Mike Mignone can still look back and smile when he thinks about being a sophomore for an undefeated Caldwell Chiefs team and helping to solidify that status with a clutch reception for the go-ahead touchdown in a pulsating 18-14 win over Rumson-Fair Haven in the 2022 Group 2 state championship game at Rutgers SHI Stadium.
Part of the reason for the smile when reflecting on one of the biggest wins in the proud gridiron annals for the Essex County school was that he accomplished what he did that magical 13-0 season for the Chiefs while playing alongside great upperclassmen that fall such as senior quarterback Luke Kurzum and junior linebacker Julian Casale.
Fast forward three years later and just like Kurzum and Casale before him in 2023 and 2024, respectively, Mignone will follow in their footsteps as a member of the North squad in the upcoming 47th Phil Simms New Jersey North-South All-Sar Classic, set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, June 8th, at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium in Union.
The 2025 Simms Classic will follow the second annual girls flag football all-star game on Alumni Field which is set to begin at noon.
The North, which is on a first-time, 4-game winning streak, leads the series for the initial time at 21-20-2. And, it took the North some 45 years to accomplish its slight lead vs. the South. The first New Jersey North-South all-star game was played back in 1979.
The North also hopes – if necessary- to continue a trend of winning by close margins having won the last four Simms Classic all-star games by one point, then by five, four and two points.
The South last won in 2018 by the score of 38-16, also at Kean.
A superb linebacker and very capable wide receiver during his scholastic playing career at Caldwell, Mignone will wear No. 17 and be one of the linebackers to watch for the North in the June 8th Simms Classic.
“It’s an honor to represent my school and my town in what is a very special all-star game each year,” said the 6-foot-1, 235-pound Susquehanna University-bound strongman for the Chiefs. “I’m good friends with both Julian and Luke, and I’ve always looked up to what they each accomplished for our football team, which has a proud tradition.
“Luke is having a great career at Hamilton (including being the New England Small College Athletic Conference Rooke of the Year in 2023), and Julian has a bright future in the college game wherever he winds up next after entering the transfer portal at Monmouth,” said Mignone. “I’m looking forward to getting to know my teammates on the North in the Simms Classic, and also working with some great coaches as we look to try and beat the South again!”
Mignone recorded a team-leading 67 tackles with two fumble recoveries and also had 24 receptions for 371 yards and 5 TDs for the Chiefs who finished 4-5 last fall.
The team continued to improve throughout the 2024 season after an 0-3 start and had a third quarter lead vs. powerful Cedar Grove before falling 45-28 to the high-octane Panthers who finished 13-1 and won a N2G1 title. The Chiefs then embarked on a 3-game win streak, starting with an impressive 21-6 win at Shabazz, before being edged by the talented Bulldogs on a TD pass in the final minute of regulation, 36-33, in the North 2, Group 2 quarterfinals.
Caldwell had a 37-game win streak which started with the final three games of the 2020 season and ended in November of 2023 with a 33-28 N2G2 sectional semifinal upset defeat to Lakeland.
“That was definitely a tough loss for our guys,” said Mignone. “But, the underclassmen also looked at it as a fresh re-start in 2024 and we just put our faith in God and continued to work hard because we know that we have a great football program at Caldwell.”
Mignone, whose younger brother Nick will return as a rising senior and top running back for the 2025 Chiefs after rushing for 1,047 yards and 14 TDs last fall, has maintained a frequent presence in the weight room this spring as he prepares to report to Selinsgrove, Pa., in August for his freshman season at Susquehanna, a top-flight Division III program which finished 12-2 last all and advanced all the way to the D3 national semifinals in 2024.
