Section I, Group III Semifinals: Par-Hills 27, Valley 7: 11/18/05: The speculation started in early October. This was going to the be the year that Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills played each other for the Section I, Group III championship.
Title expectations are nothing new at Hills. The Patriots have been to the title game nine times (1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004). They wound up winning it all in 2002 and 2004.
At Valley, on the other hand, the expectations have been minimal at best. Valley, likewise, has been to the final game on nine occasions, but none have been recent (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992). They also have seven titles to their credit, but again none have been recent (1967, 1968, 1970, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991).
Coming into the season, Hills was expected to again challenge for the title. Valley was not. The Indians came into the campaign off of three consecutive losing seasons. A year ago, they stammered to a 3-7 mark.
But all that changed after the Indians scorched to a 3-1 start. That put them in a neck-and-neck race with Hills for the top-seed in the Section I, Group III race.
Hills (No. 1) wound up barely nosing out Valley (No. 2) for the top seed. That placed both teams on a collision course for a championship game battle.
Unfortunately for Wayne fans, the game did not come to pass. Hills (11-0) kept up its end of the bargain by destroying Ramapo (6-4), 41-13. Valley (9-2), however, fell short of its lofty goal.
The Indians suffered a convincing loss to third-seeded Parsippany Hills (10-1), 27-7. Valley fell behind early and could never catch-up.
Nick Agelis was intercepted on the first play of the game by John DiNapoli. On the next play, William Fowler raced for a 31-yard touchdown.
The two-play exchange put Valley in a difficult spot. All year long, the Indians prevailed with a dominating defense. Suddenly, they were thrust into a position where the offense had to play catch up. It appeared that they weren’t used to it.
Valley went on to turn the ball over six times. Agelis, meanwhile, was sacked 12 times.
“We picked the wrong night to fall apart,” Valley coach Brian O’Connor said. “We hadn’t turned the ball over six times all year. We’ve been in a lot of close games this year. We kept winning by the skin of our teeth. But when we fell behind tonight, it just kept snowballing.”
Mike Gerardi, who passed for 144 yards, threw two second quarter touchdowns to give Par-Hills a 20-0 halftime cushion. The first pass was a 19-yard strike to Alex Baruch. The second was a 14-yard dart to Billy Magill.
Fowler started off the second half with a 90-yard kickoff return.
“They were on fire,” said Remo Fioranelli, who led Valley with nine tackles. “They caught us off guard a couple of times and we couldn’t recover. We like to hold the ball and grind it out. But we couldn’t do that after we fell behind.”
Valley avoided the shutout when Agelis threw a 15-yard scoring-strike to Bobby Bishop on a fourth-down play in the third period. Bishop caught the ball while draped by two
Viking players. One tipped the ball, but Bishop maintained his focus and reeled the pigskin in.
It was Valley’s second fourth-down conversion on that drive. Agelis previously hit Jimmy Monahan with a 12-yard pass.
The disappointing finish couldn’t dampen O’Connor’s spirits for the entire season. His Indians reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2001. The 9-2 record was the best since 1999. And they won their first conference title since 1994.
“If I had one word to sum up this team is would be ‘character,’” he said. “We’ve been through some tough times, but these kids did everything we asked them to do. They had a great season.”
Section I, Group III Quarterfinals: Valley 12, Demarest 3: By Skiffo Drake
The chances of a Wayne Valley vs. Wayne Hills State Sectional football championship game increased considerably Friday when both teams won quarterfinal games.
Top-seeded Wayne Hills (9-0) beat Teaneck, 40-6. Second-seeded Wayne Valley (8-1) downed Demarest, 12-3. If both teams win semi-final games this weekend, they will meet each other in the Section I, Group III championship game. It would be only the third time ever that the schools have played each other.That contest would be played at either Giants Stadium or Wayne Hills (the higher seed).
Hills will have to beat its arch-nemesis Ramapo (No. 4). Valley will have to beat Parsippany Hills (No. 3).
“People all over town are talking about it (the potential Valley vs. Hills game),” Wayne Valley coach Brian O’Connor said. “But if it’s any of my players, I tell them to shut up. That’s still down the road. We can’t look ahead.”
Nick Agelis, Valley’s quarterback, echoed O’Connor’s sentiments.
