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Spartans march to Giants Stadium |
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Straus Newspapers - November 26, 2003 |
| Sparta’s quest for a state sectional title and an undefeated season to go along with the Sussex County Interscholastic League crown continued as the Spartans rallied to defeat Montville 14-10 on Saturday afternoon in Sparta. A capacity crowd of 4500 watched the Spartans chalk up their 11th straight "W" of the campaign and advance to the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group II championship game against Dover. The finale is the first of four games that will be played at Giants Stadium on Saturday, December 6 with kickoff set for 10:30 AM. |
| With 11 ticks remaining on the game clock, Ryan Lindsley completed a 15-yard TD pass play from quarterback Eric Reese when he dove into the end zone that rallied the Spartans from a 10-7 deficit. The touchdown capped off a 10-play, 67-yard march. |
| Lenape Valley rolled to a 49-28 victory over Hopatcong. D.J. Hanna was top gun on the Patriots' attack, scoring three touchdowns as LVR upped its record to 6-2. Hanna scored on runs of 25, 14 and 8 yards while quarterback Brent Freda hooked up with Scott Vladyke on TD aerials of 60 and 25 yards. |
| Montville had erased a 7-3 lead with a 48-yard TD strike from Colin Mahony to Mario McLean that covered 48 yards with 4:03 left in the game. |
| Sparta built up a 282-168 edge in offensive yardage by trailed 3-0 going into the fourth quarter. The Spartans finally got on the board when Reese connected with tight end Tim Yeagley on a 15-yard TD strike on the first play of the fourth quarter. |
| Lenape Valley was ousted from the other half of the bracket when Dover pulled out a 15-14 victory over the Patriots on Friday evening at Hamilton Field in Stanhope. With 49 seconds remaining in the game, the Tigers scored on a nine-yard pass play from quarterback Ronnie Moore to split end Mike Steffen to pull Dover to within one point of a tie. The Tigers elected to gamble on a two-point conversion attempt with Moore tossing a successful pass to Justin Brown coming out of the backfield and going into the end zone to end the Patriots’ season at 7-4. |
| Dover took a 7-0 lead off the field at the intermission. Billy Gallagher, who toted the pigskin 17 times for 40 yards, plunged one yard into the end zone and Brent Freda split the uprights with his extra point conversion to knot the score at 7-7. |
| Lenape Valley moved into the lead with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Scott Vladyka plunged over the goal line from one-yard out and Freda booted his second extra point. |
| For the football fanatics, the price of admission to the Spartans contest allows the fans to remain and watch Morristown againts Ridgewood at 1:30 PM, Piscataway versus Union at 4:30 PM and at 7:30 PM, Ridge will battle Scotch Plains-Fanwood. |
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Spartans, Patriots advance to semifinals |
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Straus Newspapers - November 20, 2003 |
| Sparta remained unbeaten and Lenape Valley upset the seedings as the two SCIL squads moved into the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group II semifinals this weekend. The top-seeded Spartans will entertain Montville the sixth-seeded Patriots play at No. 2 Dover. |
| Sparta led all the way in defeating Mahwah of the North Bergen Interscholastic League 33-12 in Sparta. Adam Lavalley found a seam in the Thunderbirds defense and raced 64 yards to paydirt in the opening quarter. He booted the extra point to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead. |
| Mahwah pulled within one point of the lead in the second quarter before quarterback Eric Reese flipped a five-yard TD strike to Tim Yeagley to give the Spartans a 14-6 advantage at the intermission. Mahwah cut the gap to 14-12 following the halftime break before the Spartans iced the verdict with 21 unanswered points at crunch time. Reese tucked in the pigskin and raced 33 yards to the end zone and the tossed 12-yard touchdown aerial to Tom Lindsay. Chris Mullen completed the scoring parade when he blasted two yards over the goal line. |
