Westfield Hall of Fame boys lacrosse coach Sean Cherevich dies at 78

Sean Cherevich had a deep love and knowledge of British literature, a penchant for driving around town in a small convertible sports car with the license plate WHS LAX, and was well known for attaching the term “bullshit” to almost anything he found distasteful.

At any Westfield boys lacrosse game Cherevich coached, the word could sometimes be heard almost as often as the referees’ whistles – and often because of them.

Poor rotation of defenders? “Bullshit.” Got hit with a 50/50 ball? “Bullshit.” A timid pass that resulted in a turnover? “Bullshit.” A strong call for what the former UConn quarterback considered a completely clean test? You get the picture.

“I can still hear him shouting on the sidelines: “Barbin, this is nonsense!” wrote former player Jeremy Barbin, a 1992 graduate, on the Westfield Lacrosse Facebook page.

What was never bullshit was the overall effort Cherevich’s players put forth in each of those games (despite his occasional objections) and the results they achieved during his 18 seasons as head coach of the program he started as club team in 1977.

Cherevich, 78, of Costal Shores, N.C., formerly of Westfield, died Oct. 26 in North Carolina. He was a longtime teacher of British Commonwealth literature at Westfield High School, was the driving force behind the creation of the Westfield Lacrosse Club in 1977, and was the varsity head coach from 1979 to 1996, during which time he compiled a 204–108 record.

This Westfield lacrosse club began with 19 enthusiastic student-athletes, became a co-ed program the following spring, and just a few years later became a state powerhouse thanks to a parade of versatile athletes—starting in the early 1980s with performance star Dan Gilday—and under the leadership of organized and witty Cherevich.

“Sean’s teams were athletic, strong, well-coached and played hard,” said Tim Flynn, whose Mountain Lakes team ended Westfield’s two-year state championship streak with an 8-4 victory in the 1988 state final.

Westfield advanced to the 1985 state championship (just seven years after winning just one game in the varsity’s inaugural season in 1979), where the 18-2 Blue Devils fell to 13-5 Montclair. They went on to beat Bridgewater-Raritan East in the state finals in 1986 and 1987, along with all-time stars like brothers Rob and Gregg Schmaltz, Chris Aslanian, Stephen Locker, Brendan Flaherty, Todd Pribylski, Tim Nolan, John Macaluso, John Capano , John Juelis and Paul Kieltyka.

“Montclair and Westfield have played some close games over the years. Sean’s teams were always prepared and well-coached,” said former Montclair head coach Dean Whitty. “Sean has earned a well-deserved place in the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame.”

Cherevich was also inducted into the Westfield Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and received numerous other coaching awards during his career, including being named Star-Ledger Coach of the Year in 1986 after the Blue Devils’ first state title. Whitty, Flynn (twice) and Bridgewater-Raritan coach Chuck Apel (also twice) were also Star-Ledger Coaches of the Year.

“He won the state title in 1986 and 1987; We had some great teams and they took Westfield to the top of lacrosse in New Jersey,” Apel said.

After four consecutive trips to the state finals from 1985 to 1988, Westfield failed to reach the state semifinals (1995), but remained a force in New Jersey as the sport’s popularity gained momentum throughout the state.

Westfield was 13–4 in 1989 (losing in the first round of the playoffs) and won at least 14 games four more times under Cherevich, with help from such standouts as Dave Brown, who went on to play defenseman for New York. . Giants, Colin and Jason McLane, Jerry Benacquista, Benton Cummings, Chris Wojcik, Matt Prybylski, Dave Sprague, Rob Hermiston, Ed Joffe, Paul Bailey, Dave Schaller and Liam Wertheimer.

Benacista succeeded Cherevich as Westfield’s head coach and is now superintendent of Union Township schools; Wojcik was a former head coach at Harvard and is now an assistant at Notre Dame; and Wertheimer is the older brother of Will “Boomer” Wertheimer, the current head coach of the Blue Devils. He was a rookie during Cherevich’s final season.

Wertheimer led the Blue Devils to their fourth state championship – in Group 4 – just last spring, and they lost to Summit in the Kirst Cup final. Westfield won its third state title (also in Group 4) in 2014 under head coach Patrick Tuohy.

Mike Kinney can be reached at: [email protected]

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