Notre Dame's 1998 football team made history amid loss of Elmira legend Joel Stephens

Twenty-five years later, the story written by the 1998 Elmira Notre Dame football team seems hard to imagine.

A group touched and inspired by unthinkable tragedy, led by a generational quarterback who nearly died the year before, came within an eyelash of becoming the first official state football champion in Chemung County history.

Two central figures from that season are gone.

Joel Stephens, one of the most celebrated football players in Section 4 history, died Sept. 30 that year of colon cancer at age 22.

Mike D'Aloisio, his coach and close friend, eloquently shared Stephens' message of faith in God and hope until his death in May of 2022 at age 71 because of complications of ALS.

For the players on that team, the impact of that season remains.

"It was surreal," two-way standout Cory Kilpatrick, now a doctor, said in 2020. "There were multiple things going on. I still think about that season. Obviously it was a major thing with Joel Stephens, who was quite close with Coach D. Then just the rollercoaster ride of multiple trips to the Carrier Dome. It still remains a personal source of pride."

The Crusaders were playing for more than themselves during their 12-1 season, recalled Chris Bennett, 43, who lined up at center and linebacker for the '98 Crusaders.

"We kind of dedicated our season to not only Joel, but to Coach D because you could see the pain he was going through with Joel being one of his best friends," Bennett said. "Joel was there with us. He was present. ... We were definitely trying to lift the spirits of our community for sure."

A tremendous loss

Notre Dame's previous season ended with a 48-7 setback against Walton in the Section 4 Class C championship game at Maine-Endwell High School.

D'Aloisio was despondent afterward, though not because of the loss. D'Aloisio privately shared after the game Stephens had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer. Stephens' battle became public knowledge weeks later.

Stephens was from nearby Tioga, Pennsylvania, but his athletic prowess and humble nature made him one of Elmira's favorite sons. He finished with 4,715 rushing yards, which ranked fifth in New York state history at the time he played, and excelled in wrestling, basketball and baseball. The Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the ninth round in 1995 and Stephens chose a pro baseball path after signing to play baseball at Clemson University.

Prior to his diagnosis, Stephens intended to make the switch from Orioles minor-leaguer to playing college football at Syracuse.

A month after the loss to Walton, Notre Dame star quarterback Mike Meck was shot in the left arm while hunting. He recovered in time to play basketball more than a month later, thankful the bullet didn't strike a few inches to the right.

Shortly before Meck's first game back, Bennett and the rest of the Notre Dame football team participated in a benefit dinner and auction at Williamson High School in Tioga to raise money to help with Stephens' medical expenses. That event has stuck with Bennett to this day.

Among those in attendance were then-Orioles pitching star Mike Mussina, Orioles manager Ray Miller and Orioles general manager Pat Gillick, who played minor-league baseball in Elmira. Sports stars from across the country donated items to be auctioned off and more than $30,000 was raised.

'We're playing for him'

D'Aloisio would purposefully sandbag his teams to light a fire, writing down 0-9 when he joined players in predicting their record for the upcoming season. In 1998, he went the other way.

"They get to mine, 9-0," D'Aloisio said in 2020 as he reflected on his coaching career. "They look at me and go, '9-0?' I said, '(Meck) handled a gunshot, he's tough as nails. I played with his father and Joel's sick and we're going to win. This is the first year I'm voting how I really feel."

END opened the season with a 24-0 win over Sauquoit Valley at the Carrier Dome, the first of four games for the Crusaders that year at what is now called the JMA Wireless Dome. In 2009 that field was dedicated as Ernie Davis Legends Field, a tribute to the Elmira icon who died of leukemia at age 23 in 1963, a year and a half after he won the Heisman Trophy for Syracuse.

The Crusaders followed with two more wins – 27-7 over Whitney Point and 34-0 over Groton – before a fourth consecutive road trip against unbeaten Tioga Central. Stephens made a surprise appearance as a spectator, slipping away from his wheelchair to offer words of encouragement at halftime of a 0-0 game.

Said Meck after the win: "I told the team at halftime that Joel's here and on our arms and this is what we're playing for, we're playing for him."

Notre Dame went on to a 14-0 victory and presented the game ball to Stephens. Dave Noonan, a standout running back, recalled the sky lighting up orange after the game.

"Having Joel at the game was very moving for everybody on that team," said Noonan, a sergeant with the Elmira Heights Police Department, where he has been an officer for 20 years. "Tioga was a very tough, close-knit team too and we ended up winning that game 14-0, but it was a blood, sweat and tears kind of game."

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Stephens died four days later on Sept. 30, 1998 and the team gathered in prayer at practice that afternoon. For the rest of the season, the Crusaders wore orange arm bands with Stephens' No. 24 on them.

"That right there was a pivotal point in (the players') understanding the depth of Joel's love for them and for coach and for Notre Dame," Joyce Stephens, Joel's mom, said later that season of his appearance at the Tioga game. "I think that was a real catalyst for them right there. I think they realized how much it meant to him that he share his concern for them and for them winning and putting in a good season."