| Lenape Valley entered its playoff game against Indian Hills, another NBIL team, in Oakland on Friday evening as the underdog. The sixth-seeded Patriots utilized four turnovers to topple the third-seeded Braves by a score of 21-7. |
| Indian Hills drove to the Patriots five-yard line on the Braves first possession only to turn the ball over when senior D.J. Hanna picked off an Indian Hills’ aerial in the end zone and returned it to the 14-yard line. The Patriots proceeded to march 86 yards in 11 plays with Bill Gallagher blasting the final five yards into the end zone. Brent Freda booted the extra point to give LVR a 7-0 lead. |
| Indian Hills knotted the score in the second quarter before Freda hooked up with Scott Vladyka on a 56-yard TD bomb that boosted the Patriots into a 14-7 lead by the intermission. |
| In the third quarter, the Braves drove to LVR’s 35-yard line before coughing up a fumble that was recovered by Ryan Messick. Lenape Valley proceeded to drive 65 yards with Hanna bolting the final 31 yards to paydirt. LVR iced the victory when T.J. Cerezo picked off an interception and Sean Groome recovered a Braves fumble. |
| Pope John was ousted from the Parochial Group III playoffs when the Lions lost to St. Joseph Regional 33-14 in Montvale. It was a matchup of traditional powers as the Lions lead the Garden State with 20 state championships while the Green Knights are appearing in their 18th straight playoffs, having won nine titles. |
| Billy Lockwood got the Lions on the board first when he bolted 10 yards into the end zone to complete an eight play, 74-yard drive. Jason Harper added the second six-pointer when he blasted eight yards to paydirt in the third quarter. Mill Dillon booted both extra points. |
| Kittatinny was ousted from the playoffs when Montville cruised to a 42-0 victory. Ryan Schwester rushed for 95 yards on 23 carries for the Wildcats. |
| In NJSIAA consolation games, Newton claimed its first "W" of the season in its finale by defeating North Warren 20-6 in Blairstown. Matt Sheehan hauled in TD passes of 42 and 16 yards from Ross Kithcart who completed 6 of 10 aerial attempts. He hit Mike Walker with a five-yard TD strike in the second quarter. Jay Amato carried the ball 27 times, grinding out 112 yards in his final game. |
| Vernon lost to Paterson Eastside 28-22 in Passaic County on Saturday. Chris Bentzen tossed TD passes of 31 yards to Kevin Malkin and 65 yards to John Pew as he set a new Viking record for TD passes in a season with 10. Robbie Jordan opened the scoring when he bolted three yards into the end zone and Ryan Anzelone booted a split the uprights with a 34-yard field goal. |
| Scott Norland turned in an impressive effort in his scholastic farewell as he connected on 9 of 23 passed for 139 yards and rushed 10 times for 54 yards but Wallkill Valley dropped a 29-10 decision to Northern Highlands. Mike Sudol booted a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter and Nordland dashed seven yards into the end zone in the fourth quarter to cut the margin to 16-10 at the time. |
| High Point fell to Morris Knolls of the Iron Hills Conference by a score of 53-6 in Denville. Tom Marony blasted four yards into the end zone in the opening quarter as the Wildcats trailed 7-6 entering the second quarter. |
| Hopatcong lost to Tenafly 26-15 on Friday evening while Jefferson lost to River Dell of the Bergen County Scholastic League by a score of 29-26. Chris Hansen scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 41 and 79 yards and finished with 292 yards rushing on 33 carries. |
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Three SCIL teams vie for NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group II crown |
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Straus Newspapers - November 13, 2003 |
| While four local teams have qualified for the NJSIAA post-season football playoffs, three of them are vying for one title. Top-seeded Sparta, No. 4 Kittatinny and sixth-seeded Lenape Valley will battle for the North Jersey, Section 1, Group II title while Pope John is seeded No. 7 in the Parochial Group III bracket. |
| Sparta completed an undefeated regular season and repeated as SCIL champions by routing Jefferson 41-7 after exploding to a 35-0 lead by the halftime break. Quarterback Eric Resse only launched six passes, completing four, three of which ended in the end zone. He connected with Adam Lavalley on 1 16-yard TD strike that opened the flood gates and added a 65-yard bomb to Alex Heckman before the first quarter ended. Sandwiched in between was a 41-yard return of a fumble by Lavalley who split the uprights with the first five extra point placements. |
| Tim Yeagley hauled in Reese’s third TD pass, going 15 yards to the end zone. Chris Mullen, who gained 90 yards on only seven carries, raced 68 yards to the end zone to finish the first half scoring. Ruan Skorupka completed the Spartans’ scoring totals when he raced 69 yards to glory in the third quarter. |
| Pope John defeated Kittatinny 28-21 as the teams shared the runnerup slot in the final league standings at 7-2. Jason Harper was a dominating factor once again for the Lions, churning out 347 yards rushing on 35 carries while scoring TDs of two, 35 and five yards. Quarterback Billy Lockwood opened the scoring when he plunged two yards over the goal line in the opening quarter. Quarterback Steve Green scored on a one-yard run and tossed TD aerials of 36 yards to Tim Parke and 13 yards to Dave Nicomini. |
| Vernon blanked Lenape Valley 13-0 as both teams ended with 6-3 records and tied for fourth place. Chris Benzten snapped a scoreless stalemate when he bolted seven yards into the end zone of the third quarter. Ryan Brennan, who picked up 152 yards rushing on 20 carries, added an insurance six-pointer in the fourth quarter when he broke loose and raced 56 yards to paydirt. |
| Wallkill Valley’s last official SCIL football game for at two years took place in Hopatcong on Thursday evening. The Rangers rallied to defeat the Chiefs 14-6 and go out with a 3-6 record.when they scored twice in the fourth quarter. Mark Castiglione bolted nine and five yards into the end zone to pull out the victory after freshman Joe Martinek had give the Chiefs a 6-0 lead in the opening quarter when he raced 61 yards for a touchdown. |
| High Point gained sole possession of eighth place with a 38-0 rout of winless Newton. Mike Caliason started the scoring parade with 38-yard and 73-yard touchdown runs in the opening quarter. Jordan Ellefsen went to the air in the second quarter, pitching TD strikes of 72 yards to John Noon and 13 yards to Greg Bennet as the Wildcats opened up a 26-0 bulge by the halftime break. Ellefsen connected with Noon on a 53-yard bomb in the fourth quarter before Phillip Elmer raced 25 yards to paydirt to complete the scoring. |
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Spartans clinch tie for SCIL title |
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Straus Newspapers - November 6, 2003 |
| Adam Lavalley keyed the first half attack as Sparta burst out to a 35-0 lead on the way to defeating Newton 42-7 in Sparta on Saturday. It was the eighth straight victory for the unbeaten Spartans who clinched no worse than a tie for first place in the SCIL. Lavalley scored three times, one of a 55-yard pass from Eric Reese and another on a three-yard blast into the end zone. He picked off a Braves aerial and raced 65 yards to paydirt to build the Spartans advantage to 35 points by the intermission. Chris Mullen only carried the ball twice as he scored from two and 59 yards out. |
| Kittatinny bounced back from its loss to Sparta the previous week as the Cougars cruised to a 35-6 win over Jefferson. Ryan Schwester rushed 17 times for 84 yards to pad his career-rushing total to 1873 yards and a new Cougar record. One of his carries was a 65-yard TD run while Andrew McGinniss hauled in TD passes of 4 and 76 yards from quarterback Steve Green. |
| Lenape Valley rolled to a 49-28 victory over Hopatcong. D.J. Hanna was top gun on the Patriots' attack, scoring three touchdowns as LVR upped its record to 6-2. Hanna scored on runs of 25, 14 and 8 yards while quarterback Brent Freda hooked up with Scott Vladyke on TD aerials of 60 and 25 yards. |
| Hopatcong's outstanding freshman running back Joe Martinek toted the pigskin 31 times, rushing for a school-record 315 yards, including TDs of 11, 70, 85 and 28 yards. He was chosen the sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week. |
| Pope John exploded to a 40-6 lead by the halftime break in defeating Wallkill Valley 40-13 in Sparta. Quarterback Bily Lockwood tossed TD strikes of 31 yards to Zach Green and 45 yards to Andrew Costello plus plunging two yards into the end zone. |
| Rich Pinck picked off three interceptions and hauled in six passes for 62 yards including a touchdown of eight yards from Chris Bentzen to power Vernon to a 47-7 rout of High Point. T.J. Diggles scored twice, once of a two-yard blast into the end zone and the second time on a 33-yard pass from Bentzen. |
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Spartans cage Cougars in "Game of the Year" |
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Straus Newspapers - October 30, 2003 |
| Trailing 7-3 at the intermission, Sparta came out fighting in the second half to rally to a 31-21 victory over Kittatinny in a battle of unbeatens on Saturday in Sparta. The win was the seventh straight for the Spartans who have Newton and Jefferson remaining to hurdle in their quest for an undefeated regular season. |
| Statistically, the game was closer than the final scored with the Cougars racking up 338 yards of total offense on 53 plays while the Spartans piled up 230 yards on 44 snaps. Adam Lavalley ignited the second half outburst by the Spartans when he took the kickoff following intermission and raced 90 yards into the end zone. He added a 39-yard TD run from scrimmage in the fourth quarter and Chris Mullen found a seam in the Cougars' defense and raced 70 yards into the end zone to seal the victory. |
| Kittatinny took a 7-3 lead off the field at the break after Steve Green tossed a 40-yard TD strike to Dave Nicomini. Green plunged one yard over the goal in the third and Ryan Schwester bolted seven yards to paydirt early in the fourth to move the Cougars into a 21-17 lead. |
| Lenape Valley and Pope John chalked up victories to remain tied for third place with 5-2 records. |
| Exploding for 28 unanswered points in the first quarter, the Patriots smoked Jefferson 48-6 in a game in which the Falcons put the ball in play 56 times to only 22 by the winners. Bill Gallagher scored three times on runs of 23, 44 and 27 yards while D.J. Hanna crossed into the end zone twice from 40 yards out both times. T.J. Cerezo bolted eight yards to paydirt in the opening quarter and Sean Groome completed the scoring parade in the third quarter when he picked off a Falcon aerial and returned it 66 yards into the end zone. |
| Pope John blanked blanked Newton 29-0 as quarterback Billy Lockward completed all six passes he attempted for 68 yards and a TD strike of 11-yards to Zach Greco. Jason Harper opened the scoring when he raced four yards into the end zone. Mark Meehan bridged the first and second quarters with touchdown runs of three and two yards. |
| Wallkill Valley's Mark Castiglione broke the SCIL record for single-game rushes when his number was called 54 times as he churned out 235 yards on the ground to earn sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week accolades. Castiglione's effort powered the Rangers to a 21-7 victory over High Point in Hardyston. Quarterback Scott Nordland plunged one yard into the end zone on two occasions. |
| Vernon crushed Hopatcong 46-7 as senior Ryan Brennan rushed for 187 yards on a dozen carries, scoring twice on runs of eight and 90 yards. Andrew Delgrosso crossed into the end zone three times on runs one one, six and 18 yards while gaining 91 yards on nine touches. |
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Cougars vs. Spartans in SCIL Game of the Year on Saturday |
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Straus Newspapers - October 23, 2003 |
| When the dust clears and the final whistle has blown on Saturday afternoon, there will be one team standing alone at the top of the Sussex County Interscholastic League football standings. Kittatinny and Sparta prepped for the SCIL "Game of the Year" by with resounding victories as the Cougars clawed Hopatcong 41-0 while the Spartans bombarded High Point 60-21. For both squads, it was the sixth straight victory in six outings and on Saturday, the Cougars will challenge the Spartans for the top rung in the standings. |
| Senior Jared Roe ignited the Cougars when he took the opening kickoff and raced 75 yards to paydirt. Steven Green fueled the Kittatinny attack as he tossed three TD passes with Dave Nicomini hauling in two for touchdowns of 27 and 18 yards. Ryan Schwester caught the third for 25 yards and rushed 13 times for 72 yards. |
| Adam Lavalley keyed the Spartans as he raced 99 yards with the second half kickoff into the end zone as well leading all ball carriers with 135 yards rushing on only seven carries, including a TD run of 51 yards. Quarterback Eric Reese only threw three passes, connecting on two for touchdowns of 47 yards to Ryan Lindsley and six yards to Tom Lindsley. |
| Earning sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week honors for a second time this season was Pope John's Jason Harper who obliterated the existing single-game rushing record of 338 yards set by another Lion tailback, Jeff Songile, in 2000 against Kittatinny. Harper churned out 464 yards rushing on 22 carries while scoring seven touchdowns that snapped the old mark of six set by Jefferson's Mike Marchiano in 1990 against Newton. Harper scored on runs of six, 60, 84, 16, 48, 24 and 62 yards as the Lions defeated Jefferson 57-22 with both teams finishing the encounter with 4-2 records. |
| Lenape Valley overcame the grief of a Friday funeral for former Spartan defensive end Mark Fisher who was slain in New York City. With small black circles surrounding "78" on their helmets, the Patriots routed Newton 35-0 after opening up a 28-0 lead by halftime. Brent Freda hauled in three aerials for 125 yards including a TD pass from Scott Vladyka of 27 yards. He split the uprights with four straight extra point placements. |
| Vernon rolled to a 43-6 victory over Wallkill Valley as quarterback Chris Bentzen flipped TD passes of 66 yards to Rich Pinck and 67 yards to Andrew DelGrasso in the opening quarter and iced the verdict with a 15-yard strike to Pinck in the third quarter. Bentzen completed eight of 11 aerial attempts for 217 yards. |
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Cougars, Spartans remain on collision course |
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Straus Newspapers - October 16, 2003 |
| Kittatinny and Sparta remained unbeaten and will prep this weekend for the SCIL Game of the Year on Saturday, October 25 in Sparta. The Cougars cruised to a 28-7 victory over winless Newton while the Spartans blanked Hopatcong 35-0. |
| Jefferson remained in third place, one game behind the leaders with a 36-24 triumph over High Point. The Falcons' Chris Hansen was named the sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week after churning out 224 yards on 45 carries and hauling in three passes for 19 more yards. Lenape Valley coasted to a 56-14 win over Wallkill Valley while Pope John edged Vernon 22-21. |
| Ryan Schwester continued his outstanding season as he rushed into the end zone three times, from five, 31 and eight yards out while gaining 178 yards on 22 attempts. Jordan Held plunged one yard into the end zone in the third quarter while Bo Lawson split the uprights on four straight extra point placements. Jason Amato scored from three yards in the fourth quarter for Newton. |
| Sparta exploded with 21 points in the opening quarter as Adam Lavalley bolted 25 yards to paydirt to start the scoring parade. Quarterback Eric Reese who was 6 for 9 through the air for 97 yards, tossed a 35-yard TD strike to Tom Zanetich and Ryan Lindsley raced 60 yards with a punt return to fuel the outburst. A Reese to Lindsley pass from 19 yards out upped the margin to 28 points by the intermission and Chris Mullen plunged over the goal from the four-yard line to complete the scoring in the thrid quarter. |
| Trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, Hansen bolted two yards into the end zone to get the Falcons on the board. He later added TD runs of three, one and three yards while quarterback tossed a 17-yard TD strike to Gerald Annuzzi and added two-point conversion passes to Hansen and Buddy Miller. Neil Phillips, who rushed 13 times for 144 yards, turned in an impressive effort for High Point, scoring on runs of 62 and 12 yards while Brian Konopko hooked up with Greg Bennett on a 68 yard TD bomb. |