“All of this talk about Valley vs. Hills won’t matter if we lose in the playoffs,” he said. “This is Valley’s first time in the playoffs in five years. It’s new to us. We have no business speculating about the final game.”
On Friday, Valley was clearly solely focused on Demarest. The Norsemen, who reached the final in 2003 and 2004, looked intent on returning when they drove the field on their first possession.
They reached Valley’s four-yard line, but went no further. Casey Pickler sacked Harrison Weiss for a seven-yard loss. On the next play, Joe Portelli tackled Ken Amsel for a four yard loss. Demarest had to settle for Matt Gianetti 30-yard field goal.
With the boot, Demarest became only second team to score first on the Indians all year.
From that point on, Valley took over. Its smothering defense held the Norsemen to 68 total yards. It turned out to be the sixth time this season that Valley held an opponent to less than six points in a game.
“Our defense has done that all season,” O’Connor said. “And that’s even more impressive against a team like Demarest. They have been explosive on offense all year.”
Remo Fioranelli led the way with two sacks of Weiss, one of which resulted in a safety.
The Indian offense, meanwhile, was also able to move the ball. Agelis passed for 70 yards and ran for 70 yards. Portelli added 64 rushing yards. G.M. Linder kicked a 19-yard field goal and an extra point.
Agelis insists that the team will approach the semi-final game with Parsipanny Hills with the same focus. A potential match up with Wayne Hills, he says is not on the team’s mind.
He does, though, admit that he has friends at Hills and they have spoken about the possibility. Those friends include Mike Peischl, the Patriots quarterback, and Ray Van Peenen, the Patriots tailback.
“We’ve spoken about it,” he admits. “But we all know that we have to win to get to that point.”
Wayne Valley 26, Lakeland 6
11/4/05: Wayne – Captains Nick Agelis, Remo Fioranelli and Casey Pickler were speaking for 14 other seniors when they indicated that they had had enough. As freshmen, they sat in the bleachers as the Wayne Valley varsity football team limped to a 2-8 record. Over the next couple years, their roles increased, but Valley’s fortunes barely improved. When they were sophomores, the team went 4-6. When they were juniors, the team finished 3-7.
At the start of their senior season, Valley’s tri-captains spoke about reversing the trend and going out with a winning record. With the nine-game regular season now in the books, Valley proved up to the test . . . and then some. The Indians did a little more than simply finish the regular season with a winning record.
By recording a 26-6 win over Lakeland in the regular season final, Wayne Valley won the Northern Hills Skyline Conference outright and finished 8-1. It is their first such title and best regular season winning percentage since 1994.
The team now shifts its attention to the Section I, Group III. Wayne Valley earned the No. 2 seed and will host 7th-seeded West Milford this weekend (TBA). West Milford handed Valley its only loss of the season in Week 4. Since then, the Highlanders have hit the skids, losing five consecutive games. The Indians, meanwhile, have won five straight.
The game will mark Wayne Valley’s first playoff game since 2001 and its first home playoff game since 1999. If the Indians win, they will host the Parsippany Hills (No. 3)-Demarest (No. 6) winner.
Wayne Valley could conceivably meet up with top-seeded Wayne Hills in the championship game. That game could be designated for Giants Stadium.
“These kids, especially the seniors, worked their tails off for this,” Wayne Valley head coach Brian O’Connor said. “They’ve been through some tough times, but no one ever quit. I’ve never been around a harder working group.”
“It feels great to be the first Wayne Valley team in 11 years to say we’re league champs,” added quarterback Nick Agelis. “We’ll be excited to get that banner in the gym. But there’s another banner we want even more. We want to be State (Sectional) champions.”
Wayne Valley hasn’t done that since 1991. They haven’t been to the final since 1992.
Against Lakeland, Valley jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Sean Miller opened the game with a 60-yard pickup off of a perfectly executed reverse. Three plays later Agelis scored on a sweep.
Farshad Taschyyoddi later scored on a one-yard plunge. The score was set up by a 23-yard completion from Agelis to Miller. On Lakeland’s ensuing possession, Fioranelli struck quarterback Lou Montegari from the blind side. The defensive end batted a pass in the air, snatched it and returned it for a 17 yard score.
“I knew once I got around the corner that I was going to get the ball,” Fioranelli said. “Once I knocked it out of his hand, it popped right to me. I just grabbed it and ran.”
