Bergen Catholic High School


Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1989.
Bergen Catholic operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Bergen Catholic draws students from a wide geographic area that includes over 100 North Jersey communities, Rockland, Orange, Westchester counties and New York City.
As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 745 students and 43.0 classroom teachers, for a Student–teacher ratio of 17.2:1.

Academics

All students are required to graduate with at least 140 credits.
Required courses for graduation are three years of a world language, of social studies/history, and of science. Also required are four years of mathematics, English, religion, computer science, and physical education. General elective courses include visual art, jazz ensemble, orchestra, vocal ensemble, and music editing and recording.
Senior year electives include college credit courses from Seton Hall University, allowing students to earn credits that are transferable to many colleges and universities and allowing the student advance standing in courses that have included English, Spanish, Italian, Biology, Chemistry, and History.
Bergen Catholic offers more than 35 honors and Advanced Placement courses. Students who are qualified may apply for and be accepted into the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Italian Honor Society, Chinese Honor Society, Latin Honor Society, Mathematics National Honor Society, History Honor Society, Visual Arts Honor Society, and Tri-M Music Honor Society.

Technology

As part of Bergen Catholic High School's laptop program which began with the class of 2007, students buy a ThinkPad through the school as their own laptop for completing work that requires internet access and for taking notes. Uses of the computer include PowerSchool and Edline help everyone in the school community stay up to date on news, announcements and grades. The school custom-installs software on each student's computer, such as the screen monitoring program DyKnow and various test programs. In the fall of 2013, the campus increased its bandwidth from 50 megabits per second to one Gig or 1000 megabits per second to accommodate the use of more devices. In 2013-2015, in addition to the network upgrades, 5 new classrooms have been fit with 75'' HDTVs that have AppleTV capabilities.
The school shifted to Apple products for the 2014-2015 school year, providing a MacBook Air and iPad to all students. The two serve the school's physical text-book free program as students can access e-texts on-line and create content on a separate device simultaneously. The tools allow for a wide variety of student-engagement utilizing technology. Sites, software and apps such as BlackBoard Learn, BlackBoard Collaborate, Google Apps, Naviance, Examsoft and Turnitin are used as part of the learning experience at Bergen Catholic.

Activities

Mock Trial Team

Bergen Catholic has one of the most successful mock trial teams in New Jersey, with 12 county championships and five state titles, as well as a National Championship. Bergen Catholic's team is nearly entirely student-run, with student captains in charge of preparation, practices, and tactics. In 1991, Bergen Catholic High School won the National High School Mock Trial Championships held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bergen Catholic returned to the national championship hosted in Columbia, South Carolina in 2000 after going undefeated in the County, Regional and State tournaments. The 1999-2000 team ultimately finished 4th in the country, with three "Outstanding Attorney" awards. The 2016 team won the New Jersey state championship, sending it to the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Boise, Idaho.
In the 2008-09 season the team made it to the county finals, losing to Indian Hills High School. In 2010, the team defeated Mahwah High School to win the Bergen County Championship, but the team lost in the regional semi-finals, ending its season as one of the top ten teams in the state. The Bergen Catholic team fell in the semi-final round of the county tournament at the end of January 2011 to the Mahwah High School team that went on to win the 2011 Bergen County Championship.
In 2012, the team fell to Immaculate Heart Academy in the county quarterfinals. In an identical situation in 2013, Bergen Catholic defeated Immaculate Heart to advance to the county semi finals. After winning against two-time defending champion Mahwah High School, the team lost to Torah Academy of Bergen County in the county finals. Bergen Catholic's Mock Trial team finished undefeated in the regular season in 2014 and finished third overall in the County. In the 2015 season Bergen Catholic again finished undefeated in the regular season. In the "playoff" tournament Bergen Catholic defeated Northern Valley Demarest in the first round. Then on January 29, 2015 in a double header, defeated Mahwah in the semifinals and Indian Hills in the finals.

