Eight years ago, the idea of Weehawken winning championships in football would have been nothing more than a dream or simply laughable. The varsity football team at the high school was a downright disgrace and there was no youth football at all offered in the township. In terms of football, things were really bad. However, that's all a part of the distant past. The Weehawken varsity had their best season ever in 1999, winning seven games. And a good reason for that team's success stemmed from the fact that the Weehawken Recreation Department has a strong and flourishing football program. Three of the All-Bergen County Scholastic League performers from the Indians' impressive 7-3 team in the fall, namely Chris Hernandez, Nadyr Albri and Robinson Espinal, are products of the Weehawken youth football program. "It means a lot to have those kids do so well, knowing that they came from our program," said Chris Verdon, the coordinator of football for Weehawken Recreation and the person most instrumental in bringing back the sport to the youngsters of the township. "Those kids remember where they came from and come back to support the league. It's important because the little kids really look up to the high school players. There's a close knit bond between the little kids and the high school kids." Because the youngsters today are Weehawken's stars of tomorrow. And recently, those youngsters received their awards for another fine season, at the annual awards banquet held at the Weehawken Elks. Nearly 150 youngsters who participate in the football and cheerleading programs received awards. Several others received trophies for individual and team honors. "The kids really look forward to the dinner and receiving the trophies," Verdon said. "Giving them trophies help the kids who are able to stick with it. It's a reward for their effort and their hard work." Weehawken Recreation has participated in the Bi-County Junior Scholastic Football League for the last four years, along with teams from Palisades Park, Ridgefield, Fort Lee, Englewood, Secaucus, West New York and Cliffside Park. In three of the four years, one of Weehawken's three teams (pee-wee, junior and senior) has won a divisional championship and qualified for the league's playoffs. In 1999, Weehawken won the Pee-Wee Divisional title (6-4) and the Seniors tied for its league crown (8-2), but lost in a playoff against Fort Lee. "We first set out to simply teach the kids fundamentals before they went off to high school football," said Verdon, who also serves as the head coach of the Senior (seventh and eighth graders) team. "But we've been competitive on every level and that's a good sign for the future." The township's Most Valuable Player this year is rising star Tito Veras, the younger brother of high school standouts Khendry and Wilson. As a junior player, Veras scored an amazing 33 touchdowns. Last fall, Veras scored 12 touchdowns, leading his team to eight victories. "He was the team's leading rusher and tackler," Verdon said of Veras. "We had a very balanced attack, so he didn't score as many touchdowns, but he has a very bright future in all three sports. Everything he does, he succeeds." Angel Hernandez was named as the Most Valuable Player in the Pee-Wee Division, while Alain Rivera earned the honors among the Junior Division. Not resting on their laurels, Verdon and his group of dedicated volunteer coaches are hard at work already, preparing for the 2000 season in the fall. "With the success we have had, it's bringing out more and more kids to play," Verdon said. "We've been competitive on all three levels and that's a sign of good things to come." And that's definitely good news for football fans in Weehawken. 1999 Weehawken Recreation Football Awards Pee-Wee Outstanding Offensive Back: Angel Hernandez Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Jhan Mesa Outstanding Defensive Back: Andrew Phillips Outstanding Defensive Lineman: Donald Purcell Most Valuable Player: Angel Hernandez Junior Outstanding Offensive Back: Ryan Ramirez Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Milton Taveras Outstanding Defensive Back: Willy Phillips Outstanding Defensive Lineman: John Reilly Most Valuable Player: Alain Rivera Senior Outstanding Offensive Back: Jason Bocio Outstanding Offensive Lineman: David LoRocco Outstanding Defensive Back: Danny Lopez Outstanding Defensive Lineman: Ryan McLaughlin Most Valuable Player: Tito Veras