Jan. 15, Carl Arrigale’s four-game suspension, a result of the altercation following the 2006 Catholic League title tilt, was officially over. That meant he was back on the sidelines guiding Neumann-Goretti to its fifth-straight league victory, 63-56.
The time away from his Saints, which didn’t include practices or non-league games, had its share of ups and downs.
"At times, I feel like I’ve been all right. Then when it gets closer to game time, it gets a little rough," Arrigale said while his team prepared for its Jan. 11 match against Cardinal O’Hara, which it won, 74-48. Rick Jackson led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds, while Antonio "Scoop" Jardine added 12 scores and 10 assists.
The coach was banned from the building for the game and waited for updates via phone. Other than the season-opener against Roman Catholic, which was broadcast online, Arrigale had no way of hearing contests live. Once games ended, he would meet his players at the school to congratulate them.
When he wasn’t coaching, Arrigale attended other contests to prepare scouting reports, which were passed to assistant coach John Mosco for games. Before each of the four matches, Arrigale had pregame phone conversations with Mosco and senior point guard Jardine.
"[Scoop] I trusted to take care of things on the floor," he said.
Mosco filled in for Arrigale and is now a perfect 4-0 on the varsity level.
"John [Mosco] is a little bit in awe, but he is ready to give it back," Arrigale said of the coaching duties. "The whole staff has been really good about it. Hopefully, now we can put the [sanctions] to bed."
That will come after the Jan. 26 match against Roman Catholic, when another sanction — fans not permitted at games — will be fulfilled.
As far as Arrigale is concerned, the tough part is over.
"I feel with the opener being on a Tuesday, it kind of went a lot faster," he said. "It was just over a week. Had we played on Friday to Sunday and Friday to Sunday, it would’ve probably been a lot harder."
Now the focus can switch to winning a third-straight Catholic League crown, which will be decided the first weekend in March.
"Hopefully, if anything, this will bring us closer together and we can turn it into a positive," Arrigale said of the suspension’s aftermath.
