‘We’re all paying attention’

The Harrison Township Committee honored the Clearview Regional High School girls field hockey team for winning the New Jersey Group III State Championship at its meeting on March 4.

The game took place on Nov. 11 at Bordentown High School, where the Pioneers defeated North Hunterdon Regional High 3-2 in a tight thriller that went into double overtime.

“It’s a testament to how they support each other,” head coach Britney Ewan said of her team during the meeting, where the team posed for photos with committee members. “They work as a unit. We did not have an easy schedule this year, but that was part of the plan, to prep you for those final moments, those final games.

“They really are just so great at supporting each other, on good days, on bad days, and working as a unit.”

Players and coaches at the meeting sported black jackets that noted their accomplishments on the back. On the front of each were player names and the Clearview C, and on the left sleeve, the team member’s jersey number. The players also earned state championship rings; Ewan wore hers to the committee session.

“One thing I can say is that they never gave up,” Ewan noted, “no matter what obstacles were thrown at them. And as coaches we couldn’t be more proud of you,” she added, addressing the players, “because we were not the first seed on our bracket, so we had to work our way – all the way up – to that championship.

“That just shows your character, your will and determination to get to that final goal, and whatever it takes, you guys were willing to do,” she continued. “The extra time at practice, the extra work when you’re not at practice, the mental preparation – it all kind of culminates together.”

The players and coaches each received a certificate from the committee handed out by members Kevin French, Michelle Powell, Jeff Jacques and Deputy Mayor Lawrence Moore. Mayor Louis Manzo also addressed the young women and congratulated them on their accomplishment.

“The achievements of the Clearview girls field hockey team this year are something on an extraordinary level,” he stated. “We look back on the history of Harrison Township and Clearview and to win a state championship is something that is not common …

“Every year, we have teams that are really doing well, and to go the entire route and win the entire thing, like the (Philadelphia) Eagles in 2017, it’s something that we are all so proud of,” the mayor added.

“Even those of us who that don’t have kids in the school anymore, like myself, when you make a run like that, we’re all paying attention.”