Jack Reilly Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament, Semifinals: Old Tappan 50, Wayne Hills 36

Matt Heskins had 14 points for Hills. Mike Driesse added 8 points. Pete Daibes and Darius Haber added 6 and 5 points respectively. Shane McLaughlin had 17 points to lead Old Tappan.

Passaic County Tournament Ice Hockey Semifinals: Wayne Valley 5, Wayne Hills 1

Ryan Gomez and Nick Maffei had two goals and two assists apiece as Wayne Valley (6-0-1) advanced to the final. Zach Morrison also notched a goal. Rob Sallcum and Max Schwartz added assists. Nate Khoodenko had 20 saves. John Stessel scored for Wayne Hills. Kyle Blazer and Kevan Ellis had assists. Erhan Sarayli had 55 saves for Hills.

Passaic County Tournament Ice Hockey Semifinals: DePaul 3, Lakeland 2, OT

Zach Modelski scored on a pass from Nick Zanoni with 7:19 left in the first overtime to help DePaul (6-1-2) advance in semifinal round of the Passaic Tournament at Floyd Hall Arena in Little Falls. Ryan Carroll and George Mead also scored for DePaul. Bobby Kronyak had both goals for Lakeland (2-4-2).

JP Flynn Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament: Morris Catholic 55, DePaul 53

Morris Catholic used a 13-5 fourth quarter to pull out the victory in the second round of the J.P. Flynn Tournament at Delbarton in Morris Township.

Northern Highlands Holiday Tournament Consolation Round: Wayne Valley 47, Paramus 25

Andrew Keane, a sophomore center, scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in a 21-6 first period for Wayne Valley (2-2). Keane also added six rebounds. Senior guard Tom Larranaga chipped in with 14 points for Wayne Valley. Andrew Herasimtschuk pulled down 6 boards. Anthony Verrilli and Justin D'Apolito had four assists each.

Northern Highlands Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament, First Round: Fair Lawn 59, Wayne Valley 55, OT

John Larranaga led Wayne Valley (1-2) with 13 points. Chris Homsi and Tom Larranaga had 12 and 11 points respectively. Andrew Herasimtschuk had 9 points and 7 rebounds. Andrew Keane collected 7 rebounds as well. Justin D'Apolito dished out 5 assists.

Jack Reilly Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament, First Round: Wayne Hills 63, Snyder 38

Wayne Hills got 28 points and 11 rebounds from center Pete Daibes. Wayne Hills will play Old Tappan in the semifinals tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. Daibes was a two-way end for the Wayne Hills football team that beat Old Tappan, 24-21, for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 championship on Dec. 4. Wayne Hills got off to a 14-9 lead in the first quarter and all but wrapped it up in the second with a 35-15 halftime advantage. Scott Wills and Mike Driesse scored nine points apiece for Wayne Hills.

JP Flynn Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament, First Round: DePaul 62, Mendham 53

Kiy Hester struck for 16 points and Josh Marquez and Davon Jacobs scored 14 apiece for DePaul (2-1). Tore Vicarisi scored a game-high 26 points and ripped off seven rebounds for Mendham.

Passaic County Hockey Tournament

DePaul 11, Passaic Valley 1: Kyle Scancerella and Zach Finkle collected two goals apiece and George Mead picked up four assists to fuel DePaul (5-1-2) in the first round of the Passaic County Tournament at Floyd Hall Arena in Little Falls.

Wayne Hills 5, Clifton 2: A.J. Ricciardi had a goal and three assists to lead Wayne Hills. James Benfatti had two goals. Ian Kliewe and Michael Autiero netted a goal apiece. Sam Finkler and John Stessel had two assists apiece.

Passaic County Tournament Brackets

Ice Hockey

Football: DePaul's Foesel Signs With UMass

Source: The Bergen Record

DePaul tight end Dan Foesel became the second North Jersey football standout to choose the University of Massachusetts this month. Read More

Boys Basketball: DePaul 39, Wayne Hills 33

Josh Marquez struck for 25 points for DePaul, which pulled away with a 10-5 fourth period at DePaul in Wayne. Mike Driesse dropped in 10 points for Wayne Hills. Sam Pressler added 8 points. Photos To Come

Boys Basketball: Wayne Valley 79, Lakeland 47

Chris Homsi led 10 Wayne Valley (1-1) players with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Andrew Herasimtschuk contributed 15 points and 6 boards. John Larranaga threw in four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points for Wayne Valley. Luke Primerano had 9 points and 4 rebounds. Justin D'Apolito and Mike Verrilli had 6 and 5 assists respectively.

Boys Basketball: Paramus Catholic 56, DePaul 54

Youthful DePaul gave highly touted Paramus Catholic all could handle. Freshman Kiy Hester led the Spartans with 19 points. Sophomore Joshua Marquez was next with 17 points. Massimo Aronson, Juwuan Carter and Jarrad Sykes had 6 points apiece.

