St. Mary’s defense continues to be solid, and the Gaels had enough offense to stay undefeated as they nipped old rival, Hasbrouck Heights, 19-14, on Friday night on the road.
After giving up 14 points in the first half, the St. Mary (6-0) defense shut down the Aviators to stay undefeated.
Becton (5-1) did not sit on its laurels after losing the previous week to Cresskill. The Wildcats ran away in the second half to defeat Saddle Brook, 35-14, on Friday night in East Rutherford.
Rutherford (2-4) continues to improve, but could not stay with Elmwood Park as the Bulldogs dropped a 55-35 decision in their Homecoming Day on Saturday at Memorial Field.
North Arlington (2-4) lost a heartbreaker on Friday night. After taking a big lead in the first half, it fell to Secaucus, 26-19, in overtime.
Queen of Peace (0-6) continues to get closer to winning a game, but it fell short, losing 21-20 on the road at Emerson on Friday.
Lyndhurst (1-5) got off to a slow start and could not catch up to Glen Rock in the 34-7 loss at home on Friday night.
Friday, October 17
Emerson 21, Queen of Peace 20
Queen of Peace keeps knocking on the door, but is not able to knock it over. The Golden Griffins had their best chance to win, but could not put away Emerson. Queen of Peace sophomore quarterback Derick Suazo hit Javon Turner on a 29-yard touchdown strike. Suazo ran in for the two-point conversion as the Golden Griffins took a 20-14 lead, but Emerson quarterback Sean Dunn hit Gianni Carpenter on a 10-yard touchdown pass to ruin Queen of Peace’s attempt for a win.
Glen Rock 34, Lyndhurst 7
The Lyndhurst offense continued to struggle and could not contain Glen Rock quarterback Brady Miller. Miller would throw for a pair of touchdowns and run for another. The Golden Bears would only get a touchdown in the fourth quarter to break up the shutout. Lyndhurst quarterback Pete Guerriero scored the lone touchdown for the Golden Bears, a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter. Guerriero carried the ball 15 times for 152 yards on the ground. Also Joey Cosenza carried the ball a dozen times for 75 yards.
St. Mary 19, Hasbrouck Heights 14
St. Mary came from behind in the second half to stay undefeated for the season. The Gaels power running back tandem of Keon Banks and Derius Stone led the way with a touchdown run each in the second half. Stone ran across from a yard out that cut the Aviators lead to 14-13. And then Banks sprinted 20 yards in the fourth quarter for the game-winning touchdown. On the night Banks ran for 148 yards to lead the St. Mary offense. Gaels sophomore quarterback Andrew Brito threw a 34-yard strike to Jamie Van Allen in the first quarter to tie the game at seven.
Becton 35, Saddle Brook 14
Becton’s offense got back in gear this week. After being limited to seven points last week against Cresskill, the Wildcats offense piled up the numbers in the second half against Saddle Brook with four touchdowns to pull away from the Falcons. Becton senior running back Roy Forys had a monster night with four touchdowns including three in the second half. After the game was tied at seven at halftime, Forys scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead. Joe Lesho intercepted a Robert Lazzaro pass and ran it back 16 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for a 28-7 lead to pretty much seal the game.
Secaucus 26, North Arlington 19
North Arlington built a 19-0 lead at halftime and appeared to be headed to its third win of the season. Unfortunately, the Vikings could not hold down the Secaucus running game and faced overtime. North Arlington could not score and the Patriots’ top back, Evander Pons ran in from 13 yards out for a touchdown to ruin the Vikings home game. North Arlington’s defense put the Vikings ahead, 6-0, as junior linebacker Devon Lopes intercepted a pass and ran it back 22 yards for a touchdown. And then junior Chris Giaquinto recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a 12-0 lead. North Arlington quarterback Antonio Monahan snuck in from one-yard out to give the Vikings a 19-0 lead at halftime.