| Leading 7-0 after 12 minutes, Lenape Valley bridged the second and third quarters with a 42-point outburst. Head coach Don Smoyln's ground attack was in high gear, rolling out 344 yards on 43 attempts with Bill Gallagher collecting 137 yards on eight carries. Wallkill Valley was led by quarterback Scott Nordland who rushed four times for 40 yards and connected on 13 of 26 aerial attempts for 125 yards. |
| Jason Harper scored his second touchdown with three minutes remaining and rushed into the end zone for the crucial two-point conversion as Pope John rallied to edge the Vikings. Harper toted the pigskin 26 times, rushing for 163 yards and hauled in a pass for 30 additional yards. Vernon's Robbie Jordan scored on runs of 21 and 10 yards while finishing with 76 yards rushing on 13 attempts. |
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Cougars, Spartans remain unbeaten |
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Straus Newspapers - October 9, 2003 |
| Kittatinny and Sparta remained unbeaten and headed for a showdown on Saturday, October 25 in Sparta. The Cougars clawed High Point 26-8 while the Spartans crushed Wallkill Valley 49-0 to highlight last weekend's gridiron schedule. Jefferson retained a chance at a share of the SCIL title with a 43-12 win over Hopatcong while Lenape Valley stayed alive in its drive to an NJSIAA post-season berth by toppling arch-rival Pope John by a score of 31-20. Vernon upped its record to 2-2 by romping to a 48-0 victory over Newton. |
| Kittatinny jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the opening quarter as Steve Green tossed a 29-yard TD strike to Andrew McGinniss and Ryan Schwester, the workhorse on the ground attack, plunged one yard over the goal line. Schwester, who scored from five yards out in the second quarter, toted the pigskin 34 times, gaining 114 yards. |
| Jason Hooper ignited a 21-point outburst by the Spartans when he picked off a Ranger aerial and raced 62 yards to paydirt. Eric Reese, who connected on four of five passes for 154 yards, flipped a 64-yard TD bomb to Adam Lavalley. The margin increased to 21 points when Lavalley bolted 15 yards into the end zone. In the second quarter, Lavalley busted three yards into the end zone and Ryan Lindsley hauled in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Reese to up the Spartans' lead to 35-0 by the halftime break. Ryan Skorupka scampered 64 yards to open the second half scoring and Derek Sotherden scored from four yards out to complete the scoring parade. |
| Jefferson averted an upset and improved to 3-1 when the Falcons rallied to defeat Hopatcong 12-6. William Stokes and Christian Hanseon both scored from one-yard out in the second quarter after Joe Martinek had broke loose and raced 77 yards to a touchdown for Hopatcong in the opening quarter. |
| Robbie Jordan stole the spotlight as Vernon routed Newton 48-0. The junior scored four times on runs of three, 68, four and one yard. For the game, he touched the pigskin 10 times, churning out 112 yards rushing as he was chosen the sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week. Justin Gannon electrified the crowd when he raced 85 yards with the second half kickoff. |
| In a game dominated by both teams' running attacks, Lenape Valley defeated Pope John 30-21 in Stanhope despite three touchdowns by the Lions' Billy Lockwood. Billy Gallagher scored twice for the Patriots whose four six-pointers came from the one-yard line. Brent Freda booted a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter. |
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Schwester earns SCIL player of the week honors |
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Straus Newspapers - October 2, 2003 |
| Kittatinny's Ryan Schwester turned in a pressure-packed performance in keeping the Cougars undefeated after three weeks. He was named the sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week. |
| Kittatinny remained unbeaten and tied for first place when the Cougars pulled out a 35-27 victory over Lenape Valley on Saturday in Hampton. Schwester had his number called 35 times as he churned out 209 yards rushing, including TD runs of 23, 62, 11 and five yards. Kevin Howey added the other six-pointer when he scooped up a fumble and rambled 35 yards into the end zone in the fourth quarter. Bo Lawson split the uprights five straight times. |
