A coach who seemed to vanish. A star quarterback who never took another snap. A mystery over the final controversial seconds that lingers decades later.
These are just some of the stakes explored over the first episode of the serial podcast, “Lights Out: The loss of a lifetime,” which drops Tuesday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
The first episode will introduce listeners to the lore of “the Miracle at Montclair” -- a high school state championship football game between undefeated Montclair and Randolph in December 1990. No one had ever seen a bigger, more anticipated matchup for a state championship, and 10 years later, the matchup was coined “The Greatest High School Football Game Ever Played” by The Star-Ledger.
The game pitted No. 1 Montclair vs. No. 2 Randolph. Randolph was going for a state-record 49-straight games without a loss, while playing in memory of their beloved head coach, who died just 17 days earlier. Meanwhile, Montclair was attempting to become the first team in school history to finish 11-0.
Mike Barrett runs against Montclair during their North 2, Group 4 championship game in 1990.Star-Ledger file photo
The final minutes of the game unfolded in stunning, unbelievable fashion, leaving the losing players devastated for years to come. Listeners will meet some of them in episode one, and start to understand the true impact of the 1990 game, and how sports in general can profoundly effect our lives.
Lights Out is a production of Campside Media and Entertainment One, in association with NJ Advance Media and XTR. The podcast is based off NJ Advance Media’s 2019 award-winning feature story, “The day that changed everything.”
You can listen, rate and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes will be released every Tuesday.
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Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.