Makeup of a champion

A week after the Tioga victory, the Crusaders scored the first 34 points in a 34-22 victory over Newark Valley. D'Aloisio left after the first quarter to attend Stephens' funeral in Mansfield.

With the leadership of Meck and a veteran coaching staff that included Dick Craft, Jeff Sobkowski and John Mirando, D'Aloisio was confident he was leaving the team in good hands.

Meck, who is now Noonan's brother-in-law, was a first-team all-state pick that season after rushing for 1,101 yards and 16 touchdowns on 194 carries and completing 92 of 162 passes for 1,515 yards and 22 touchdowns. Meck at times took on a role normally reserved for coaches, holding players accountable when they messed up in practice.

"I've never played with a tougher, better player than him," Bennett said. "That's even when I went away to college. I was like, Mike would have been our starter here."

The defense was anchored by outside linebacker Jake Fiamingo and Kilpatrick, who went on to win the Ernie Davis Award as Chemung County's top player in 1999 and 2000. Fiamingo dominated in the state final and Kilpatrick had three sacks in the state quarterfinal.

In the preceding summer, players spent a lot of time together preparing for the season, though back then official workouts were not allowed by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, which meant D'Aloisio could not direct the get-togethers.

The Crusaders boasted a physical and big offensive line to go with Meck and other talented skill players.

"There were a lot of pieces to that team. You put them all together and you're like, 'Man, that's a good football team,'" Bennett said.

There was also camaraderie that was only strengthened by Stephens' battle and its impact on their coach, who kept the players focused while dealing with the impact of a life cut so short.

"There were times he got emotional at practices, before games, after games, but he kept us moving strong and kept us going forward," Noonan said. "He never let us down."

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Coach D's impact

D'Aloisio had a keen offensive mind and would literally design plays in the dirt on the fly. Bennett thought D'Aloisio, a top-notch public speaker, would have made a great college coach and recruiter while acknowledging his former coach was right where he wanted to be because of his love of Notre Dame.

D'Aloisio wrote two books largely focused on his relationship with Stephens. The most recent, co-written with Anthony J. Pucci and finished by Pucci after D'Aloisio's death, is entitled "Twin Tiers Legends: Remembering Joel Stephens and Coach D," and is available through Amazon.com. D'Aloisio also collaborated with Pucci for the 2009 book.

D'Aloisio's commitment to Stephens and Joel's family was typical of his affection for the players and the school. During the final years of his coaching career, he was often in significant pain with multiple ailments but would rattle off the names of players he didn't want to let down by retiring.

Bennett, now varsity baseball coach at Thomas A. Edison in addition to owning Hamilton Meats in Pine City, recalled D'Aloisio providing words of encouragement when Bennett became baseball coach at Notre Dame. That type of guidance was a constant from D'Aloisio to those who played for him and many who didn't.

"On the field and off the field he was a great guy and somebody to look up to," Noonan said. "Very knowledgeable of the game and life. He had a big impact on everybody on the team."

Road to the state final

The Crusaders avenged the 1997 loss to Walton with a 21-20 victory in the Section 4 final at Cornell University, with Noonan joining Luke Whitteker and Dave Zeller in scoring touchdowns.

"It means a lot to the coaching staff, it means a lot to the players and it's another step in the road where Joel is helping us and we're helping ourselves," Zeller said afterward.

Up next was a 41-3 shellacking of Section 3 champion Lowville at the Carrier Dome in a state quarterfinal. Bennett said that game provided an indication of how good the Crusaders could be.

In a return engagement to the Dome the next week, the Crusaders escaped with a 16-15 win over Section 5 champ LeRoy, buoyed by a gadget play that led to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Sean Hanrahan to Fiamingo with 1:07 remaining. Meck delivered a backward pass to Hanrahan, who threw to Fiamingo. Anthony McDonald's PAT provided the winning point.

The rallying cry after that game was "One more for 24."

One point short

The Crusaders and Edgemont played to a 21-21 tie through regulation before Notre Dame went up six on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Meck to Zeller in the first overtime period. But Edgemont broke through to block the PAT of McDonald, New York's career record-holder in extra points at the time.

Edgemont quarterback Drew Nadler scored on a 10-yard TD run to cap the Panthers' overtime possession and they added their PAT for the winning point.

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Notre Dame's season remains the closest an Elmira team has come to a state title in football since the advent of the state tournament in 1993.

Bennett and Noonan both take great pride in what that team accomplished.

"The '98 team was truly a special team because Joel was with us those first four games before he passed away," D'Aloisio said in 2020. "We ended up losing the state final in overtime by one point, but like I told the kids after, if we won that it would have been a Disney ending. We learned with Joel that life isn't always a Hollywood ending."

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Notre Dame's 1998 football team shared bond with legend Joel Stephens