person roster, but including 11 of the 13-person 2011 senior class. Evan Walter, ’11, becomes the first active player to win four Thanksgivings in a row for the current team
Johnny Newmark and Joe Staker from the class of '70 were there but didn't play. |
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42nd
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2011
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21-6
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Alumni
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Dorian Capps, '12
Sacha Kaiser, '12
Alex Mark, '12
Will McCauley, '12
David Nelson, '12
Ravi Shah, '12
Alex Bruning, '13
Jon Fearon, '13
Saul Graves, '13
David Hopmann, '13
Asher Levine, '13
Ben Sender, '14
Zach Cincotta, '15
Jesse Nelson, '15 |
After an unprecedented four-year win streak for the Varsity (Thanksgivings 2007-2010), successive strong graduating classes ('08, '09 and '11) bolstered the Alumni's ranks, leaving a younger 2012 Varsity team on the wrong side of this David v. Goliath battle. The Alums led from start to finish. |
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43rd
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2012
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22-20
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Alumni
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The 70s:
Joe Barbanel, ’72
Ed Summers, ’72.
__________, ??
The 90s:
Dave Greenberg, ‘92
Anthony Nunez, ’98
Paul Lacy, ’98
Ben Haim, ’98
Matt Kushner, ‘99
The 00s:
Emilio Panasci, ’00
Ed Frowley, ’03
Eddie Cooney, ‘05
Evan Padget, ’05
Mike Rubin, ‘05
Stephen Panasci, ’06
Ryan Thompson, ’06
Eric Cooney, ’07
Declan O’Connell, 08
Ben Richardson, ’09
Jeremy Golden, ’09
Josh Sender, ’09
Michael Brenner, ’09
Mike Sender, ’09
Tim Morrissy, ‘09
The 10s:
Eli Graves,’10
Caleb Williams, ’11
Conor Albino, ’11
Connor Thompson, ’11
Marques Brownlee, ’11
Evan Walter, ’11
Matt Wright, ’11
David Nelson, ‘12
Sacha Kaiser, ‘12
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Alex Bruning, ‘13
Antonio Vayas, ‘13
Asher Levine, ‘13
Jake McNamara, ‘13
Jon Fearon, ‘13
Marc Lataillade, ‘13
Saul Graves, ‘13
Zach Arguelles, ‘13
Zeke Sandor, ‘13
Lukas Wunderlich, ‘14
Jesse Nelson, ‘15
Zach Cincotta, ‘15
Alex Rafkin, ‘16
Gabe Fearon, ‘16
Russell Moy, ‘16 |
Thanksgiving 2012 in Maplewood, NJ brought mid-40 temperatures and zero wind. 32 alumni returned to the Lot’s hallowed ground to battle with the 2013 Varsity team. Many more spectating. 15 of the Varsity’s 19 players were present, including nine of 12 seniors.
Varsity was competitive. Ran off to a 5-1 start, then 11-6. Enter Alumni power lines, taking the lead 15-12. Varsity went 3-0 against a young Alumni rotation to tie the game at 15s. At 19-17 in the Alumnis' favor, the Varsity went on a final run to tie it at 20s and force overtime. Ironically, it was against one of the Alums' older lines (Joe Barbanel, Ben Haim and Paul Lacy) that the Alumni were able to score two out of three to get the Alumni victory. 22-20.
The Alumni’s back-to-back wins are the first since Thanksgivings 2002 and 2003.
