11/30/07: Section I, Group III Final: Wayne Hills 27, Wayne Valley 7 (East Rutherford), By Skiffo Drake: Wayne Hills (12-0) toppled Wayne Valley (11-1) to claim its fourth straight State Sectional title and its fifth in six years. It was also the schools 40th straight victory, dating back to 2004. Carlton Marcin scored on a kickoff return and on a rush. The senior finished with 65 rushing yards. Dan DeCicco rushed for a team high 117 yards. Jeremiah Kayal and Ronnie Driesse scored on interception returns. Tim Waller had 15 tackles. Mike Giampapa threw for 46 yards.
Matt Dortch scored Valley's touchdown. The score knotted the game 7-7 in the second quarter. It marked the first time in three years a team had been tied with Hills in the second quarter. It was short-lived, as Marcin returned the kickoff for a TD. HIlls held Dortch to 52 rushing yards, well below his average. Derrick Bligh passed for 117 yards. Chris Pantale caught six passes for 56 yards. Joe Fusco caught two passes for 25 yards and recovered a fumble. Ryan Durr ran 41 yards. Pictures
WAYNE BOWL III: It's Valley vs. Hills In the Final!
11/17/07, By Skiffo Drake: For just the third time ever, Wayne Valley will play Wayne Hills in football. The two schools won semi-final games to advance to the Section I, Group III championship (Friday, Meadowlands 8 pm). Valley (No. 2) advanced by beating Paramus (No. 3), 20-7. Hills (No. 1) advanced by beating Old Tappan (No. 4), 23-6. Hills will be going for it's fifth championship in six years. They will also be playing for their 40th win in a row. Valley will be going for its eighth championship ever, but its first since 1991. Both teams are undefeated this year (11-0).
Ole Wayne High split into Valley and Hills in 1966. The teams were placed in different conferences purposely. The town wanted to avoid "creating a rivalry that was detrimental to the positive spirit of the town." Since they're in different conferences, they can only play in the playoffs. It's only happened twice. Valley beat Hills in the Section I, Group III 1991 final, 7-0. Hills beat Valley in the Section I, Group III semi-finals, 41-6. Both teams held serve, winning on their home field.
“I don’t even know who’s winning the (Hills-Old Tappan game),” Valley coach Brian O’Connor said. “I really don’t care who we play. They’re both great teams.”
Dortch’s opinion differed slightly, “This is amazing,” he said. “It (Valley-Hills) is the biggest rivaly in New Jersey. We’re going to just go play like we’ve always been playing. Hopefully, we’ll get the win.”
“We always expect to go to the State Championship game and win,” Hills quarterback Mike Giampapa said. “It’s cool that it’s going to be Wayne Valley.”
“It’s going to be a battle,” predicted Hills tailback Dan DeCicco. “It’s going to be fun. There’s going to be a lot of back and forth until we play the game.”
Valley got two touchdown rushes from Matt Dortch (40 & 6 yards) in the win over Paramus (7-3). Tom Papa caught a 23 yard TD from Derrick Bligh. Dortch added a fumble recovery, an interception and a key 30-yard reception to the cause. Ryan Durr had a 40-yard rush that led to the Papa touchdown.
Hills got rushing touchdowns from Dan DeCicco (1 yard) and Carlton Marcin (6 yards) in the win over Old Tappan (8-2). Tim Divers drilled three field goals and two extra points. Giampapa had 22 completions for 204 yards. Jeremiah Kayal had nine catches for 65 yards and broke the school record of eight interceptions. Marcin had 65 rushing yards and three catches for 48 yards. He also had seven tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. For more photos, click here.
11/10/07: Section I, Group III Quarterfinals, Wayne Valley 46, Passaic Valley 23, By Skiffo Drake (Wayne): Ever since last year’s playoff loss to Passaic Valley, the Wayne Valley football players vowed to return to the playoffs and, hopefully, get a chance to avenge that loss. The Indians (No. 2, 10-0) made good on that promise and beat Passaic Valley, 46-23.
It was WV’s (10-0) second win over PV (No. 7, 5-4) this season. It lifted them into a semifinal matchup Friday against Paramus (No. 3), 34-0 victors over Teaneck. Valley’s 10 wins are the most since 1991.
Early on, WV appeared to be reliving a nightmare. Jim Niland, who fired six touchdowns in last year’s playoff win, gave PV a 7-0 lead this year when he fired a 32-yard touchdown pass to Alan Bogevski. Joe Liscio kicked the PAT. From that point on, it was all WV.
Niland went on to throw for 242 yards, but was intercepted four times. Dortch, Fusco, Ryan Durr and Lawrence Garcia had the pickoffs. Sam Stallard helped pace the defense with seven tackles. Pantale had six tackles, including 2.5 sacks. The senior is now the school’s all-time single season sack leader with 14 total. Mike Landberg chipped in with six tackles. Fusco had four.
Dortch rushed for 198 yards, including touchdowns of 54 and 81 yards. He also tossed 19-yard touchdown pass to Joe Fusco.
Derrick Bligh passed for 78 yards, including 26-yard scoring strike to Chris Pantale. Bligh also rushed for touchdowns of 1 and 15 yards. Fusco added a 23 yard rushing touchdown.
Joe Wassel and Dan Alcala had 90 and 81 receiving yards for PV. Alcala had a 32 yard touchdown reception from Niland. Wassel reeled in a 24-yuard touchdown strike from Niland. Liscio and Wassel had six tackles apiece. Brenden Murphy had ficve tackles
WV now turns its attention to Paramus, a team they last saw in the 2001 exhibition season. The last time Wayne Valley played teams from the NNJIL in a meaningful game was in 2000, when they beat Ridgewood and then lost to Teaneck in the playoffs. If Valley beats Paramus, they could wind up playing Wayne HIlls in the final. Top-seeded Hills hosts Old Tappan (No. 4) Friday.
11/2/07: Wayne Valley 30, Caldwell 3: Tom Papa hauled in two touchdown passes from Derrick Bligh (17 and 6 yards). Matt Dortch rushed for two scores (59 and 3 yards). Doron Sharel booted a 26 yard field goal. Caldwell struck first, when Mike Martoglic kicked a 32 yard field goal.
Sam Stallard led the defense with nine tackles. Mike Landberg had six spills. Mario Fiornanelli had 4 tackles for losses of 18 yards. He also returned an interception 49 yards. Anthony DeMattia had a tackle that resulted in a 16 yard loss. Ryan Durr had an interception.
Dortch led the offense with 132 rushing yards. Bligh threw for 122 yards. Papa and Dortch had 44 yards receiving. Joe Fusco had 33 yards through the air.
Wayne Valley (9-0) completed its first undefeated regular season since 1994. The State Sectional Playoffs begin Friday. Coach Brian O'Connor believes the team will be seeded No. 2 and host either Passaic Valley or Parsippany Hills. There's an outside chance they can get the No. 1 or even slip to No. 3.
"There's really no difference between No. 1 and No. 2," he said. "Both teams get two home games and then the final is at Giants Stadium (most likely). That just means we'll have to wear the white jerseys instead of the blue in the final. Slipping to No. 3 would make a big difference. That would mean we'd probably only get one game at home." For more photos, click here.
Wayne Valley Three-Peats as Conference Champs
By Skiffo Drake, 10/26/07
Wayne - Matt Dortch ran for touchdowns of 2 and 38 yards as Wayne Valley (8-0) won the "Battle of Unbeatens." Derrick Bligh passed to Tom Papa a 55 yard score. Dortch finished with 151 rushing yards. Ryan Durr ran for 70 yards. Bligh threw for 62 yards.
Valley's defense held West Side's potent offense to 75 total yards. Chris Pantale had 10 tackles, including two sacks. Keir Bowers and Mike Landberg had eight and seven tackles respectively. Pantale and Bowers stuffed a Newark runner for a safety. Dortch had two interceptions. Anthony DeMattia recovered a fumble. Lawrence Garcia had two tackles for a loss.
The win sealed Valley's third straight Northern Hills Skyline title. It is the team's 14th ever conference title and the third time they won three titles in a row. Past championship include 1967, 1968, 1970, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2005, 2006, 2007.
"Three Peat! Three Peat! Three Peat!" the team joyously bellowed afterward.
"We can celebrate a little bit," coach Brian O'Connor said. "It's a huge accomplishment. But our work's not done. We still have four games to play. We'll have to get back to work quickly."
O'Connor, of course, was referring to Valley's regular season finale with Caldwell next week and then three State Sectional Playoff games. For more pictures, click here .
10/19/07: Wayne 44, Millburn 14 (Millburn): Millburn scored first to take a 7-0 lead. It was the first time Wayne Valley has trailed all year. The high scoring first quarter ended, 14-14. From that point on, it was all Wayne Valley. Mike Landberg and Sam Stallard led the defense with 13 and 10 tackles respectively. Chris Pantale added nine tackles. Sam Stallard returned an interception for a 45 yard touchdown. Joe Fusco returned a fumble for a 24 yard touchdown. Dan Mamary tackled a Millburn player for a safety.
On offense, Valley was led by Derrick Bligh, who threw for 105 yards and two scores. Matt Dortch caught a 66-yard pass from Bligh. Pantale pulled in a 13 yard strike. Dortch also scored on a 31 yard rush. Tom Papa blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a score.
Dortch finsihed with 73 yards rushing and 84 yards receiving. Bligh ran for 59 yards. Ryan Durr picked up 45 ground yards. Valley extended its record to 7-0.