Ice Hockey: Wayne Valley 6, Wayne Hills 0

Wayne Valley hockey coach Bill Katinsky stood near his team’s locker room Friday night and shook his head with a laugh. He had summed it up perfectly. Read More

Boys Basketball: West Milford 70, Wayne Hills 64

Matt Heskins had 20 points and Mike Driesse added 17 for Wayne Hills. Darius Haber and Pete Daibes were next with 10 and 8 points respectively. Tyler Maurer paced West Milford with 15 points.

Boys Basketball: Passaic Valley 54, Wayne Valley 44

Center Dave Clough dropped in 16 points to spark a balanced attack for Passaic Valley in Little Falls. Tom Gaccione contributed 13 points and Olumide Onajide had 12 for Passaic Valley, which held a 21-11 lead in a defensive battle in the first half. Andrew Herasimtschuk led Wayne Valley with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Chris Homsi added 9 points. Luke Primerano had 6 points and and 7 rebounds. Mike Verrilli had 5 points. Justin D'Apolito dished out 6 assists. Andrew Keane collected 5 boards.

Boys Basketball Previews

Source: The Wayne Today

Wayne Hills Embraces New Regime (Schedule)
It took a little while for first year Wayne Hills boys' basketball coach Paul Palek to evaluate his 2010-11 Patriot roster. That's because two key returnees, Pete Daibes and Mike Driesse, were occupied playing football until December 4, when the Wayne Hills football team beat Old Tappan for the State Sectional championship. Read More

Wayne Valley Adjusting To Change (Schedule)
Staunch Wayne Valley basketball fans will probably feel like something is missing the first few times they look at the box score this season. That's because, for the first time in four years, it will not include the name Jason Rosenberg. The point guard finished his Wayne Valley career last winter as the school's all-time assist leader and as a 1,000 point scorer. Read More

DePaul Ready For Action (Schedule)
DePaul suffered heavy losses to graduation from last year's 20-6 team. Those moving on include Mike Minarik, Matt Miller, Keith Ford, and Wally Sajimi. DePaul will need sophomore Josh Marquez to make a smooth transition to point guard. Junior forwards Davon Jacobs and Massimo Aronson must assume the scoring burden up front.

Football: Yet Another Good Story On The Wayne Hills-Old Tappan Final

Source: The Bergen Record

The fall season had its moments, but there are two that will be remembered for years. Wayne Hills’ "Holy Lateral" as its being called — props to the man who came up with that — gave the Patriots an incredible game- winning touchdown with five seconds left in the North 1, Group 3 final at New Meadowlands Stadium. Read More

Bergen Record Field Hockey Team Of The Year: Wayne Hills

Source: The Bergen Record

It seems Wayne Hills reloads every year and remains an elite North Jersey field hockey program. This season was no different.The Patriots won the Northeast Field Hockey League Division 2 for the third straight year, reached the semifinals of the North 1, Group 3 tournament and won the Passaic County tournament for the first time since 2004. Read more

Bergen Record Girls cross-country runner of the year: Alyssa LaGuardia

Source: The Bergen Record

Alyssa LaGuardia entered DePaul hoping to make the basketball team and expecting to make the softball team. Four years later, she’ll graduate in June as DePaul’s greatest track and cross-country star and one of the top runners in Passaic County history. Read More

Football State Sectional Champions

Year By Year; By School

Wayne Hills Football History

Team History; History Vs. All Opponents

MIRACLE AT THE MEADOWLANDS II

Photos: Wayne Hills; Old Tappan

Media Coverage Of The Game

Click here to read Chris Lawlor's piece in the Wayne Today

Click here to read the Star Ledger Article on this exciting game, including the controversial ending.

Click here to view MSGVarsity footage of controversial touchdown. Footage seems to reveal that the whistle did blow on game winning TD.

Click here for JerseySportsNow coverage

Click here to read the Suburbanite's story

Below is Skiffo Drake's verion

SECTION I, GROUP III FINAL: Wayne Hills 24, Old Tappan 21: Wayne Hills (11-1) won the Section I, Group III crown in miraculous fashion. Old Tappan had rallied to go in front, 21-17 when Devin Fuller threw a 12-yard pass to Drew Martinez with 23 seconds left.

Brian Dowling took the ensuing kickoff and, while being tackled, lateraled to Troy Zaffino, who ran 76 yards for a stunning, game-winning touchdown with five seconds left.

The deciding TD was disputed by Old Tappan, which claimed the play had been whistled dead by an official due to their assertion that Dowling's forward progress had been stopped. Old Tappan coach Brian Dunn said his kids also claimed the play had been blown dead.

"Our kids heard a whistle blow on the field," Dunn said.

Zaffino, who scored the game winner, admitted that the whistle was blown. But the miraculous touchdown stood regardless.