G.M. Linder nailed two field goals (24 and 36 yards).
Anthony DiDilectis led the Wayne Valley defense with eight tackles. Bobby Bishop had seven tackles and an interception. Joe Portelli added seven tackles. Fioranelli had two sacks, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and another batted pass.
Portelli paced the offense with 65 rushing yards. Agelis had 38 rushing yards and 48 passing yards.
Lakeland’s Montegari passed for 117 yards. Rob Casanovas rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Sinke had three sacks for the Lancers. Matt Delaney had nine tackles.
Wayne Valley 27, Orange 21 10/29/05: Orange – Everyone was in agreement in August. The winner of the Section I, Group III football championship, most prognosticators believed, would assuredly come down to Wayne Hills and Ramapo. It always does.
The winner of the Northern Hills Skyline championship was also widely agreed upon. Passaic Tech, the longtime Group IV power, seemed to be the trendy pick. West Milford and Lakeland, the 2003 and 2004 champs respectively, were also popular selections.
What about Wayne Valley? Where did they fit into both groupings?
No one, practically, was predicting the Indians to do much damage this year. Even Valley’s most ardent supporters would have been hard-pressed to predict a championship for the school.
The once-mighty Indians had fallen on difficult times in recent years. Last year’s 3-7 record did nothing to make anyone believe that an improvement was imminent.
With each passing game, though, one thing became clear. The Indians had no intention of following a script written by others.
The team ignored the skeptics and its recent history and roared to a 7-1 start. Last weekend’s 27-21 win over Orange gave Valley numerous milestones.
It gave the Indians at least a share of the Northern Hills Conference Championship. It is their first such title since 1994. It also gave the school its first Section I, Group III playoff appearance since 2001.
The win also earned Valley its highest playoff seeding (No. 2) since 1994. The No. 2 spot gives them their first home playoff game since 1999. Finally, seven wins marks their highest victory total since 2000.
“I'm so proud of these guys,” Wayne Valley head coach Brian O’Connor said. “They've been through a lot of garbage over the last few years, but they never gave up. They’ve worked their butt off to get where we are. It's amazing."
Against Orange, Valley led from start to finish. Despite the strong play, they could not pull away. Orange, trailing by six, drove into Valley territory late in the game. The Indians defense never broke, though.
With 48 seconds remaining, Orange had a fourth-and-three play at the Valley 28. Orange’s Anthony Smith pulled in a screen pass from Lamar Williams and sprinted for the first down marker.
Jeremy Hreha, Valley’s defensive back, snuffed out the play and dropped Smith a yard short of the marker. The tackle clinched the game for Big Blue.
“I knew where he needed to go, so that’s where I lined up,” Hreha said. “I saw him come right for me. I knew I had to stop him for us to win. I was the only one in position to make the play.”
“We’ve been in so many close games,” O’Connor added. “These kids thrive with the game on the line.”
Hreha finished with a team-high 10 tackles. Teammate Remo Fioranelli added eight tackles, including one sack. Fioranelli also recovered a fumble in the end zone. The ball was popped loose when Hrehra leveled Orange's Lamar Williams. Kyle Hayes returned an interception for a 15 yard touchdown.
Joe Portelli led the offense with 92 yards rushing and a 2-yard touchdown. Nick Agelis added 64 yards rushing. Vinny DiDilectis scored on a 15-yard scamper.
“We didn’t make any huge plays on offense, but we really didn’t have to,” Portelli said. “We were able to move the chains consistently, though. And we played well on defense. When you do those two things, you win football games.”
Wayne Valley 17, Caldwell 2 Bobby Bishop Jr. has been catching passes from Wayne Valley quarterbacks since he was a toddler. Bishop’s father, Bob Sr., has been coaching at Wayne Valley since 1977.
T
hrough it all, Bishop Jr. served as Valley’s ball boy and water boy. He would often conclude practice and games by playing catch with past Indian quarterbacks. One was his older brother, Boyd Bishop, the quarterback in 1992. With each catch, he imaged that he was making the winning play for The Valley.
Today, Bishop Jr. is the squad’s wide receiver. His father is the defensive coordinator. Of all the passes he’d been thrown from WV quarterbacks, none have been more significant than the one he caught from Nick Agelis last Saturday.
Wayne Valley was mired in a toil with Caldwell. Toward the end the third period, the Indians led 3-2. The team’s defense had been terrific, but the offense hadn’t been able to generate much yardage.
All that changed when Agelis fired a high arching, 41-yard bomb down field toward Bishop. As the ball was thrown, it appeared Agelis had over thrown his receiver. Bishop caught up to the ball and made a juggling, over-the-shoulder grab at the one-yard line.
“I have no idea how I caught it,” Bishop confessed. “When I saw the ball in the air it looked like it was perfectly thrown. But at the last second, it drifted over my head. I think that the wind caught it. Somehow, I was able to adjust. It changed the complexion of the game.”
Joe Portelli scored one play later when he crashed into the end zone from a yard out.
The game was sealed on Caldwell’s next possession when Bishop returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. Valley (6-1) won, 17-2.
The win handily ranks as Valley’s biggest win in O’Connor’s four years.
Valley’s six wins marks the schools highest win total since 2001, when the team finished 6-5. The win also sewed up Valley’s first playoff bid in five years. It also assures the Indians of earning one of the top three seeds, which means that they’ll be at home in the first and maybe even the second round. Valley’s last home playoff game came in 1999.
Additionally, Valley’s game at Orange tomorrow will now decide the Northern Hills Skyline Conference championship. Valley’s last conference title came in 1994.
"This locks us up for the playoffs," said O’Connor, whose team finished 3-7 a year ago. "It also gives us a shot to win the league title."
Valley trailed 2-0 at halftime, but came back in the second half. G.M. Linder gave Valley a 3-2 advantage with a 29-yard field goal conversion. The boot was set up by a Remo Fioranelli fumble recovery. Bishop’s amazing catch and subsequent interception, clinched the game.
Nick Agelis led the offense with 131 passing yards.
Caldwell (4-2), meanwhile, was held to just 63 yards of total offense.
Bishop led with nine tackles and the interception return. Kyle Hayes and Jeremy Hreha had two interceptions apiece. Casey Pickler had two sacks. Vinny DiDilectis, Michael Payne and Pat McHugh had a sack apiece. Eugene Cheval had a key batted down pass.
NOTES: A Wayne Valley-Wayne Hills championship game remains a prospect. If Hills beats Ramapo (5-2), they will win the No. 1 seed. Wayne Valley is on target for the No. 2 seed. If Hills loses to Ramapo, Valley could get the No. 1 seed.
“We have no business thinking about Hills right now,” O’Connor said. “We’ll both probably end up (seeded) 1 and 2. If that’s how it goes, the earliest we can play them is in the final. There’s a lot of football to play before that. Right now, we’re only thinking about Orange.”
Wayne Valley 28, West Orange 6
By Skiffo Drake
Wayne – During the preseason, the Wayne Valley football squad discussed its goal of returning to the post season playoffs for the first time since 2001.
After surging to a 5-1 start, those goals have been revised. Making the playoffs and winning a first round game, as the 2001 team did, suddenly doesn’t seem so grand.
Wayne Valley, due to its 28-6 triumph over West Orange, is practically guaranteed of making the Section I, Group III playoffs. They are now in second place in the post season race. The tournament is open to the top-eight finishers in the grouping.
Consider the goals upgraded. If the Indians earn the second seed, they will have to be considered one of the favorites. Winning the championship has to be considered a real prospect.
Against the Mountaineers, Wayne Valley dominated.
Joe Portelli got Wayne started with a three yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Nick Agelis accounted for 176 total yards and three scores. First, he scored on a one yard run. Next, he threw a four yard touchdown pass to Farshad Taschyyoddi. The scoring was capped off by a 68-yard pass from Agelis to Sean Miller. G.M. Miller converted all four extra point attempts.
“West Orange is a Group IV team,” Wayne Valley head coach Brian O’Connor said. “This game was important for power points in the state playoffs. This sets us up nicely for where we want to be.”
If Valley wins out, they will indeed lock up the second seed. Cross-town Wayne Hills (6-0) is presently in first place in the Section I, Group III post season race.
The next two games will finalize the brackets. If the Patriots win out, they will sew up the top spot. If Hills falters, Valley could move in to the top spot.
For Valley, winning the next two will not be easy. They play at Caldwell on Saturday afternoon. The Chiefs are also 5-1. Their only loss came against powerful Delbarton.