| Pope John got on the board first against the Spartans when Andrew Costello broke loose on a 47-yard TD run in the opening quarter. The Lions led 13-10 at halftime before senior quarterback Eric Reese hit Tom Zanetich with a 41-yard TD strike to open the second half scoring. Reese connected on 12 of 22 pass attempts for 272 yards. Chris Mullen bridged the third and fourth quarters with a pair one-yard blasts into the end zone as Sparta posted a 31-19 triumph over the Lions. |
| Vernon snapped a two-game winless streak and in the process knocked Jefferson from the ranks of the unbeaten by trouncing the Falcons 40-6. Leading 12-6 at the halftime break, the Vikings exploded for 28 points in the third quarter as Rich Pinck scored three times. First he picked off a Falcon aerial and returned it 34 yards into the end zone. He followed with TD receptions of 20 and 31 yards from quarterback Chris Bentzen who connected on 5 of 6 attempts for 136 yards. Robbie Jordan gained 104 yards on 15 carries scoring twice from 57 and two yards out. |
| High Point rolled to a 32-6 win over Hopatcong as Neil Phillips scored three times on runs of 74, four and 23 yards while picking 143 yards on 15 carries. The Chiefs' Joe Martinek broke loose in the first quarter and dashed 75 yards to paydirt as he rushed for 198 yards on 30 attempts |
| Wallkill Valley went to overtime to edge Newton 21-20 when Mike Sudol split the pipes following a two-yard blast into the end zone by Mark Castiglione. The Rangers trailed 14-0 before Castiglione bolted 12-yards into the end zone in the fourth quarter. He finished with 142 yards rushing on 25 carries while quarterback Scott Norlund threw for 116 yards including a 27-yard TD toss to Brandon Krokowiak. |
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Spartans blank Patriots |
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Straus Newspapers - September 25, 2003 |
| Sparta utilized a stubborn defense to blank Lenape Valley 14-0 on Friday night in Stanhope. It was the first "crucial" game of the 2003 SCIL gridiron campaign. |
| The Spartans front wall limited the Patriots' ground attack to a mere 55 yards on 21 attempts and allowed only six completions for 66 yards through the air. Meanwhile, the Spartans churned out 196 yards rushing and threw for 51 more as they snapped a scoreless deadlock with a pair of second-half TDs. Chris Mullen, who led all runners when he gained 137 yards on 22 carries, bolted six yards into the end zone in the third quarter and blasted three to paydirt in the fourth period. |
| Pope John exploded for 28 unanswered points in the opening quarter and went on to rout High Point 36-6. Jason Harper gained 206 yards on 22 attempts while scoring two touchdowns. He was chosen the sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week. |
| Kittatinny remained unbeaten after two weeks by rolling to a 31-7 victory ovetr Vernon. Dave Nicomini keyed the attack, rushing for TDs of 40 and 45 yards. |
| Jefferson edged Wallkill Valley 26-19 after trailing 10-7 at the intermission. Christian Hansen broke looses and raced 65 yards to paydirt in the third quarter. He finished the game rushing for a game-high 147 yards on 11 tries. |
| Hopatcong edged Newton 6-3 with all the scoring coming in the final quarter. After Steve Zanetti split the uprights with a 28-yard field goal to give the Braves a 3-0 lead, sophomore quarterback Ian Evans plunged one-yard into the end zone to capture the "W" for the Chiefs. |
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Spartans have re-loaded |
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Straus Newspapers - September 18, 2003 |
| Sparta is the defending SCIL gridiron champions and based on the Spartans 33-7 opening day victory over Vernon, head coach Pat Shea has re-loaded the lineup to defend that crown. Chris Mullen was the workhorse on the ground attach, rushing 18 times for 62 yards that included three touchdowns. Quarterback Eric Reese went to the airways 10 times, completing six for 127 yards and one TD. Adam Lavalley hauled in four of the aerials for 93 yards and a 16-yard TD in the first quarter. |