Athletics

The Bergen Catholic Crusaders compete as a member of the Big North Conference, a super conference that includes some 40 public and private high schools in Northern New Jersey that operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, which was made up of high schools located in Bergen County, Essex County and Passaic County, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification.
Bergen Catholic has a long-standing rivalry with fellow Catholic schools Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey and St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale.
Bergen Catholic offers 17 sports at the varsity level:
Bergen Catholic has one of the most successful programs in New Jersey. The Crusaders are 17-time state champions, while holding an all-time record of 365-130-12. A record of 99-10 between 1990 and 1999 made Bergen Catholic the winningest football program in the state of New Jersey for the decade of the 1990s. The undefeated 1992 team's championship game with Paramus Catholic High School, which Bergen won 44-34, was voted "Game of the Century" by The Record. Quite possibly the most anticipated high school game in New Jersey history was their championship game in 1998, when BC won the Parochial Group IV championship by defeating rival St. Joseph Regional 35-9 in the final at Giants Stadium. The 1998 team finished with a 12-0 record, and was ranked first in New Jersey, 9th in USA Today national poll, and was voted "Team of the Century" by The Record.
Since 1998, the program has been to the state championship game 12 times. In 2004, the team went to Giants Stadium to play archrival Don Bosco Prep and won the state championship with a 13-10 victory, thanks to the play of Brian Cushing. Cushing would later go on to become one of two players to have started in four Rose Bowl football games as well as an All-American at USC and a 1st round draft pick of the Houston Texans who was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2009.
After a 13-year drought, the team finished the season with a 10-2 record and won the 2017 Non-Public Group IV state sectional championship with a 44-7 win against St. Peter's Preparatory School in the title game of the tournament; The team dominated all three rounds, defeating eighth-seeded St. Augustine Preparatory School by a score of 56-21 in the first round and fifth seed Delbarton School 41-16 in the semifinals, before scoring 44 points in the final.

Wrestling

The Crusader wrestling program has been the most successful in Bergen County over the past two decades. Bergen Catholic has won the Bergen County Championship 19 times, most in county history and hold the record for most consecutive titles by winning nine straight from 1999-2007. The Crusaders have won the North Parochial "A" state sectional title 17 times and in 11 of those seasons they have gone on to win the overall Parochial "A" state championship.
One of the most memorable of those state championship wins came in Trenton in 2003 where the Crusaders upset heavily favored Camden Catholic High School 40-30. In addition to state and county titles, BC has won the District crown in 25 consecutive seasons. BC has also seen six of its wrestlers win a total of 12 individual state championships. The 2013-14 team won their first Star-Ledger Trophy as the #1 ranked team in the state of New Jersey and was ranked within the top ten in various national polls.
In 2016, Nick Suriano won his fourth consecutive state championship, finishing his career with a record of 159-0 and becoming the second wrestler in state history to complete his career undefeated while winning four state titles.

Basketball

Bergen Catholic won their first Bergen County Jamboree in 1977, and has a total of nine county championships with the most recent in 2015. Through the history of the Bergen County Jamboree, Bergen Catholic holds the most total games played, total wins, and championship appearances. They also rank second in appearances and championships. Bergen has won nine North Parochial "A" state sectional championships and three Parochial "A" state championships. Their most recent success came in the 2001-02 and 2002-03. The 2001 team captured the school's first state championship in more than 10 years with a 71-69 win over St. Augustine Prep. The team would make it to the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions where they eventually fell to St. Anthony. The 2002-03 team consisted of five Division I players. They finished with a 25-4 record and a #3 ranking in New Jersey. They captured the school's most recent Bergen County Jamboree along with another sectional championship." The Crusaders won the 2015 Bergen County Jamboree by a 66-44 score in the tournament final, defeating a Teaneck High School team that had previously won four consecutive Jamboree championships.

