Alex Orrechio and Old Tappan opened defense of their Group 3 state title with a 42-14 win over Paramus in their playoff opener on Friday night.
OLD TAPPAN – Northern Valley/Old Tappan began the defense of its 2022 Group 3 state title with an impressive 42-14 victory over Paramus Friday night. The Golden Knights scored the first five times they touched the ball to close out the first half with a 35-0 lead.
“I thought we got out of the gate quick,” said Knights coach Brian Dunn. “We did well on a couple of broken plays - a couple of quarterback scrambles. I was happy we took what was available instead of forcing throws. We ran the ball fairly well and then made a couple of huge plays on special teams.”
Old Tappan had scored midway through the first quarter on a 3-yard run by junior Nicholas Rossi. The big play was a long pass in which junior quarterback Alex Orecchio connected with senior wide receiver Michael Micelli for 44 yards and a first down at the Spartans 5-yard line.
“He’s a tank,” Orecchio said of Rossi. “He’s hard to stop, he’s a tough kid and has a lot of heart too. We can always count on him for the yards we need. He’ll make the play. He’s got some decent speed too if we need him to break one.”
On the ensuing possession the Golden Knights held Paramus to a 3-and-out but a bad snap forced Paramus junior punter Brandon Durrenberger to scramble and he was tackled at the Paramus 15. The Knights took immediate advantage and Orecchio ended the 6-play drive with a 1-yard plunge to boost the lead to 14-0.
Another 3-and-out and punt by Durrenberger gave the Knights a first down at the Paramus 45. Orecchio dropped back and then suddenly took off down the field, weaving around defenders and cutting right to outrun the Spartans defenders into the end zone.
“I was trying to extend the play and a big cut-back lane opened up,” Orecchio said. “Coach [Dunn] and I were talking about the Ramapo game where I was trying to force way too many things - I was throwing interceptions. So he said, ‘Stop being greedy, take what you can get.’ Every play I see 10 yards ahead of me I go get 10. If I can get more I get more.”
A second big play on special teams occurred four plays later when Knights junior linebacker Pierce Kupprion broke through the line and blocked a punt, which Old Tappan recovered on the Paramus 11. Rossi plowed ahead for 7 yards and senior Christian Greaney tallied on a 4-yard run to make it 28-0.
Orecchio scored again on a 3rd-and-9 from the 45 when he dropped back, scrambled to the left around and through a couple of defenders and sprinted down the left sideline two and a half minutes before halftime. Orecchio credits the offensive line for the team’s ability to make big plays.
“We’ve got a lot of returning guys and they’re excellent up there,” he said. “Our bread and butter is ground and pound. It all starts with them up front.”
“It’s hard to stop,” senior lineman Jack Small said of the offense. “It’s hard to gameplan for us especially when our O-line is playing like that. It should be a fun few games going forward.”
The offensive production was obviously sensational but the defense was equally up to the task.
“Coach [Joe] Clause coaches us up right,” Small said. “We work hard on it all week. We literally go over every situation possible. He gets us ready for anything. Our defensive line has been playing pretty well - so has our corners and secondary. Everyone is playing well.”
“They (Paramus) moved the ball well on their first series,” added Dunn, “but we got a couple of negative plays to keep them behind the chains. It was overall pretty good.”
Old Tappan closed out their scoring on its first possession of the second half. Two runs by sophomore running back Devyn Radoian earned a first down and an Orecchio to junior wide receiver Ronan Malady pass gained 43 yards to the Paramus 11.
Then Orecchio connected with senior Evan Brooks for an 11-yard TD. On the play Brooks made a one-handed catch.
He bails me out a lot,” Orecchio said with a laugh. “That was not a well-placed ball. He’s got glue for hands. He’s got big hands and is an amazing athlete. If I’m looking for something I’m looking for Evan.”
For Brooks it was his only catch of the day as Paramus surrounded him with defenders all game long.
“We’ve got good players,” said Dunn, “so if somebody wants to take him out of the game to keep him from touching the ball that’s all right - they’re just short-handed on the other side. He’s a great player and we’re going to find ways to get him the ball no matter what. He’ll be a factor whether he’s catching the ball or not because of the attention he draws.”
Paramus finally got on the board with a 13-play, 80-yard drive, which with a running clock consumed the rest of the third quarter and two minutes of the fourth quarter. Spartans junior quarterback Cormac O’Hara ended the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Spartans junior Mason Merkle recovered an Old Tappan fumble on the Knights’ subsequent possession and sophomore running back Uland Carroll rolled around the right end and scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to make the final score 42-14.
In spite of the big win, the Golden Knights are trying not to get too far ahead of themselves.
“We’re taking it one game at a time,” said Small. “When coach Dunn has us in our meetings I like what he says. He’s like, ‘I don’t focus on the games ahead, where we’re playing, where we’re at. I just focus on one game at a time.’ If we do that we should go pretty far.”
“We’ve got a lot of talented guys,” added Orecchio. “Our O-line is very strong up front. Like Jack (Small) said - we’re hard to gameplan for. We’ve got a lot of tricks up our sleeve.”
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