t’s placement on the wall serves as a reminder of what was earned on the field, not what was ripped away.
The banner adorned with “2004 Super Bowl” champs still waves proudly in the Donaldson Gymnasium, sharing space with the rest of Tolman’s athletic lineage. What separates this particular banner is that it towers over the others. You can’t help but be drawn to its red background and white trim upon setting foot in the gym; it’s that noticeable.
There’s a story behind every banner, memories frozen in time. If they could talk, they would speak about the events that led up to some letters and numbers being stitched together.
Every championship deserves recognition, which brings us back to the banner indicating Tolman’s Super Bowl season of four years ago. We mentioned this banner has a life unto itself. Not because of the size, rather the understanding why it serves as a reminder of what was and should still be.
The background story behind Tolman being stripped of its win was a crippling blow to the entire football community. Not long after losing the ’05 Super Bowl, it was learned the Tigers had used an ineligible player, someone who lied to the coaching staff. This player was hardly a key contributor, but the moment he checked into the game, he became a risk.
The Interscholastic League passed the following judgment: Cumberland, the team beaten in the decisive game, would forever be known as the best team in Division II from 2004.  A title that went from being decided on the field was awarded to the club that finished as the runner-up.   
“It hurt, it really did,” said Tolman head coach Dave Caito. “I said to myself, my coaches and my kids … that’s going to be such a negative persona that people have of Tolman High School and the athletic department.
“Then I thought about it and that’s not the case,” Caito continued. “In the minds that matter around here, we played by the rules. We didn’t do anything purposefully to cheat.”
Hence why no one on Exchange Street thought the banner should be taken down.
 Tolman won it fair and square, and that should be how the banner is interpreted.
Standing on the opposite end of where the banner is hung, Caito said “(Tolman athletic director) John Scanlon told me ‘Dave, we won the game on the field.’ I told him I feel the same way.”
The only reason why such a painful scar was re-opened is that a similar scene played out at Mansfield High last week. Mansfield was told to forfeit its MIAA Division II playoff game with Bishop Feehan after questions arose about the usage of an illegible player.
Like Tolman, Mansfield’s player-in-question, a fifth-year senior who transferred into the school system, was a bit part. Like the Tigers, the Hornets quickly discovered how the actions of a single person can cast a shadow of doubt over the remaining players and coaches.
Thanks to a court injunction, the Feehan-Mansfield tilt was back on and played last Wednesday. It’s a dragged-out scene which Caito can empathize with.
“If it’s something that’s done accidentally, you can’t blame the other individuals,” said Caito. “That happened when (Shea athletic director) Ray McGee coached [at Tolman]. I think they went 6-0 and found a kid who didn’t pass a certain class. He was basically a special teams player, and they took it out on the rest of the kids.”
In Tolman’s case, the lesson taken away is that the recklessness of one should not stain something that was settled via scoreboard. Caito speaks about that ’04 season with particular fondness even though the bookkeepers interpret differently.
The image of quarterback Jeff Costa feathering a game-winning pass to Jon Dawson in the closing stages burns the brightest from the Super Bowl with Cumberland. What keeps everything from becoming back-and-white stills is that many of those same faces keep in touch with Caito. That in turn allows the coach to re-affirm his stand that the Tigers were the victors in ’04.
“They always come back every summer, they’ll jump on the bus for away games,” said Caito. “It’s a good feeling that you’ve had an impact on kids’ lives where they’ll take time out of their day to come back and see their coach. It makes us feel good as a staff that we’re doing the right thing.”
Rain forced Tolman indoors a few days prior to dismantling Cumberland in the D-II semis. At the tale end of practice, Caito pointed in two directions. One was the ’71 season, a campaign that saw the Tigers run the table (9-0) in then-Class A.
The other banner Caito wanted to bring to players’ attention was the banner of champion only confined to within the walls of Tolman High School: the ’04 banner.
“You can always look back to that day and say you were the best in your division in the state, playing football,” was Caito’s message.    
The banner that separates itself from the rest of the pack still carries the weight of a champion, no matter what anybody else says.
“Every time I walk into the gym, that’s the first thing I look at,” said Costa.