After Caldwell, Valley will be away against Orange. The Tornadoes are also 5 -1.
NOTES: A Wayne Valley vs. Wayne Hills playoff game is a possibility. Because the two schools are in different conferences, they have only played twice in forty years. Valley beat Hills in the 1991 State Sectional Final. Hill returned the favor in the 2001 semi finals.
Wayne Valley 6, Passaic Tech 0, OT
10/8/05 Wayne – In recent times, nobody connected to the Wayne Valley football team dared to speak of playoffs. Valley, after all, had not earned a post season berth since 2001.
Even an exciting 3-1 start couldn’t get the Indians to contemplate the future. Inquiries about the playoffs were usually met with the over used cliché’s of taking, “one game at a time.”
All of that changed when Valley improved to 4-1 with an electrifying 6-0, overtime win over Passaic Tech (2-3), a Group IV power.
The win does not clinch a playoff berth, but it does place them within striking distance.
“We’re not in yet,” warned Wayne Valley’s head coach Brian O’Connor. “But we are where we want to be at this point. Generally, you need five, if not six, wins to get in.”
Wayne Valley hosts winless West Orange on Friday. The Mountaineers also play in the Group IV category. A victory would almost guarantee Valley of a post season berth.
Wayne Valley put itself into this position with the remarkable win over Tech. It was Valley’s third consecutive overtime game. Two weeks ago, they beat Passaic Valley in overtime. Last week, they lost to West Milford in the extra-session.
“As far as I know, that’s unprecedented,” O’Connor said. “I was just discussing it with the (assistant coaches). No one has ever heard of a team playing three overtime games in a row.”
Valley won this most recent game after a defensive battle. Neither team could score on Valley’s rain-drenched field.
Passaic Tech got the ball first in overtime but, a third-and-eight pass by Ben Rios was picked off by Jeremy Hreha. It was his second interception of the game. He returned it to midfield, before getting tackled by Rios.
“I thought I was going to take it all the way,” Hreha said. “No one was in front of me. The quarterback (Rios) made a great tackle.”
On Valley’s first play of overtime, Nick Agelis rushed in from 25 yards out to propel Wayne to the triumph.
Afterwards, O’Connor attempted to give the game ball to one of his predecessors, Bob Bishop. Bishop, Valley’s head coach from 1996-to-2000, has been O’Connor’s defensive coordinator since 2002.
The game ball was no where to be found, however. Agelis, in joyousness, had thrown the ball into the night. The Indians were too busy celebrating to track the flight of the ball.
“I’ll just find a ball in the locker room and tell him (Bishop) that it’s the game ball,” O’Connor quipped. “Seriously, I hope we can find it. Coach Bishop deserves it. The defense was exceptional.”
Bishop, meanwhile, would not accept credit. Instead, he complimented the Valley offense.
“That (Passaic Tech) was the best defense that Wayne Valley has ever beaten,” said Bishop, who also played at Valley (1965-to-1968) and also served as a Valley assistant from (1977-to1995). “I’m proud of them.”
Agelis led the offense with 79 rushing yards. Remo Fioranelli led the defense with nine tackles. Fioranelli and Vince DiDilectis sacked Rios on PCT’s final possession. Sean Griffin led PCT with 168 rushing yards.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, it appeared that PCT had broken through the Valley defense for a score when Griffin rushed in from 15 yards out. The score was nullified by a holding penalty at the goal line.
PCT head coach John Iurato reacted angrily.
“I have to look at the film to see what happened, but our kid was in the end zone before they threw that flag,” he snapped. “We had three other big plays taken away. How can we win a game with calls like that?”
“Wayne Valley didn’t do a great job against us. We held them to 50 yards in the first half and I don’t think they had more than 50 in the second.”
O’Connor saw it differently.
“We saw it (the holding penalty) from the sideline,” O’Connor said. “It was definitely a hold. Our defense held them. They came up with the big plays when they had to. ”
West Milford 27, Wayne Valley 21, OT
By Skiffo Drake
9/30/05: In the afterglow of Wayne Valley’s overtime triumph over Passaic Valley, the Indians quickly stated that they would not allow the extraordinary win to go to their heads.
Wayne Valley had reason to celebrate its uplifting win. Passaic Valley is the school’s biggest rival. Wayne’s 3-0 record marked the school’s best start in five years.
