By Darren Cooper / Record Sports Columnist
POMPTON LAKES – New Milford is unbeaten when Michael Serrano snaps the ball with his right hand.
It’s unbeaten when he snaps it with his left too.
The Knights put together a brilliant fourth-quarter drive capped by a touchdown run by Bart Nativo to defeat Pompton Lakes, 27-20, Friday afternoon in a battle of North Jersey Interscholastic Conference powers.
The game was fantastic from start to finish with both teams making big plays. New Milford made it look easy at first, then the valiant Cardinals seized control, only to have the Knights rise up at the end.
Even though the NJIC regular season is only halfway complete (teams play six league games) New Milford looks like it might have a lock on one of the four playoff spots that go to each of the division winners.
“It’s a big win,” said Serrano. “Coach has been saying all year this will be for the division championship, so it’s pretty big.”
“Nothing comes easy up here,” said New Milford coach Bill Wilde. “Every year you see Pompton Lakes No. 75 and No. 56 and its different kids, but it’s the same, tough kids. You’re like, ‘didn’t that kid graduate?’ To come up here and win on this field is a great win for our program.”
The game wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter. Tied at 20, New Milford took over at its own 33. Senior quarterback Ryan Picinic directed a 16-play drive that included two huge conversions.
The first came on third and 20 when Picinic found senior Matt McElroy down the field, McElroy put his head down and pushed one yard short of the first down.
“That was a big play,” said Picinic, who finished 10-19 on the afternoon. “I trust him. I know he’s going to make a play. I knew he would make that catch. We have a real good connection.”
Picinic would sneak for the first down on the next play to keep the drive alive. Then three plays later, with the Knights facing third and five at the Cardinals 35-yard line, Picinic would keep the ball on a bootleg (when’s the last time you saw a bootleg?) and rumble down to the Cardinals 16-yard line.
“I told Ryan, we aren’t going to put this on your younger brother, we aren’t going to put this on Bart [Nativo], you’re going to go win this game, Nick [Klein] is going to go win this game, Matt is going to go win this game, you seniors are going to win the game and that’s what happened,” said Wilde. “You’re going to run it and throw it. Ryan took over in the second half there. He got hot and pulled it out.”
Nativo, who finished with a game-high 134 yards, would score his second touchdown with 2:24 left to put the Knights ahead.
Pompton Lakes would drive down to the Knights 40-yard line and was threatening with Nick Klein intercepted a Cardinals pass. New Milford (3-0) was able to run out the clock.
“My teammates said they were coming my way and I knew I had to make a play,” said Klein. “I saw the ball in the air and I read it and dove in front.”
After the game, Wilde pointed to a bunch of players who made special contributions in the one, but he specifically singled out Serrano. Wilde pointed out that the Knights never had a bad snap the entire contest.
“That’s pro football stuff right there what Michael did,” said Wilde. “That’s a winner right there.”
Serrano said he hurt his hand in practice on Monday. Doing what? He didn’t know for sure, but X-rays showed a broken finger up near his wrist.
“When they said it was broken and would have to be in a cast, I just told coach I’ll go lefty and we will go from there,” said Serrano.
When asked how the hand felt, Serrano said it was sore.
“It kind of stinks to have to go lefty, but it’s fun to use the club [cast],” Serrano said with a grin.
All was not rosy for the Knights. They lost talented running back Alex Molina to a shoulder injury in the first half. He gives the Knights offense an added dimension with his speed.
But this was a big win. Pompton Lakes (2-1) was defending division champs and reached the NJIC championship game last year.
“I feel awesome,” said Picinic. “They’re a great team. I respect them a lot, so it’s just great to get this one for my team.”
