State of the Program: Teaneck football working toward a big finish in 2023
Teaneck is coming off its most successful season since 2006 and hopes to cap this year with a division title and Thanksgiving win.
The Highwaymen’s 7-4 record marked their first winning season since going 9-2 in 2006, and they can again challenge for the title in the Super Football Conference Ivy Division.
Coach Harold Clark has helped rejuvenate the program, with last year’s team reaching the Ivy Division final. That’s why he said the goal is, “Ultimately, try to win the championship.”
Winning the Ivy title, then finally beating Thanksgiving rival Hackensack for the first time in more than a decade, would be the ultimate success for a team that returns a solid cast, including two veteran senior quarterbacks in Vance Mixon and Aaryn Lugo.
Teaneck lost in last year’s Ivy Division final to Fort Lee, 28-19, and is a contender in this 14-team division created by the SFC to help programs struggling with participation. The Highwaymen lost last year to Hackensack, 15-7, and have the potential to end a nine-game holiday losing streak against their cross-river rival.
Teaneck’s summer roster features more than 50 players, and Clark is hopeful enough ninth graders will join the program in the coming weeks to field a freshmen team, critical to the program’s future.
“I think more kids will want to show up and participate,” said Clark, a 1982 Hackensack graduate. “Winning heals a lot of things, and a lot of our kids are also doing a lot better in school.”
The tradition
The NJSIAA introduced sectional playoffs in 1974 and Teaneck has reached three sectional finals but never won a crown.
The Highwaymen's last state playoff win came in 2006, 33-20 over Morris Hills in North 1, Group 3. As a member of the Ivy Division, the Highwaymen are not eligible for the NJSIAA playoffs this season.
Clark is in his second stint as Teaneck coach and enters his sixth season with a combined record of 19-31. He first led the program from 2015-2018, going 12-27, and guided the team to its last NJSIAA playoff appearance in 2017.
The challenge
Teaneck is introducing the run-pass option (RPO) to its spread offense, relying on the quarterback to make proper decisions. The Highwaymen averaged 22.6 points per game last season.
Mixon and Lugo will benefit from the return of several other senior starters on offense, as well experienced junior lineman Josiah Ware.
“We hope to be even a little better this year with the RPO,” Clark said, “giving our quarterback a choice to make pre-snap reads, so he can get rid of the ball faster and not worry about [throwing] the big ball.”
Expectations
Teaneck has the talent, experience and participation numbers to challenge for the Ivy Division title and for a Thanksgiving Day win over Hackensack for the first time since 2012.
To achieve that, the team's 4-3 defense must hold the top teams to two touchdowns or fewer.
Teaneck winning the Ivy Division championship, or beating Hackensack – or both – would be a huge lift for a program that is on the rise and likely a year away from being promoted back to a mainstream division in the SFC.
2023 schedule
Sept. 8: at Pascack Hills
Sept. 14: vs. Indian Hills
Sept. 22: at Dover
Sept. 30: vs. Hopatcong
Oct. 5: at Bergen Tech
Oct. 14: at Ferris
Oct. 20: vs. Fair Lawn
Thanksgiving: at Hackensack
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Teaneck NJ football working toward a big finish in 2023