While the team was excited about its win, no one lost site of what was approaching.
Everyone, it seemed, was talking about West Milford.
“This (the win over Passaic Valley) was a huge win for us because we're in the hunt for the conference (Northern Hills Skyline) title with West Milford," captain Remo Fioranelli said. "We're both 3-0."
It was obvious that Wayne Valley would not rest of its laurels.
Sure enough, Wayne put up a strong effort against powerful West Milford. The teams fought back-and-forth all night. Valley, for the second straight week, found itself in overtime.
This time, however, the Indians wound up on the short end. West Milford prevailed, 27-21.
Afterwards, the undefeated Highlanders (4-0) were full-of-praise for their vanquished foe.
"That's what high school football is all about. It was just an awesome game," West Milford lineman Mark Palmieri said. "It was the most intense game I've ever been a part of."
“Wayne Valley gave us all we could handle,” added receiver Chris Thomas. “They had us scared . . . very scared.”
G.M. Linder, Valley’s place kicker, kicked the game winner (35-yards) against Passaic Valley. A week later, he missed two potential game winners against the Highlanders.
With six seconds remaining in regulation, Linder pushed the 37-yard game-winning attempt wide right. Linder then missed on another 37-yard attempt in overtime.
The Highlanders won it on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Matt Lovendusky to Thomas.
Valley's Nick Agelis ran for scores of three and eight yards. The senior also passed for 124 yards. Kyle Hayes scored on an 88-yard kickoff return.
Thomas also scored on a 90-yard kickoff return. Jamel Thomas scored on a 12 yard run.
Nick Music scored on a 15-yard pass from Matt Lovendusky. Brian Roth made several overtime tackles for the Highlanders.Wayne Valley (3-1) will play another crucial game when they take on Passaic Tech (2-2) at home Friday.
Wayne Valley 24, Passaic Valley 21, OT
By Skiffo Drake
Little Falls – The Wayne Valley-Passaic Valley rivalry was purportedly dead. It died, according to longtime fans, on Thanksgiving 2000.
The two schools had been battling each other on the holiday (with an rare exceptions) since 1952. That ended five years ago, when both schools came to grips with the fact that Turkey Day games were interfering with the playoffs.
High Schools throughout the country were canceling its holiday games in favor of the playoff preparations. When Wayne Valley and Passaic Valley followed suit, the traditionalists screamed foul.
The series was not ending, though. It was simply moving up to September.For many fans, that was objectionable. The rivalry, it was contended, would never be the same. It would certainly lose some of its starch. At first, that appeared to be the case.
Wayne Valley handily won the 2001 September game. Passaic Valley won easily in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Wayne Valley-Passaic Valley game, by all appearances, had been reduced to just another regular season game.
All that chanced on Saturday.
The two schools squared off in an overtime thriller. Wayne Valley (3-0) prevailed when G.M. Linder nailed a 35-yard field goal, 24-21. The nail-biting ending surely ranks as one of the best, if not the best, endings in the rivalry’s half-century-plus history.
No one, it seemed, appeared to mind that the game was not played on Thanksgiving. An estimated crowd of the 6,000-plus attended.
Afterwards, the Wayne Valley players, cheerleaders and fans chanted “We Want the Cup! We Want the Cup!”
The stakes in this yearly backyard tussle is the Today Cup, a trophy annually presented to the WV-PV winner by the Wayne Today/Passaic Valley Today. The victor would hold it until the following season. Keeping the Cup or getting it back is evidently still viewed as crucial. To some, it was more important than the playoffs.
A year ago, the Wayne Valley players watched in agony as the Passaic Valley players raised the championship trophy over their heads in the aftermath of last year’s game. The mortified Wayne players could only watch with long faces and sad eyes as their foes gleefully mobbed each other on the Wayne Valley field.
This year, Wayne Valley returned the favor by celebrating on the Passaic Valley field. The trophy was passed from player-to-player. Captains Nick Agelis, Remo Fioranelli and Casey Pickler then triumphantly carried it to the team’s school bus.
“We have a spot in our trophy case for it,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “We’ve had a spot cleared since last year.”
The trophy was secured on Linder’s kick. That, however, was far from the only highlight.
Passaic Valley (0-2) tied the game on the last plays of regulation with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. The Hornets trailed 21-13 with just over two minutes to play. They drove 81 yards to force the tie.