Ice Hockey

Bergen Catholic’s hockey program first hit the ice during the 1967-68 season and ran through the 1971-1972 season. The school has enjoyed a continuous run of interscholastic ice hockey since the 1974-1975 season and immediately achieved success with a league title. The Crusaders would go on to win a Bergen County Championship in just three years time, raising the cup in 1978 and bringing home two more in 1980 and 1981. Since the 1990s, the Crusaders participate in the Gordon Conference, which includes other college preparatory high schools in New Jersey. Area rivals include Don Bosco Prep, Delbarton, Christian Brothers Academy, Seton Hall Prep, St. Peter’s Prep and St. Joseph’s Montvale. The Crusaders captured state championships in 2001 and 2003. In 2001, the Crusaders defeated Christian Brothers Academy in the Parochial pool 3-2 and then went on to defeat Clifton High School for the state title 8-1. In 2003, the Crusaders defeated Seton Hall Prep in the Parochial Pool 2-1 and defeated Randolph for the state championship 6-4.. As a result of this success, the Crusaders were recognized as the North Jersey Team of the Decade.
The had an 18-5-0 record in 2019-20 where the Crusaders were ranked the #3 team in New Jersey. The highlight of the 2019-20 campaign was defeating rival Don Bosco Preparatory High School for the Crusaders’ first Bergen County Tournament Championship. The Crusaders were also the first team to win the Championship other than Don Bosco who had won eight straight titles since the Tournament’s inception.

Golf

The Bergen Catholic golf program has earned 101 championship titles, nine Tournament of Champions titles and 52 league titles. With a record of 984-33-1 through the 2015 season, Coach Jim Jacobsen is the winningest golf coach in state athletics history and has been at the helm since 1983. The most recent being May 2015, where the program captured the State Meet of Champions trophy and the number 1 ranking in the state.

Bowling

The boys bowling team won the overall state championships in 1998 and 1999.

Lacrosse

The school started a varsity lacrosse program in 1995. The varsity program has posted a 218-173 over all record. The team enjoyed its first winning season and NJSIAA playoff berth in 1997. In 1999, the Crusaders won the Catholic Schools Lacrosse Tournament. While a part of the NNJIL, BC won four consecutive league titles from 2002 - 2005. The program had a three-year winning streak in its current conference, the NNJIL "Gibbs" Division, winning in 2013, 2014, 2015. Bergen Catholic has won four varsity county championships, in 2006, 2009, 2014 and 2015. In 2013, the JV Crusaders won its first county championship. In 2015, Bergen Catholic won its first NJSIAA Non Public "A" state championship with a dramatic 15-14 victory over Delbarton School. The Crusaders continued on to defeat Summit High School 8-5 in the semifinal round of the Tournament of Champions before losing to Bridgewater-Raritan High School in the finals, by a score of 16-13. The 2015 Crusaders set a school record and led New Jersey in scoring with 365 goals on the season.

Soccer

The school started their soccer team when the school was first founded in 1965. They have enjoyed two state championships in 1987 and 1999. The Crusaders have won their state section five times.. Bergen Catholic were also named the Bergen County champions three times and the reigning county champions in their win over Ridgewood High School on October 27th.
The soccer program has over 20 College Division one Players and in specifically the 2003 MLS Superdraft first overall player Alecko Eskandarian. He posted 156 career goals for the Crusaders and 66 goals his senior year where the team won their county, state section, and state tournaments.
Although the 1986 and 1999 county championship teams had several division I players on their respective teams, the 2019 came into the tournament differently. With only one player going to college to play soccer, Aiden Monahan, the team managed to take down the number one seed and win the championship. They did this with steady scoring from senior, Allen Villafranca Sophomore, Nick Schwake and Junior, Jake Sweeney. It was the crusaders first title in 20 years and the first title for head coach Peter Berkanish, a graduate of Bergen Catholic.

Notable alumni

Many of the alumni listed have been recognized by induction into the school's Hall of Fame: