At stake: the dignity of at least two area mayors. (Click to enlarge)
The Battle of Ridge Road will pit maroon against purple in a high-stakes football game between Red Bank Regional and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional high schools this weekend.
But in the aftermath, the mayors of at least two towns will end up dressed dressed in electric green.
That’s because the top elected officials in Fair Haven, Rumson, Little Silver, Red Bank and Shrewsbury have a group wager on the outcome of the NJSIAA Central Group 3 championship game  between the undefeated RBR Buccaneers (11-0) and the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional Bulldogs (9-2): those from the sending towns of the losing team must dress up as the Grinch at a Holiday Express event, Little Silver Mayor Bob Neff tells redbankgreen.
Neff says he and all his counterparts — Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli and Rumson Mayor John Ekdahl, of R-FH, as well as RBR mayors Don Burden of Shrewsbury and Pasquale Menna of Red Bank — have agreed to the bet.
The losers will don the fuzzy green suit of the Dr. Seuss character at an appearance of Holiday Express, a roving band led by local restaurateur Tim McCloone that dishes out musical cheer this time of year in theaters, schools, nursing homes and other facilities.
Will the losers appear at the same event wearing the goofy-faced Grinch costume? Good question, says Neff.
“We’ll have to clarify that,” he said. “But of course, that’s going to be John and Ben’s problem!”
The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday atat High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, the home field of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