10/12/07: Wayne Valley 35, Orange 26 (Orange): Valley (6-0) roared out to 35-7 lead, before surrendering 20 points in the fourth period. Ryan Durr started things off with an 8-yard scoring rush. Matt Dortch then ran for scores of 23 and 7 yards. Chris Pantale scored on 23 yard pass from Derrick Bligh. Tom Papa capped off the scoring with a 91 yard kickoff return.
Make Landberg led the defense with nine tackles and an interception. Pantale finished with seven tackles and one sack. Dan Mamary had six tackles and one sack. Dortch led the offense with 61 rushing yards. Bligh passed for 45 yards.
10/5/07: Wayne Valley 44, Passaic Valley 12 (Wayne): Matt Dortch had 308 rushing yards and 115 receiving yards to lift Wayne Valley (5-0) past Passaic Valley (2-3). He scored on runs of 76 and 4 yards. He also had an 86 yard catch-and-carry from Derrick Bligh.
Bligh finished with 230 passing yards. He also threw touchdowns of 40 yards to Tom Papa and 51 yards to Chris Pantale. Ryan Durr rushed for a score. Daron Sharel booted a field goal and five extra points.
PV's Jim Niland passed to Dan Alcala for a 42-yard score. He also ran for a 7 yard score. Niland rushed for 93 yards and passed for 222 yards. Dominick Corio added 61 rushing yards. Dan Alcala had 75 receiving yards. Brendan Murphy and Alan Bogoveski had 65 and 64 yards respectively. For more photos, click here.
9/27/07: Wayne Valley 44, West Milford 6 (West Milford): Derrick Bligh threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns to lead Wayne Valley (4-0). Two went to Chris Pantale (28 yards and 5 yards). The other went to Tom Papa (69 yards). Matt Dortch raced for touchdowns of 16, 15 and 65 yards.
Doron Sharel started the Indians off with a 25 yard field goal boot. He was true on five extra points. Dortch ended up with 152 rushing yards and 50 receiving. Papa led all receivers with 78 yards through the air. Pantale had 55 receiving yards.
Pantale led the WV defense with 10 tackles, including two sacks. Lawrence Garcia and Mike Landberg chipped in with nine tackles each. Dortch had five tackles and an interception. Nick Music scored on a two yard run for West Milford.
9/20/07: Wayne Valley 37, West Orange 7 (West Orange): Derrick Bligh threw for 200 yards and a touchdown to lead Wayne Valley (3-0) to the win. Matt Dortch returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for the second week in a row. Dortch also scored on a one-yard run and a 55 yard interception return. Ryan Durr added a rushing touchdown for the winners. Tom Papa caught Bligh's five-yard touchdown dart. Durr finished with 61 rushing and 77 receiving yards. Dortch added 67 rushing yards. Chris Pantale had 49 yards receiving. Papa added 38.
Mike Landberg paced the defense with eight tackles. Pantale had seven tackles, including two sacks. Dortch fishined with six tackles.
9/14/07: Wayne Valley 37, Passaic Tech 7: Matt Dortch scored four touchdowns for the second week in a row as Valley (2-0) won. First, he returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a score. Next, he rushed two scores (51 and 11 yards). Then, he caught an 11-yard down and out for a score. Derrick Bligh, who threw the touchdown to Dortch, rushed for a 5-yard score. Dan Mammary sacked Tech's Khalid Muhamad for a safety. Muhamad scored for Tech on a 4th quarter, nine-yard scamper.
Dortch finished with 130 rushing yards. Bligh passed for 103 yards. Chris Pantale had 55 yards receiving yards. Mike Landberg led the defense with nine tackles. Keir Bewers had seven tackles and a sack. Bligh had five tackles and an interception. To see more photos from this game, click here.
9/7/07: Wayne Valley 42, Pequannock 0 (Pequannock): Matt Dortch scored four touchdowns to lead Valley to an opening day win. First, he scored on a 56 run. Then he caught touchdown passes for 64 and 20 yards from Derrick Bligh. Next, he returned a punt for a 60 yard score. Valley also scored when Bligh hit Tom Papa with a 16 yard strike. Lawrence Garcia capped off the scoring with a 6 yard burst. The touchdown was set up by a 55 yard jaunt by Ryan Durr. Daron Sharel was perfect on six PAT's. Bligh finished with 121 passing yards.
Chris Pantale had nine tackles and three sacks. Mike Landberg collected eight tackels and recovered a fumble. Click here to see more photos from this game.
8/31/07: Preseason: Wayne Valley 14, Indian Hills 6 (Oakland): Lawrence Garcia scored on the five yard run for Wayne Valley. Derrick Bligh threw a 12 yard touchdown to Tom Papa. Click here to see more photos from this game.
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