With just seconds left, PV coach Angelo DeSalvo made a move that left Hornet fans scratching their heads. Senior Bryant Rodriguez, the team’s talented quarterback, was having an outstanding game. Yet with the game on the line, DeSalvo sent in the backup, Jim Niland.
Rodriguez is best known for his short, accurate passes and his blazing running-ability. Niland, a sophomore, is known for throwing the deep-ball. With that in mind, DeSalvo inserted the backup.
The sophomore delivered by firing a 32-yard spiral into the end zone. Several Wayne Valley and Passaic Valley players jockeyed for position as the ball traveled goal-ward. PV's Damian DiIorio and WV's Agelis leaped for the ball and appeared to knot arms. The ball was batted up into the air. Dan Alcala, another sophomore, dove for and caught the ball for an improbable touchdown.
The PV fans erupted in near-hysterics, even though the game had not yet been tied. The Hornets still needed to convert the two-point conversion.
Once again, it Rodriguez’s turn to deliver. The senior took the snap and rolled right. As he sprinted for the end zone, Fioranelli and Pickler had broken past the blockers and appeared ready to level Rodriguez.
The signal caller never panicked. As Valley’s behemoths rushed in, Rodrguez stopped short and floated the ball to Ray Puluse, who was open in the end zone. The conversion sent the game into overtime.
"I called the team over and told them that we didn't lose the game. It wasn’t over,” O'Connor said. "I told them to keep their composure."
Wayne Valley won the coin toss and elected to get the ball second. The Indian defense responded by pushing the Hornets back 10-yards. On fourth down, Rodriguez was dropped for a 5-yard loss Fioranelli.
Wayne Valley gained control and went seven yards on three runs. Linder followed with his clinching field goal.
“It looked good all the way,” O’Connor said. “He has a very strong leg. Anywhere from 40-yards in, I’ll take a chance on him.”
Bobby Bishop, Vince DiDilectis and Farshad Taschayyodi had touchdowns for Wayne. Bishop scored on an 13-yard touchdown toss from Agelis. DiDilectis scored on a 26-yard run. Taschayyodi scored on a three yard rush.
Wayne Valley ran the ball for 169 yards behind strong offensive line blocking from Fioranelli, Pickler, Eugene Cheval, Kibra Golam and Mike Payne.
Agelis, Taschayyodi, Anthony DiDilectis, Vince DeDilectis and Joe Portelli were all featured as runners in Wayne’s multi-dimensional attack. Jeremy Hreha helped the cause with two long kickoff returns.
"We have a lot of fast runners and big linemen, so we wanted to run it down their throats and play smash-mouth football," Fioranelli said.
"We wanted to run today, so I challenged my offensive line," O'Connor said. "They came through for us."
Rodiguez rushed for PV's first two scores on runs of three and five. The first score was set up by a fake punt. On fourth-and-14, Rodriguez received the snap and raced 47 yards to the 5. He scored three plays later. The drive was also highlighted by a 28-yard run by Joe Wassel.
The second drive featured two long passes from Rodriguez to Matt Coral.
“We didn’t play well enough to win,” DeSalvo said. “We ran 12 plays in the first half and you can't win a game in this league doing that. We played great in the second half and showed a lot of character coming back, but you have to play 48 minutes."
Said Fioranelli, “This is a huge win for us because we're in the hunt for the conference (Northern Hills Skyline) title with West Milford," Fioranelli said. "We're both 3-0."
The two schools will play in West Milford on Friday night.
Wayne Valley 17, Newark Westside 12
9/16/05: Farshad Taschayyodi's two two-yard touchdown runs propelled Wayne Valley (2-0) to a 17-12 win over Newark Westside (1-1). G.M. Linder contributed a 29-yard field goal. Taschayyodi finished with 42 yards rushing.
Valley Beats High Point in Opener
By Skiffo Drake, 9/10/05
Wayne Valley's touchdown on its third play from scrimmage helped the Indians defeat High Point on opening day, 10-2. The score came on a picture-perfect 75-yard pass from Nick Agelis to Bobby Bishop. Sean Miller kicked the extra point. He added a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Agelis and Kyle Hayes helped cement the win with fourth quarter interceptions. Anthony DeDilectis led the defense with 12 tackles. Remo Fioranelli and Joe Portelli added 10 tackles each. High Point had just 86 yards of total offense.