| Lenape Valley roared to a 40-6 win over High Point in Wantage. T.J. Cerzo rushed 11 times, churning out 123 yards and scoring on a 51-yard run while D.J. Hanna finished with 10 yards rushing on 10 attempts, including a two-yard TD blast. Brent Freda has a busy day for the Patriots, picking off an interception he returned for 26 yards, hauling in a 31-yard TD strike from Vladyka, splitting the uprights with a 22-yard field goal and converting four PAT attempts. |
| Kittatinny rolled to a 23-0 shutout over Wallkill Valley in Hardyston. David Nicomini hauled in TD passes of 9, 10 and 26 yards from senior quarterback Steve Green. The Rangers’ senior linebacker David Stires had a pair of sacks among his five tackles. |
| Pope John coasted to a 47-0 romp over Hopatcong. Jason Harper rushed for 149 yards on 20 carries that included TD runs of 6, 5, 37 and 22 yards. Mark Meehan added 108 yards on nine tries and scored from 18 yards out in the third quarter. Linebacker Adam Melroy recorded three sacks for minus 18 yards. |
| With sophomore quarterback B.J. Stokes connecting on 15 of 25 aerial attempts for 275 yards and four touchdowns, Jefferson cruised to a 40-14 win over Newton in Jefferson. Junior Keith Runne hauled in four of the passes for 123 yards including TD receptions of 35, 78 and 10 yards as Tony Villante’s debut as head coach of the Falcons was a rousing success. |
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Gridiron battles start this weekend |
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Straus Newspapers - September 11, 2003 |
| With the weather turning cool, the start of the SCIL gridiron campaign begins
on Friday evening with kickoffs in Hopatcong and Jefferson scheduled for 7:00 PM. The Chiefs host the Lions of
Pope John while the Falcons are home against the Bears from Newton. Sparta's Eric Reese, Vernon's Ryan Brennan and Kittatinny's Ryan Schwester headline the 1st Annual Straus Newspapers Pre-season SCIL All Star team that was selected by sportsinthegardenstate.com's state-wide panel of coaches and media personnal. Reese, a three-year starter at quarterback, will key the attack in Pat Shea's final season as head coach. Shea has been named to succeed the popular Ted Barbato as the Spartans' athletic director. Reese set a SCIL season mark with 19 TD aerials as a junior when he recorded 1,092 yards through the airways. Brennan, a senior co-captain, will go both ways for head coach Chuck Tepper's Vikings who has 17 returning starters off a squad that went 5-5 overall in 2002. Brennan plays tailback on offense and outside linebacker on defense. Schwester will be a key to the Cougars' hopes of claiming their first-ever SCIL gridiron title after going 6-4 last season. Senior David Nicomini has the size and hits hard to be a dominant force in the defensive secondary. Don Smolyn begins his 29th year directing the Patriots of Lenape Valley who will be in the mix for the league title. Senior Sean Groome has been moved to offensive guard and returns as one of the SCIL's premier linebackers. Wallkill Valley, under first-year head coach Todd Van Orden, will look to the versatile Scott Nordlund to power its attack as the Rangers challenge for the SCIL crown for the last time before embarking on an independent schedule in 2004. Jim Matsakis takes over the High Point program after directing Jefferson to a state sectional final championship game in 2002. The Wildcats possess a strong defensive unit and will be in contention for the team title. Vic Paternostro's 36th season at Pope John should be traditional, namely the Lions will challenge for a league title they have claimed 14 times while playing their four home games on the campus of Sussex Tech. Junior Jason Harper will be the "go-to" running back while filling an outside linebacker slot on defense. Newton will look to snap a winless skein that goes back to September 22, 2001 under Dave Griffen, now in his third-year at the helm of the program. Senior Michael Walker will draw more than one look from college scouts while 24 sophomores in the roster give a boost to the re-building process. |
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