Belleville, Nutley Mayors Make ‘Pizza Bet’ Over HS Football

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The pizza bet is on.

After a two-year hiatus, the Belleville Buccaneers and the Nutley Raiders will once again meet on the gridiron this Saturday, Nov. 3 at Nutley for the NJSIAA consolation matchup. The game will restore a long-standing friendly rivalry between Belleville and Nutley.

This year, Belleville’s Michael Melham and Nutley’s Joseph Scarpelli have agreed to up the stakes and bring back the “Mayor’s Cup” trophy, which will be presented to the mayor of the winning team’s town and held until the teams’ next matchup.

For 2018, there is also another prize up for grabs… a pizza.

“I challenged Mayor Scarpelli to a Pizza Bet, which he graciously accepted,” Melham said. “The losing mayor will be catering the next Council/Commission Meeting with the winning mayor's choice of pizza from the losing township.”

Both mayors said that – whatever the outcome – the game will be a great day for alumni on both sides to come together and support their players.

“To my friend Mayor Scarpelli... our next council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 5,” Melham joked. “While we prefer Belleville's own Palermo pie from La Sicilia, Algieri's, Gino's, 3Guys or Joey's, we'll accept a few Ralph's Pies. Although, I hear they don't deliver. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. sharp!”

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