Recap thanks to:
Ben Haim
Coach, CHS Boys Varsity Frisbee 2013 |
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44th
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2013
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21-10
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Alumni
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The 70s:
Harvey Klein, '71
Joe Barbanel, ‘72
Ed Summers, ‘72
David Leiwant, ‘73 (did not play)
The 80s:
Alex Perry, ‘87
The 90s:
Anthony Nunez, ‘98
Ben Haim, ‘98
The 00s:
Mike Rubin, ‘05
Stephen Panasci, ’06
Eric Cooney, ’07
Josh Cincotta, ‘08
Zander Padget, ‘08
Jonah Sprung, ‘08
Brian Walter, ‘08
Ben Richardson, ’09
Josh Sender, ’09
Mike Sender, ’09
Ryan Thompson, ’06 (did not play)
Sam Cohen-Wade, '08 (did not play)
Jeremy Golden, ’09 (did not play)
The 10s:
Marques Brownlee, ’11
Evan Walter, ’11
Caleb Williams, ’11
Matt Wright, ’11
David Nelson, ‘12
Zach Arguelles, ‘13
Alex Bruning, ‘13
Marc Lataillade, ‘13
Asher Levine, ‘13
Jake McNamara, ‘13
Zeke Sandor, ‘13
Conor Albino, ’11 (did not play)
Sacha Kaiser, ‘12 (did not play)
Alex Mark, ‘12 (did not play)
Will McCauley, ‘12 (did not play)
Antonio Vayas, ‘13 (did not play)
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Zack Cincotta, ‘15
Gustav Naftz, ‘15
Jesse Nelson, ‘15
Griffin Arguelles, ‘16
Gabe Fearon, ‘16
Adam Fine, ‘16
Russell Moy, ‘16
Jake Sandor, ‘16
Donovan Hugel, ‘17
Jack Kelly, ‘17
Harry McNamara, ‘17
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Perfect conditions save for patches of ice still left on the asphalt. 11 of the Varsity’s 15 active players were in attendance. All of the team’s three seniors and one sophomore were away for the holiday.
Columbia Alumni featured only approximately 26 active alumni including six 2013 graduates making their alumni debut. The alums also featured five older siblings (Arguelles, Cincotta, McNamara, Nelson and Sandor). Many of their parents were watching from this family feud from the sidelines. A couple alumni were injured and didn't played. The younger generations of alumni learned their Ultimate on grass; therefore, parking lot Ultimate was not part of their day-to-day diet and those chose not to play. Back 'in the day' (at least until the early '00s), pickup at the Lot was a regular activity on Friday nights (and Wednesday nights through the mid-90s).
With 26 alums playing, old school rotated three and a half squads deep, three points at a time. With only six to eight points on the sidelines between their rotations, alums were able to stay warm enough and contribute effectively on their return. On the Varsity, the currents went only 11 deep forcing players to play four to five points in a row.
First alumni rotation was a strong blend of age and youth. Ed Summers, Anthony Nunez, Ben Haim, Michael Rubin, Stephen Panasci, Brian Walter and Josh Cincotta. Alums were up 2-0 before surrendering a point. Next two rotations were younger, nearly all active college players. Alums scored unanswered to 5-1. The actives began to settle down and trade to 8-4.
11-5 at half.
Second half, the alumni kept pace, able to score at least two out of every three. During that stretch, the currents were able to dominate at least one rotation (3-0).
21-10, Alumni
Notes:
• Third Alumni win in a row. 3 of 4 in the last seven years.
• One remarkable play was a Callahan goal caught by the active current team and spiked in the Parker Avenue endzone. Ruled as a turnover as Callahan goals are not permitted under Alumni Game rules. (Other rules include pulls caught in the endzone may be walked up to the goal line. Further, no out-of-bounds with both the river and train trestle as playable areas.)
• ‘87 grad Alex Perry commuted from Connecticut to make the game. Threw the game-winning assist. Perry was the only alum from the entire 1980s to appear. The 80s were absent last year in 2012.
• CHS ‘72 legends Joe Barbanel and Ed Summers continued their appearances streak. Summers just recovered from knee surgery. Barbanel threw one goal and caught another.
Recap thanks to:
Ben Haim
Coach, CHS Boys Varsity Frisbee 2013 |
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Year
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Score
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Winner
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Alumni
Roster
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Varsity
Roster
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Notable Info
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