2011 Hall of Fame

2011 SFCF Hall of Fame

Vic Kubu
One of the greatest coaches in New Jersey history, Vic Kubu is one of two posthumous Hall of Fame selections this year.
In a head coaching career that spanned from 1975-2006, Kubu finished with a career record of 263-71-5 between his stints at Middletown North and Manasquan. He won a Shore Conference-record 11 NJSIAA sectional titles, including 10 at Manasquan from 1985-2006. In 22 seasons at Manasquan, Kubu’s teams won an amazing 24 titles overall.
Kubu starred as a quarterback at Manasquan in the late 1950s and then played at Murray State, where his college roommate was George Fallon, the father of this year’s Monmouth County head coach, Rumson-Fair Haven’s Shane Fallon. Kubu’s first coaching job was as defensive coordinator for SFCF Hall of Famer Warren Wolf at Brick from 1965-74, a stretch in which the Green Dragons won seven division titles and two state titles.
At Middletown North, Kubu’s teams won five division titles and captured the 1983 Central Jersey Group IV championship, the school’s first title since the creation of the state playoff system in 1974.
Kubu burnished his legend at his alma mater, leading Manasquan to a staggering run of success. In addition to 10 NJSIAA sectional titles out of 13 appearances in the finals, the Warriors also won or shared 14 division titles in his 22 seasons. They made the state playoffs in 14 straight seasons from 1989-2002. From 1990 through 2002, Manasquan either won a division or state title, or both, every single year. The Warriors also have the Shore Conference record for consecutive NJSIAA sectional titles, winning five straight from 1998-2002.
The Warriors went 167 straight games without being shut out from 1988-2003 and had a 34-game winning streak from 1998-2000, tied for the second-longest in Shore Conference history. They also had a separate 30-game winning streak from 1990-92.
Kubu died from pancreatic cancer in August of 2007, leaving behind an incredible legacy. In his final season in 2006, the Warriors went 12-0, beating every team on their schedule by at least 28 points and finishing No. 1 in the Shore Conference. Many of his former players, including Wall head coach Chris Barnes, former Raritan coach Bob Generelli, and former Manasquan coach Pete Cahill, have gone on to become state championship-winning coaches in their own right.

Harold “Hal’’ Schank 
The other posthumous selection among this year’s inductees, Schank had an outstanding run as Freehold Boro’s head coach from 1950-63.
Schank finished with a record of 75-38-6, winning five Shore Conference titles and three NJSIAA sectional titles during his tenure. The Colonials had undefeated seasons in 1953 and 1954, and Schank had the best record of any coach in the Shore Conference from 1950-1960.
Schank is also a member of the Lakewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame, as he starred in football, basketball and baseball for the Piners, graduating in 1935. He then played quarterback at Rutgers University while also playing basketball for the Scarlet Knights before graduating in 1940.
He began his coaching career at Lakewood as an assistant under head coach Russ Wright, who was posthumously inducted into the SFCF Hall of Fame in 2010. Schank also was the boys basketball coach for the Piners before he joined the U.S. military from 1942-45. He then became the football and baseball coach at Freehold, and later served as the athletic director for the Freehold Regional School District after his coaching career.

George Conti Jr.
An Ocean Township legend, Conti amassed a career record of 119-48-3 in 17 seasons as head coach with three different programs, and his teams won two NJSIAA sectional titles and five division titles.
He went 9-9 in two seasons at Keyport from 1971-72 before he began to make his mark on the Shore Conference while coaching at Asbury Park from 1978-81. He led the Blue Bishops to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II championship in 1980, and his teams went 24-16 during his time at Asbury Park.
However, he is most remembered for his tenure at Ocean Township from 1983-93. In 11 seasons with the Spartans, his teams went 86-23-3 with 11 straight winning seasons, eight state playoff appearances, five state sectional final appearances, five division titles, and one state sectional championship.
In 1993, the Spartans won the Central Jersey Group III title with Conti’s son, Eddie, starring at quarterback. They finished undefeated and ranked No. 1 in New Jersey by the Associated Press. During his career, he was selected as the Shore Conference Coach of the Year in 1980, 1983 and 1993 and also earned state Coach of the Year honors from the Newark Star-Ledger in 1993. He is already a member of the New Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Shore Conference Hall of Fame, the Ocean Township Hall of Fame, and the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame.
Conti played football at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark in the early 1960s and then went on to play at Temple University, where he graduated in 1969. He was an assistant coach for six seasons before getting the head job at Keyport. He retired in 2007 after 37 years in education, most recently serving as a vice principal at Ocean. Conti enjoys spending time with his son and daughter and two grandchildren while continuing to watch Big Red football.

Chip LaBarca Sr.
A Shore Conference luminary from his tenures at Keansburg and Toms River South, LaBarca compiled a career record of 168-81-6 in 27 seasons. His teams won four NJSIAA sectional titles, and his Toms River South squads captured five Shore Conference Class A South championships during his 16 seasons with the Indians.
A star halfback at West Side High School in Newark in the early 1950s, LaBarca went on to attend Upsala College before transferring to Newark College of Engineering. He began his coaching career as an assistant at West Side in 1963 before serving as an assistant at Weequahic from 1964-67. His first head coaching job was at Carteret Prep School in West Orange, where his team went 4-3 in 1968.
After serving as an assistant at Cedar Ridge from 1969-71, he was Keansburg’s head coach from 1971-81 and led the Titans to one of their most successful stretches in school history. His teams went 59-28-4 and won two state sectional titles. The Titans were awarded the Central Jersey Group I title in 1973 by the NJSIAA, one year before the creation of the current state playoff system. In 1976, the Titans won the Central Jersey Group I title.
LaBarca Sr. cemented his legend while at Toms River South, where his teams went 105-50-2 from 1981-96. The Indians won the South Jersey Group III title in 1983 and 1991 and also reached the sectional finals in 1986 and 1987. LaBarca coached seven all-state players, including his son, Chip LaBarca Jr., who is currently the head coach at Toms River North.