Chiefs Rely on Routine To Prepare For State Championship

The Caldwell Chiefs will carry the momentum of a 10-win season into the NJSIAA state championship football game this weekend.

“We treat all of our opponents the same,” said Trimmer. “Of course, when you get into the state finals, it’s a lot more exciting … and [we] need to be under control.”

On Wednesday after the final school bell, the Chiefs donned their gear like they have nearly every day since August and headed onto the practice field. The weather was unusually warm for December and the afternoon closer to dusk in the shortened fall days. 

Captains Joe Salter and Joe Galioto were among those leading the team in warm-up exercises and shouted countdowns for each stretch. The team then began its daily routine of drills. 

Salter, wearing his usual red quarterback practice jersey on Wednesday, is a senior and this is his first year as starting quarterback. Echoing his head coach, he said this week was about following the formula that led to the team's 10-win season.

“I’m doing the same thing I do every week.” 

Salter added this week's game was the culmination of more than a single season’s work. He recalled watching the Chiefs played in the state finals when he was a freshman on the junior varsity. Now, as a senior on the varsity squad, it was his turn to lead the team to a state championship.  

“It’s been our dream since the third grade and we’ve been working at it since the summer,” said Salter.

Trimmer, who has been part of the team for 50 years and led the team as head coach for 20, said the team's successful season was “a complete tribute to the type of kids that we have, how hard they work in practice everyday and the coaching staff.”

The Chiefs’ only loss this season was to rival West Essex 24-14 at home in October. Trimmer said after that game, it was the team that encouraged him that they would go on a winning streak for the remainder of the season. 

“They all looked me in the eye when we got back to the field house” after the loss to West Essex, said Trimmer, “and they said, ‘Coach, we’re going to go on a run. We’ll be ok.’

“Those kids reassured me.”

It was after that game against West Essex that the coaches began grading each practice. Coaches give the entire Chiefs squad a grade for their effort and work after each practice. Done rarely at any other high school, Trimmer said the grading system helps motivate the team. 

The grades, he added, have been consistently high throughout the year.

On Tuesday, the team’s grade averaged out to a 90.5. “Now that’s sensational," said Trimmer. "That’s the type of kids we have here playing football. And [the students] are proud of it.”

Varsity players also receive an individual grade for each game they play in. Those grades will be scrutinized to help the varsity pinpoint where they can improve for this weekend. 

“We leave nothing to a guess,” said Trimmer. 

Trimmer remained tightlipped about his strategy for Saturday’s game against Mountain Lakes. He did say that the Chiefs have to “control the line of scrimmage” and “stop the run” because Mountain Lakes is a strong running team.