Sunday, September 30, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Anthony Landberg rushed for 100 yards and two scores as Wayne Valley stayed unbeaten with a 41-6 win at Passaic Valley.

WAYNE VALLEY – As Wayne Valley went into the locker room at halftime head coach Brian O’Connor knew his team was in a precarious position. Despite being in complete control throughout the first half, the Indians only held an eight-point lead over Passaic Valley. The Indians were controlling the stats sheets, one big play and a two-point conversion had the potential to turn a dominant performance into anyone’s game. O'Connor not only challenged his defense to pick up where it left off, but also challenged his offense to clean up some silly miscues and dominate in the same way the defense had.

But it was when O’Connor threatened 9 A.M. sprints on Sunday morning if those goals were not met, his message really sunk in and Wayne Valley made sure it was going to be able to sleep in. The defense, led by Elvis Romero and Pavel Knezevic, pulverized Passaic Valley and never gave it a chance to get back in the game. They held the Passaic Valley to just one first down and –2 total yards in the entire game as Wayne Valley blew the game open in the third quarter en route to a 41-6 romp at Passaic Valley High School.

“I thought defensively we were great all game and we dominated the line of scrimmage,” said O’Connor. “It was important to set the tone in the second half because even though we felt comfortable, they were one or two plays from tying the game up. Our kids really responded by coming out hard in the second half and the offense cut down on their mistakes that held us back in the first half. This was definitely our best defensive game of the year so far and they carried us today.”

Cesar Concepcion blocking a punt that led to PV's lone score.

Wayne Valley struck first as Allen Yennie plunged over from a yard out to make it 7-0. Passaic Valley had good field position on its first two possessions, starting at the Wayne Valley 43 and at midfield, but the Indians forced three-and-outs on both times. To show how lights out the Indians’ defensive effort was, it did not allow the Hornets to get past their own 37-yard line at any point over the final three quarters and forced three-and-outs on 10 of PV's 11 possessions.

The lone bright spot for the Hornets came after a sack by Michael Melegrano forced a punt and Cesar Concepcion came through the line to block the kick. Concepcion recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, but the PAT attempt hit the upright and the Indians maintained a one-point lead.

Wayne Valley wasted little time padding its lead, marching 51 yards on six plays in 2:12 with Anthony Landberg bulling his way for a one-yard TD run that gave the Indians the 14-6 lead they took to halftime. It was a lead that did not sit well with O’Connor or his players.

“We knew we could have played much better in the first half and we had to come out even more ready to play in the second,” said Landberg. “I thought we played with more intensity and both our (offensive and defensive) lines were awesome. Without them, we wouldn’t be the team we are. They were blowing people off the ball all day.”

Wayne Valley AB Luke Primerano completed 8 of his 11 passes for 154 yards and a score.

On the Indians’ first possession of the second half, Landberg bulldozed his way for a five-yard TD. Less than three minutes later, senior quarterback Luke Primerano had all day to throw and lofted a bomb that Kevin Hughes hauled in at the goal line despite having Hornets’ safety Alex Pezzino draped all over him for a 49-yard TD that essentially put to rest any hopes of a comeback.

Wayne Valley (4-0) also got a 5-yard TD from Billy Crank. Ryan McDonald blocked a punt and James Clarke recovered it in the end zone for the other touchdown. Primerano was an efficient passer going 8-for-11 for 154 yards and a TD. Landberg carried the ball 14 times for 100 yards and two scores. Romero led the defense with a pair of sacks among his seven tackles. Christian Gilberti made five of six extra-point tries. Lou Caltagirone had a game-high 10 tackles and a sack for Passaic Valley (2-2).

The victory was an important one for Wayne Valley as yesterday’s game was the first of five consecutive road trips. Out of those five, the biggest of which by far comes next Friday night when they travel to Franklin Lakes to play Ramapo, which has outscored its last two opponents by an 83-7 margin, in a battle of unbeatens. That game will show whether Wayne Valley is just a good team on the rise or one that has a legitimate shot at a section title.

“We know we’re a really good team, but we want to find out just how good we are,” said Romero. “The mistakes we made in the first half we can’t make against Ramapo or it will be a long night. I thought we really picked it up in the second half and you can’t do much better as a defense than holding a team to negative yards for an entire game. We played really well today, but we still feel our best game is yet to come.”

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