St. Benedict’s Prep eliminates Delbarton in playoff renewal of longstanding football rivalry

NEWARK – After St. Benedict’s Prep defeated Delbarton 4-0 in the NJSIAA Non-Public A North final on Friday night, athletic director Frank DiPiano rallied the players around him. Holding the bright blue sectional trophy, DiPiano told them his father, former Gray Bees AD Mike DiPiano, had handed out the last one 33 years ago, “and it is my honor to give this to you, the first of many.”

Although St. Benedict’s Prep left the NJSIAA in 1991, their athletic rivalry with the Green Wave has continued. Delbarton has won just two of its last nine games, including Friday’s sectional final.

The undefeated Gray Bees (19-0) will face South champion Pingry for the Non-Public A title next week at Franklin High School.

Ranked #1 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches AssociationSt. Benedict’s Prep has shutouts in nine of its last 10 games. In the sectional final, senior goalkeeper Victor Laracca made five saves in the second half, and senior Shuver Chamba added one. Junior Raymond Diouf led the charge with two goals and an assist.

The Gray Bees’ last loss in the state was to Pennington in the Prep A final on November 1, 2023. They have not lost to a New Jersey public school since November 22, 2016 in Delran.

“The competition in Non-Public A North is fierce,” says former Delbarton coach David Donovan, whose team is ranked No. 10 in the same national poll. “It was intense beforehand, and now it’s even better. … The kids wanted to play St. Benedict’s Prep. They played them right away. They were beautiful to watch and wonderful to coach.”

History of the Benedictine Brotherhood

St. Benedict’s Prep and Delbarton have done just that a shared history dating back to the founding of the Morris County school. In December 1925, St. Mary’s Abbey in downtown Newark purchased 400 acres of what had been Martin Luther Kountze’s estate. The first Benedictine professors and theological students from Newark moved to Morris Township in the fall of 1927, settling in what is now known as Old Main.

Many years later, the two schools have built an important tradition on the football field.

Delbarton and St. Benedict’s Prep played each other regularly until about 2010, a streak that resumed in 2021. The Green Wave recorded two particularly memorable victories: 1-0 on current assistant coach Mike DelGuercio’s goal in 2003 and 3-0 in 2007.

The Gray Bees were not NJSIAA members at the time. They returned to the association in the winter of 2023-2024.

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DiPiano, himself a St. Benedict’s Prep alumnus, pushed for the transition to help the school more easily create a schedule. St. Benedict’s Prep then added female students – and student-athletes Benedictine Academy in Elizabeth closed in June 2020.

“We’re known for football and basketball. Nobody knows our mediocre baseball team,” DiPiano said. “We now have a girls volleyball team. It will benefit those girls and the development of the program to be part of the association and the Super Essex Conference again. We are not just an athletic juggernaut like people make us out to be.”

Because the NJSIAA only requires 60% of opponents to be in state by the cutoff date, the Gray Bees boys soccer team still traveled to play nationally ranked opponents such as St. Ignatius of Cleveland, Ohio and Chaminade on Long Island. Both schools participated in the Delbarton Invitational.

Although the Green Wave (20-1-1) played Chaminade to a scoreless tie, this was their first loss. Although Delbarton has claimed the last three Morris County Tournament crownsit hasn’t won a sectional title since 2018.

“I grew up here watching stuff like that,” said DiPiano, who returned to St. Benedict’s Prep from his hometown of Nutley eight years ago. “It’s important to us that kids get the chance to play for the title.”

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Football: Delbarton St. Benedict’s Prep Non-Public A North Finals