Dumont football raising the bar after recent postseason trips | State of the Program

Playoff football is the new standard in Dumont.

The Huskies have made back-to-back trips to the state tournament after qualifying one time in the previous decade. Only once in more than 100 years of football has Dumont appeared in the postseason in three straight years.

As coach Mike Farrington points out, their run of postseason play technically dates back to 2021 when his crop of seniors were freshmen. Then a member of the Ivy Division, the Huskies reached the league championship game after finishing first in the standings.

Those experiences have set the bar for the current 40-man roster.

"We set the standards the past two years and we practice a certain way," Farrington said. "I'm lucky to have a great group of assistant coaches who are head coaches currently in other sports now who get that. We don't let kids slack. We don't loaf during practice. Our slogan is work."

This will be Dumont's third straight year in the American Red division, and the third under Farrington. The Huskies went 5-5 last season, fell to unbeaten state champion Westwood in their playoff opener, then rebounded by beating rival Tenafly on Thanksgiving for the ninth straight time.

Back to lead the offense is junior Michael Gil. He threw for more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns after taking over midseason as a starter. The Huskies will surround him with two senior running backs in Joseph Papp – "an old-school bruiser, north-south, like a Mike Alstott type" – and the shiftier Richie Redfern.

Farrington plans to rely heavily on that 1-2 punch and likes their physical style as a former offensive lineman himself.

The tradition

Dumont has churned out six unbeaten seasons after lacing it up for the first time back in 1914.

Since the start of the playoff era, the Huskies have qualified nine times and captured their only sectional title in 1984.

Unlike most schools, Dumont has hung on to the tradition of Thanksgiving football in an age of the expanded playoffs. The matchup between Dumont and Tenafly is one of three holiday games left in North Jersey, along with Eastside-Kennedy and Hackensack-Teaneck.

The challenge

The question for Dumont is how fast some of their newcomers can get up to speed. A youth movement is underway with five returners on each side and a total of nine seniors.

Some coaches would worry about so much turnover, but Farrington is heartened by his team's character.

"There's no fight back," Farrington said. "I don't have to keep kids in line. It's a really good group of kids that I haven't had in a while. I say go this way, they go that way. It doesn't matter. They also stress on player development, which is great. They all want to get better. They stay after and they come early."

Overall, the roster is sophomore and junior-heavy.

"Luckily, everyone I'm teaching has been in the program," Farrington said. "I'm really high on my juniors and I've got a lot of sophomores that are going to step up. I'm excited about that."

Expectations

If Dumont can reach the playoffs for the third straight year, it would tie a school record set from 2004 to 2006.

The Huskies have a chance to build some early momentum as two of their first three opponents just got bumped up from the developmental Ivy Division. But Dumont won't be looking past them and toward a meaty two-game stretch against Westwood and Mahwah.

"I reminded them that they were once that team too," Farrington said. "They have to come in hungry and ready to go just as these other teams are."

Schedule

Sept. 5: vs. Teaneck

Sept. 12: at Dwight Morrow

Sept. 20: at Bergenfield

Sept. 27: vs. Westwood

Oct. 5: vs. Mahwah

Oct. 10: at Paramus

Oct. 18: vs. Pascack Hills

Oct. 25: at Ramsey

Thanksgiving: at Tenafly

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Dumont football raising the bar after recent postseason trips | State of the Program