"I did hear a whistle, but I just kept running," Zaffino said.

Cowardly referees fled from the field afterwards, instead of offering an explanation.

"We never practiced this before," Zaffino said. "I saw Brian get the ball and then he was about to be stopped and I yelled at him to get the ball back to me. And then when I got the whole left side was open and I just ran."

"I told the team, let me catch it and try to make a play," Dowling said. "When they were on me I heard Troy yell "BD, BD!" So I pitched it and he did the rest."

Early in the game, it appeared that Hills was cruising to another victory. Dowling scored two second quarter rushes (3 and 6 yards) to put Hills up 14-0. With less than 40 seconds remaining in the half, Fuller scored on a 15 yard rush to bring Old Tappan within 14-7. Hills managed to move the ball down quickly and added a Mike Driesse 27-yard field goal before intermission.

Old Tappan scored on two long scoring drives to eventually take its short-lived lead. Keith Rodman capped of the first drive with an 18 yard TD run. The Fuller-to-Martinez pass with 23 seconds left capped off a 90-yard drive.

Dowling kept his team in the lead through most of the game by carrying 31 times for 189 yards and two TDs, giving him 34 for the season. Kevin Olsen was 10-for-17 passing for 139 yards.

Fuller finished 8-for-16 for 125 yards and the one TD and he rushed 25 times for 88 yards and a score. Rodman finished with 70 yards on seven carries, all in the second half.

This was Hills' seventh State Sectional crown (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010).

Section I, Group III Football Final

Wayne Hills (No. 1) vs. Old Tappan (No. 2)

The New Meadowlands Stadium Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Follow The Game on: http://twitter.com/SkiffoDrake

Wayne Hills well aware of versatile Fuller (Source: The Wayne Today)
Wayne Hills focusing on defense (Source: The Bergen Record)
Game Preview (Source The Bergen Record)

The Series (Hills leads, 35-5-1 overall and leads 4-0 in the playoffs)
1972: Old Tappan 14, Wayne Hills 6
1973: Wayne Hills 38, Old Tappan 6
1974: Wayne Hills 35, Old Tappan 0
1975: Wayne Hills 30, Old Tappan 14
1976: Wayne Hills 14, Old Tappan 13
1977: Wayne Hills 54, Old Tappan 0
1978: Wayne Hills 34, Old Tappan 6
1979: Wayne Hills 28, Old Tappan 0
1980: Old Tappan 29, Wayne Hills 14
1981: Wayne Hills 33, Old Tappan 0
1982: Wayne Hills 13, Old Tappan 6
1983: Wayne Hills 26, Old Tappan 20
1984: Old Tappan 13, Wayne Hills 12
1985: Old Tappan 14, Wayne Hills 12
1986: Wayne Hills 7, Old Tappan 7
1987: Wayne Hills 35, Old Tappan 0
1988: Old Tappan 21, Wayne Hills 20
1989: Wayne Hills 19, Old Tappan 6
1990: Wayne Hills 14, Old Tappan 14
1991: Wayne Hills 20, Old Tappan 0
1992: Wayne Hills 39, Old Tappan 0
1993: Wayne Hills 14, Old Tappan 7
1994: Wayne Hills 14, Old Tappan 13
1995: Wayne Hills 34, Old Tappan 3
1996: Wayne Hills 20, old Tappan 7
1997: Wayne Hills 17, Old Tappan 14
1998: Wayne Hills 44, Old Tappan 7
1998: Wayne Hills 17, Old Tappan 0, State Sectional Quarterfinals
1999: Wayne Hills 39, Old Tappan 14
2000: Wayne Hills 55, Old Tappan 0
2001: Wayne Hills 53, Old Tappan 6
2002: Wayne Hills 30, Old Tappan 7
2003: Wayne Hills 27, Old Tappan 7
2004: Wayne Hills 21, Old Tappan 17
2005: Wayne Hills 16, Old Tappan 14
2006: Wayne Hills 21, Old Tappan 10
2006: Wayne Hills 37, Old Tappan 7, State Sectional Quarterfinals
2007: Wayne Hills 24, Old Tappan 7
2007: Wayne Hills 23, Old Tappan 6, State Sectional Semifinals
2008: Wayne Hills 48, Old Tappan 7
2009: Wayne Hills 41, Old Tappan 7, State Sectional Quarterfinals

Wayne Hills Football: Dowling headed to UMass

Source: The Bergen Record

Brian Dowling didn’t want to wait around for coaches who weren’t 100 percent certain he could thrive in their programs.

University of Massachusetts football coach Kevin Morris has assured Dowling all along that he’ll get an opportunity to play tailback for the Minutemen. When Morris came to Dowling’s home in Wayne on Tuesday night, Dowling gave Morris the verbal commitment the coach sought. (Read More)