Saturday, October 18
Elmwood Park 55, Rutherford 35
Rutherford shook up Elmwood Park with a little more than a minute remaining in the first half when senior running back Justin Spaccavento sprinted into the end zone from 4 yards out. Kevin Kosakowski kicked the point after, and the Bulldogs led 21-20. But Rutherford gave Elmwood Park quarterback Michael Dare too much time and he hit wide receiver Brandon Ricketts for a 36-yard touchdown strike with 30 seconds left in the first half. Instead of Rutherford being ahead, it was down 27-21 at halftime. Sophomore running back Kosakowski would carry the ball 23 times for 146 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Bulldogs quarterback Nick Birchby completed 12 of 34 pass attempts for 185 yards and a touchdown. Along with his rushing touchdown, Spaccavento would return an interception 59 yards for a touchdown. Rutherford head coach Andrew Howell likes how his team has “improved,” but his team continues to make mistakes. “We are getting better every week,” said Howell who pointed to penalties that killed drives. “We’re still making mistakes, and you can’t win when you do that.”
Friday, October 24
Garfield (5-1) at Rutherford (2-4)
Despite losing 55-35 last week to Elmwood Park and dropping the fourth out of six games this season, Rutherford continues to play well as the season goes along. The Bulldogs actually were ahead of Elmwood Park, 21-20, last week, but the seasoned Crusaders pulled away. Rutherford will look to get its offense moving with running back Kevin Kosakowski, who ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns against Elmwood Park last week. The Bulldogs defense will have to stop Garfield quarterback Alex Victorino.
Lyndhurst (1-5) at Ridgefield (2-4)
Lyndhurst will be looking to win its second game of the year. The Golden Bears are led by quarterback Pete Guerriero and will look to run for another big score at Ridgefield. The Lyndhurst defense needs to stop Ridgefield quarterback Eamon Catherina who had a pair of touchdown passes last week against Hawthorne. In addition it is a battle of Lyndhurst neighbors who are coaches, Lyndhurst head coach Rich Tuero and Ridgefield head coach Tom Bannon. “It’s something we have been talking about since the day I moved in,” said Tuero. “I avoid talking about the game, to be honest, but Tom loves to bring it up.”
Saturday, October 25
Becton (5-1) at Park Ridge (3-3)
Both teams’ last losses were to Cresskill. Two weeks ago, Becton lost to Cresskill, 9-7, and Park Ridge lost last week to Cresskill, 35-13. For the Wildcats they are just looking to win out on the season and hope that somebody knocks off Cresskill to get a share of the NJIC Meadowlands Division title. The Becton defense will look to stop Park Ridge quarterback Evan Matthews who threw a pair of scores against Cresskill last week. The Wildcats will continue to roll behind running back Roy Forys who had four rushing touchdowns last week.
North Arlington (2-4) at Saddle Brook (3-3)
North Arlington is still looking for its third win of the season. After winning its first two games of the season, the Vikings have lost four straight games including last week’s 26-19 loss to Secaucus. Despite the fourth straight loss, North Arlington has been playing better. The Vikings continue to improve under quarterback Antonio Monahan. The Vikings defense will need to stop the Saddle Brook running game led by Raj Gulati and Kevin Jacobson along with the passing of quarterback Robert Lazzaro.
Wood-Ridge (1-5) at Queen of Peace (0-6)
Queen of Peace will be facing a team in Wood-Ridge that just stunned the formerly undefeated Bogota team last week. The Golden Griffins offense has played well lately, and the Queen of Peace defense has been steady. Queen of Peace sophomore quarterback Derick Suazo has been improving and will look to move the Golden Griffins to its first win of the season. The Queen of Peace defense will need to stop Wood-Ridge running back Joshua Paez.
St. Mary (6-0) at Bogota (5-1)
St. Mary will look to solidify the NJIC Patriot Division title with a win over Bogota. The Gaels face a hurting Bucs team that was stunned by Wood-Ridge, 26-23, last week in overtime. St. Mary’s defense has been solid all year and has allowed only nine points per game this season. The Gaels will look to stop Bogota’s top running back, Brennen Rodgers, who had a pair of touchdowns against Wood-Ridge. The Gaels running game is its key led by Keon Banks and Derius Stone.
