🏈Rutherford football advances to third straight NJIC final with rally past Hawthorne

HAWTHORNE − Rutherford put its fate in the hands of a freshman in Myles Balchan.

The ninth-grader came off the bench and quarterbacked the two-time defending champion Bulldogs to a 28-20 victory over Hawthorne in Friday night’s NJIC semifinals.

Balchan threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Ryan Ward to give Rutherford (7-0) a 21-20 lead with 7:27 left in the fourth.

“That kid was thrown into the fire, and he had two days to prepare as a freshman coming up, and I couldn’t be more proud of him the way he stepped up and carried this team,” Rutherford coach Steve Dunn said.

Balchan entered in the first quarter because junior starter Chris Gioia suffered a season-ending collarbone injury last week against Pompton Lakes, and Ward, an All-State tight end, was off the mark early at QB.

“I had big shoes to fill with Chris Gioia and I stepped up and I rallied behind my teammates,” Balchan said.

Ward still shared snaps and pulled Rutherford within 13-7 at 1:46 of the second quarter on a 2-yard TD run.

Senior running back Cole Goumas ran for two scores in the second half. His 44-yard TD run in the third cut Rutherford’s deficit to 20-14, and his 15-yard score with 5:28 left in the fourth made it 28-20 and came one play after a 30-yard run by Ward.

Hawthorne (5-2) scored on its first two possessions of the game for a 13-0 lead. On the Bears’ first play from scrimmage, senior running back Cormac Smith took a pitch and threw a 53-yard TD pass to senior receiver Dominic Passero, the coach’s son. Smith made it 13-0 on a 5-yard TD run.

“It was a game of big plays, and unfortunately they made a couple more than us,” Hawthorne coach John Passero said.

What it means

Rutherford will shoot for its third consecutive NJIC title when it plays Friday at Park Ridge

“We’re just excited that we’re able to defend the title,” Dunn said.

The Bulldogs made their debut this week in the Statewide Public Top 20 rankings at No. 19, and their 23^rd consecutive victory against an NJIC opponent might help them climb a spot or two.

Fourth-string freshman

Balchan entered October as Rutherford’s fourth-string quarterback. He rotated with Ward and Goumas in the shotgun Friday and completed 10 of 15 passes for 92 yards, one TD and no interceptions.

“Coming into the game, a little nervous,” said Balchan, whose previous experience was fourth-quarter mop-up duty. “But as the game went on, my teammates rallied behind me and I felt confident going through.”

Balchan was at his best leading Rutherford to its first TD. During the drive, he went 6 for 7 for 52 yards, completing two fourth-down passes for first downs, including a 26-yarder to Goumas on a fourth-and-10 at the 28-yard line that set up Ward’s 2-yard TD run.

“It was definitely different playing with an inexperienced quarterback,” Goumas said, “but we just had to make it work.”

They said it

“I know their quarterback was out, but they still have guys over there who can hurt you in the open field,” Passero said. “Their line did a nice job and they just kept pushing the attack on us and we just couldn’t answer.”

“This team got hit with a ton of adversity last week when our quarterback went down, and our kids battled,” Dunn said. “We kind of found a way in the second half to correct some mistakes we made. When you lose that guy behind center, it takes a little while to figure out who you are as a team.”