The Herd is Back

THE MOUNTAIN LAKES football team returns a strong core of starters that hope to deliver The Herd to the state sectional finals for the fifth straight season. Head coach Darrell Fusco, who is entering his 1Gth season at the helm, is excited about the possibilities for this year’s group.

Usually a senior-laden squad, The Herd had so many new positions to fill in 2024 that several underclassmen earned the chance to step in, especially in the skill positions. All three running backs and a few linemen from last season’s state sectional runner-up team will return, which bodes well for their run-oriented Wing-T offense.

Coach Fusco will lean on the leadership of four senior captains. Anchoring the offensive line, Holden Gillespie is a physical, tough, versatile player who is also a playmaker at the defensive end. Fusco refers to the Bucknell lacrosse commit as an “All-County type of player.”

At fullback, the heart of The Herd’s rushing attack, Carson Fitch, will lead the offense. “He’s a touchdown waiting to happen,” says Fusco of his reliable runner, who also doubles on defense as a linebacker.

Another two-way interior lineman is Roman DeConciliis, a big, physical player who is also the team’s kicker. According to the head coach, “He became a legend last year” when DeConciliis kicked a walk-off field goal to upend Lenape Valley in the first round of the state playoffs.

The final captain is Vinny Cina, a very athletic, versatile player who started last season as wide receiver but moved to quarterback out of necessity and performed well. Fusco says of Cina, the son of a coach, is “the type of kid who does anything you ask.”

A STRONG TEAM

Two other important returnees are senior halfbacks Massimo Corelli and Boston College commit Billy Barrett. Along with Fitch, this gives The Herd a trio of seniors that Fusco calls, “by far the most experienced backfield we’ve had in a long time.”

To reach their goal of another state sectional title, The Herd will have to navigate a challenging schedule. The opener is at Weequahic, a Group 3 school that is much larger than Mountain Lakes, whose enrollment puts The Herd in Group I.

Two other road games are at Pequannock, which has become somewhat of a recent rival, and Lenape Valley, which usually presents a hostile environment. The latter will be a tough venue, as the Patriots are fired up to avenge last season’s walk-off playoff loss to Mountain Lakes.

The Herd will have four Friday night home games, and Wilkins Field should be the site of four fiercely contested matches.

Long-time conference foes Hanover Park and Madison will visit Mountain Lakes, and both schools will bring a history of rivalry with them. Newton also comes to town, and the Braves will be formidable, as they usually play a hard-nosed, physical brand of high school football.

And of course, no season would be complete without the annual rivalry game with Boonton High School. As kids, the current Bombers and Herd players were youth football teammates in the Grayhawks program, so this game always has an extra edge.

If Mountain Lakes can survive this schedule, The Herd can make another run in the state playoffs and maybe even get another shot at Butler, who beat them in last year’s sectional finals.

With so many returning starters and high expectations of the senior leaders, Coach Fusco is hopeful that the season will be successful. He is excited about working with this year’s players and coaches.

“When you have a large group that’s returning, we’re optimistic,” Fusco says. For a coach, this kind of returning experience and leadership is a luxury, and Fusco hopes to parlay it into a faster start to the season. “We feel like we should be better defensively,” he adds, “and we should be able to do things that maybe we don’t ever get to do early on in a season with our offense.”

Mountain Lakes football has a proud history of winning. This championship tradition is born from the culture of The Herd. Team chemistry is vital, and for Fusco, he believes that the leadership

of the returning seniors should be instrumental in the success of the season to come.

“When kids buy in, it makes it easy to coach,” he says.

WHY IS THE MOUNTAIN LAKES FOOTBALL TEAM CALLED “THE HERD?”

The official nickname of all athletic teams at Mountain Lakes High School is the Lakers. So why is the football team called “The Herd?”

When legendary coach Doug Wilkins took over in 1966, his team struggled mightily that first year. In an effort to change the culture and create an identity, Wilkins came up with an acronym to motivate the players, and a new nickname was born.

He called his team “The Herd,” which stood for Hustle, Enthusiasm, Roughness, Dedication, and Desire, traits he believed were essential to success. He chose a buffalo as a mascot, symbolic of the pack mentality where there is strength in numbers and togetherness, and where the older bison take care of the younger animals.

The name—and the culture—stuck, as Wilkins and his Herd went on to win 22 conference titles and five state sectional championships, while Coach Fusco has won the conference five times and the sectional four times.

BY RICH LUTTENBERGER