Westfield Became Statewide Lacrosse Powerhouse During 1985 Season

After humble beginnings in 1977, the Westfield High School Boys Lacrosse team started to improve as time went on. As the 1980s began, the team started to post winning seasons and as the middle part of the decade approached Westfield became known as a lacrosse community. The 1985 season would prove to be one of the key turning points in the program's history.

The 1985 season ended with a heartbreaking loss in the state finals to Bridgewater East, but it was during this season that Westfield established themselves as a dominant force in New Jersey lacrosse. The year was highlighted by record shattering performances by some of the all-time great players ever to play at WHS.

The 1985 squad had four All-State players and one All-American. Rob Schmalz was awarded first team All-State and All-American honors in 1985. He compiled 99 total points, which is still a record at WHS. He scored 53 goals and netted 46 assists. His 53 goals was also a school record until Ryan Yarusi recently broke it in 2006 and 2007 by scoring over 60 goals in each season. Chris Capano was awarded 2nd team All-State along with midfielder Dave Hone. Capano added a team leading 135 groundballs which was also a single season record until Chris Mattes compiled over 150 groundballs in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Third team All-Statesman Rob Sidebottom was also a key contributor to the team’s success. In addition to the All-State and All-American players, goalie Steve Ciarrocca also had a magnificent season as he posted a .750 save percentage which is highest for any goalie to ever play at Westfield.

Throughout the 1985 season, Westfield compiled key wins against the state powerhouses of Montclair, Kinelon, Columbia, and Summit. These key wins and a deep state playoff run all the way to the finals allowed the lacrosse to rise all the way to the 5th ranked team in all of New Jersey by the end of the season.

This was the first time in the team’s history that they were ranked in both the top 10 and top 5 in the state. Coach Shaun Cherewich and assistant coach Tony Bristol had finally created a powerhouse program and the success of Westfield lacrosse would only mount following the 1985 season.

Editor's Note: This is the second part of a multi-part series on the history of the Westfield High School Boys Lacrosse Team. The series came out of a paper written for the AP History class at Westfield High School by Westfield Patch Intern Will Gretsky and WHS student Drew Margolis, during the 2008-2009 academic year. Drew Margolis and Will Gretsky have both granted permission for the reprinting of the paper which was first proposed to Westfield Patch by faculty at Westfield High School. Minor edits have occurred from the original text. The paper was written by utilizing primary sources and articles on file in the Westfield High School archives. The future parts will examine some of the best seasons Westfield Lacrosse has seen in history.