Sunday,
September 6, 2015
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Tommy Uhl blocking a punt for Pascack Valley, the two-time defending state champion that scored with 1:16 remaining to beat Hackensack, 34-29, in the season opener for hoth teams on Saturday. |
HACKENSACK – As a two-time defending state champion, Pascack Valley knows that any team it plays will be looking to a name for itself. A win over the Indians will carry a lot of weight not only in power points and potential playoff positioning, but also in the confidence of the victorious opponent. Pascack Valley acknowledges those facts and its response is, basically, ‘Bring it on!”
With an empty slot on its schedule, Pascack Valley filled with a Zero Week matchup on the road against Hackensack, a program that is not that far away from returning to its former glory. The Indians not only accepted the challenge, they went on the road to do it.
“We’ll play any public school anywhere,” said Pascack Valley head coach Craig Nielsen. “We knew what we were in for coming here. Hackensack is a great team and we knew it was going to be a great game, one worth playing, regardless of the outcome.”
Certainly it was worth watching as there were two ties and six lead changes in the game, three in the second half. There were big plays by both defenses, both sets of special teams played key roles and a matter of a couple of inches on fourth quarter measurements also helped tip the balance.
The game was not decided until Mike Pimpinella got the inside line on his defender and scored on a 16-yard pass from Colin Dedrick with 1:16 left in the game to give Pascack Valley an entertaining 34-29 victory and plenty of momentum heading into next weekend’s showdown with Montclair.
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Sandy Almonte scored two first quarter touchdowns for Hackensack. |
Hackensack was in good shape to late in the third quarter when Jordan Hunter stepped in front a Dedrick pass and took it back 50 yards for a touchdown. Justin Marin, the holder on extra point attempts, then took the snap in the kneeling position, but then rose and raced around the right end for the two-point conversion that gave the Comets at 29-28 lead with 18 seconds left in the third.
Pascack Valley’s first drive of the fourth quarter, kept alive by a single link of the chain on a fourth-and-one sneak by Dedrick, eventually ended with a punt and Hackensack got the ball back with 8:25 remaining and still nursing the one-point edge.
Sandy Almonte, Hackensack’s bruising runner listed a 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, picked up three yards on third-and-4 from the PV 45 and got the ball again on fourth down with just a yard to go for the first down that might have iced the game or at least forced PV to use it final two timeouts, but when the chain was stretched, that same link of the chain was just a little too short. The end result was a turnover on downs with 3:15 remaining in regulation.
“Listen, this is high school football and there is no benefit of a replay, but our guy [Almonte] got to the line of scrimmage and had the presence of mind to dive forward,” said Hackensack head coach Benjie Wimberly. “I’ll look at the tape and see how it really went down, but that was a big play. We didn’t get the spot.”
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On Pascack Valley's first kickoff return of the season, Joe Colasuano went 89 yards for a touchdown. |
When down one with just over three minutes to play and needing a touchdown that was 59 yards away, it certainly helps to have a quarterback like Dedrick, a senior, a three-year starter and a two-time state champion. He completed four of his five pass attempts on the final drive and put a bullet right between Pimpinella’s numbers on the game-winning throw.
“The defense got us the ball back and we knew it was up to us. It was the offense’s time to score. Our experience kicked in. All of our skill receivers are seniors, same with our running back and just about our entire offensive line,” said Dedrick. “That was exactly how that final play was supposed to go. Mike [Pimpinella] sold his route, He took his time with it and when he broke to the inside there was open space with nobody around him. He could have walked into the end zone.”
Hackensack got the ball back at its own 46 with 1:32 left and junior quarterback Bryce Drakeford completed two straight passes for four yards each to Tommy Smith and Hunter, but PV linebacker Tommy Uhl sniffed out a draw play for a one-yard loss and Joe Williams clinched the win with a fourth down sack.
“It was pretty obvious that this game was going to come down to the last play and it was my job to spy the quarterback. I got to him and it felt great,” said Williams. “We love games like this, games that you have to play right down to the end and it is going to help us get ready for Montclair next week. To have a win like this under our belt is great. We are striving for another state championship and this was a good first step.”
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Hackensack's Jordan Hunter returned an interception 54 yards for a score. |
Both offenses were effective. Almonte scored two first quarter touchdowns on a pair of one-yard runs, the first one set up by a 43-yard strike up the left sideline from Drakeford to Joshua Marte and Tommy Smith caught a Drakeford pass for a 13-yard score that gave Hackensack a 21-20 lead at the half. Jake Giambona scored on TD runs of 3 and 1 yards, both times giving PV a lead. The first made it 20-14 with 11:12 in the second quarter and the second gave the Indians a 28-21 advantage with 5:32 left in the third.
The difference was on special teams where PV scored one touchdown and directly set up another. Joe Colasuono took back the kickoff after Hackensack’s first touchdown for an 89-yard score and Uhl blocked a punt to set up Giambona’s first score.
“What I am happy about is the resiliency of the kids. We did everything we could at times to give the game away, but then we did everything we could to get it back,” said Nielsen. “It was a group effort all the way and the kids did a great job.”
On the other side, it was a tough way to fall to 0-1 on the season for Hackensack, which will next play at Kennedy on Friday night in Paterson.
“This is year four for this coaching staff here and we don’t need no more moral victories,” said Wimberly. “We know we are a good football team, we know we are going to win our fair share of games. We’ll be in every game, we will be in the playoff fight, but it is really hard to walk away from this game knowing it was just a matter of inches.”
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