"It was an ugly win, but I'll take it," admitted head coach Brian O'Connor. "A win's a win and a loss is a loss. We're 1-0. That's the most important thing. Our offense was very sloppy. Hopefully, we got some first game jitters out of the way. Our defense was excellent. They won it for us."
Valley Beats Indian Hills in Pre Season
By Skiffo Drake, 9/4/05
Nick Agelis ran for a 10 yard touchdown and passed for a 61 yard touchdown as Wayne Valley beat Indian Hills in Friday night's pre season finale, 35-7. Jeremy Hreha was on the receiving end of the Agelis scoring strike. Backup Derrick Bligh fired a 60 yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Monahan and a 52 yard touchdown pass to Matt Dortch.
On defense, the Indians were led by the linebacking corp of Anthony DiDilectis, Vinny DeDilectis, Joe Portelli and Bobby Bishop. Kyle Hayes had three interceptions.
"This was a good test for us," head coach Brian O'Connor said. "In the NBIL you have Wayne Hills and Ramapo. Indian Hills is probably just a step below. I was pleased to see our linebackers play so well. That was a sore point for us last year."
The lone Indian Hills score came on an interception return that was tipped at the line.
Vinny DiDilectis had a 63 yard touchdown run called back on a holding penalty.
"It was a bogus call," O'Connor said. "But in preseason it doesn't matter that much. It was a strong run. At this point, that's what most important."
2005 Preview
By Doug Scancarella
Wayne - In many ways, Wayne Valley's 2004 football season was over before it started. Brian O'Connor, the team's head coach, was forced to scratch 2-of-the-4 team captains before summer camp.
Gilbert Ellerbe, who was expected to be Valley's lead-rusher, unexpectedly moved to New Mexico last July. That same week, Matt Rigoglioso, a wide receiver/defensive back, blew out his ACL during wrestling camp.
Valley's woes, unfortunately, did not stop then. The two other captains, Ray Fiumefreddo (fullback/linebacker) and Andy Koppel (slotback/defenisve back) also missed significant time due to injuries.
Those setbacks proved to be crippling, as Valley stammered to a 3-7 mark. A year later, those injuries are viewed as way in the past.
"In football, you have to take the good with the bad," O'Connor says. "The injuries hurt us last year, but may actually help us this year. Our hands were tied last year. We were forced to go with kids who would have otherwise been back-ups or even third stringers. Playing with an inexperienced lineup last year, makes us much more experienced this year."
O'Connor's 2005 roster will be comprised of 15 seniors, all whom saw significant playing time in 2004. Leading the pack will be tri-captains Nick Agelis, Casey Pickler and Remo Fioranelli. Together, they will try to lead the Indians to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Agelis will be starting at quarterback and safety for the third straight year. O'Connor calls him "an exceptional athlete."
"He can run and throw," the coach says. “The offense will revolve around him."
The experienced Agelis will have the fortunate of playing behind a hulking line that O'Connor refers to as "the strength of the team."
Pickler and Fioranelli, both three-year starters, will anchor the line on both sides of the ball. Pickler earned All-Northern Hills Conference honors as offensive linemen last year. Fioranelli was an All-Conference defensive end.
Two more seniors - Joe Portelli and Fashard Taschyyodi - will be counted on to carry the ball behind Valley's mammoth line.
"We go with a spread offense," O'Connor says "That means we will usually have three wide receivers and just one running back. Joe and Fashard will both be featured and will give us different looks in the backfield.”
Portelli will be used mostly as a fullback and will generally take the ball through the middle. The speedy Taschyyodi is more of a slot back, and will usually be given the ball on end-around.
Two sure-handed seniors, Jeremy Hreha and Kyle Hayes, will likely serve as Agelis' primary passing-targets. Both will also lineup in the defensive backfield.
The hard-hitting Anthony DiDilectis will team with Portelli at linebacker.
"This is my fourth year, so this is the first group that I've had from freshmen-to-senior year," O'Connor said. "That’s exciting. It's an experienced and hard working group. This is the most dedicated team that I have since I have been here."
And, at least for now, they have not been bit by the injury bug.
"After last year, you'd have to say we're overdue for some good luck," O'Connor said.
"I'll take it. Sometimes it better to be lucky, then good."
No comments:
Post a Comment