THE big game

Foglein Bowl IV kicks off Friday when Pennsville visits Paulsboro in soccer match pitting brother against brother

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Forget the Super Bowl or Wrestlemania or whatever event with a long series of Roman numerals after its name. There is only one Big Game that matters at this Maple Street homestead.

It’s the Foglein Bowl, the yearly soccer matchup now in its fourth year that pits coaching brother against coaching brother for family bragging rights on the pitch.

Foglein Bowl IV is Friday at Paulsboro when older brother (by four years) Doug hosts little brother Derek and his Pennsville side at 4 p.m. Derek leads the series 2-1 and isn’t keen to give up his lead.

“It’s always super exciting,” Derek said. “Growing up as brothers, we were always competitive in just about everything we did. I know it’s really exciting for both programs. I think both programs really enjoy the camaraderie and the matchup and really buy into it. I know his guys are always excited and looking up to this game. I know my guys are really looking forward to it, too.

“It’s a lot of fun when you get these out of division, even out of conference games, that mean a lot more because of the matchup. It’s just been a lot of fun and really helps the kids get motivated for a game that on paper might not look like it doesn’t matter, but it really matters to these kids and it really matters to us.”

Both teams are looking for something to get them going. Paulsboro entered the week 0-7, stuck in a 26-match losing streak and hasn’t won since its next to last game in 2021. Pennsville went into a week that had three winnable games 1-6.

It was pretty much a no-brainer to put the game on the schedule when both brothers got to be head coach. The first time they played it in 2019, it was a really big deal. Doug back then was coaching at Clayton, where both boys went to school. They played it at night. On the football field. On Senior Night. And it had all the feel of a Hollywood premier. Even though the teams were on opposite ends of the standings, the game matched the hype.

COVID protocols forced them off the pitch the next year, but the series resumed in 2021 after Doug moved to Paulsboro. And now they see the series continuing, as Doug says, “as long as we’re coaching together and it’s a game that’s good for both of us.”

Ditching their hoodies and athletics attire, the brothers show up on the sidelines in suits and ties like they were Diego Simeone or Pep Guardiola, two of the most fashion-chic managers in the game. It’s still the only time they wear a suit for a game.

The whole family gets involved. The first year of the game mom made “Clay-Ville” T-shirts for everybody, a mash up of the Clayton and Pennsville names with logos of each team. There’s a picture of the battling brothers striking a boxing pose and used it as their Christmas card. Sister Dawn even gets in the act while remaining neutral with shirts that say, “My favorite brother is your coach.”

“We love playing this up in our family and making it a big deal, for sure,” Derek said.

“It gets to show all the players on both teams how soccer can really kind of transcend whatever is going on,” Doug said. “It’s really great. You see two brothers who love each other to death, except for those 80 minutes in the middle.”

There is no familial bet – at least not one the brothers are keen to admit publicly – but you know it means something to both of them.

Doug won that inaugural game, but Derek has had the best of it in the last two. There was something not quite right after his first win in the series, something not even last year’s 7-1 rout could fix, something he hopes to set straight in this year’s game.

“We won that game 3-1 on two very soft penalty kick calls that went our way, so even though (the series) is 2-1, it’s 2-1 with an asterisk,” Derek said. “I’m really looking forward this year to firmly hopefully taking that winning record and not having to worry about the contingencies any more.

“We did not deserve to win that game two years ago. I’ll even say we should have played better and we kind of got the luck of the draw that day, so we really want to prove that it wasn’t a fluke two years ago and we’re really moving the program forward.”

That’s about the closest you’re going to get to bulletin board material from these two. Whenever they do have conversation about the game at the family picnic in Clayton, it’s usually about trying to pry secrets out of each other to gain an edge.

If the game ends it a tie, the result their mom always bets on, that’s how it will go in the NJSIAA record. But don’t be surprised if, with a wink and a nod, they put together some sort of PK shootout after the referees disappear in their cars to bring the match to an outcome. That’s how much it means.

“Our teams have almost come to fisticuffs once or twice,” Doug said. “The teams buy in. They know at the beginning of the season – I tell my boys the same thing and he tells his boys the same thing – this is the one game we want. If we go 1-17 this is the one I want.”

The Foglein Bowl
(Derek 2, Doug 1)

YEAR	PLACE	WINNER	SCORE
2019	Clayton	Clayton (Doug)	5-2
2021	Paulsboro	Pennsville (Derek)	3-1
2022	Pennsville	Pennsville (Derek)	7-1
2023	Paulsboro	Friday, 4 p.m.