LYNDHURST — Piotr Partyla became a champion Friday night.
Four more games like this and the Lyndhurst senior will become a legend.
The senior, lining up at Wildcat quarterback for much of the night, rushed for 308 yards and five scores to take the Golden Bears past Park Ridge, 34-12, Friday night and earn the school’s first North Jersey Interscholastic Conference title.
Surrounded by reporters and fans after the game, Partyla said all the right things giving credit to his offensive line and defense, but everyone knew this was his moment.
“Every single senior on this team has worked so hard,” Partyla said. “It was a whole team. We win games as a team.”
Piotr Partyla ran for 308 yards and five TDs against Park Ridge in the NJIC final. Here is one of his touchdown runs. Darren Cooper, Local Sports Columnist, @VarsityAces
Lyndhurst coach Rich Tuero gushed about Partyla’s performance, which also included a sack and an interception. He also neutralized the Owls dynamic offense led by quarterback Vincent Pinto.
“If you want something so bad, all you have to do is work,” Lyndhurst coach Rich Tuero said. “Piotr Partyla is the perfect example of that.”
What it means
The Golden Bears are 8-0, one of just two unbeaten schools in North Jersey (Ramapo is the other) and will be a top seed in the Group 2 playoffs, but their exact seed won’t be known until late Saturday night. This was the school’s first conference title.
Hasbrouck Heights won the conference title in 2016 and 2018. Rutherford won in 2017.
“This trophy means everything,” Tuero said. “I am so proud of this thing. It’s awesome. I refused to look at [the trophy]. My wife said they broke it last year. I said I didn’t want to see it until I got it. It’s beautiful.”
Park Ridge is now 7-1 and still one of the favorites in Group 1. They await their exact playoff seed Saturday.
“Our size came back to haunt us a little bit,” Park Ridge coach Tom Curry Jr. said. “We can schematically set up the right way and do things we think will be successful, but ultimately, if they’re a little bigger and a little more physical … I thought ultimately we played a tough game and gave all we could.”
One key play
The first Lyndhurst offensive play set the tone for the entire contest. Partlya lined up at quarterback and the Northern Illinois commitment broke through a hole on the right side and coasted 60 yards for a score to make it 7-0. Lyndhurst never trailed.
Using Partyla at Wildcat quarterback was in the Golden Bears arsenal, but they used it almost exclusively Friday. Partyla carried the ball on Lyndhurst’s first 13 plays.
“I felt like it was working, so we were going to stick with it,” Partyla said. “Right when we scored on that first play, our whole offense knew that it was our game, we could dominate.”
“First play of the game, he goes what, 60 yards?” Curry Jr. said. “It’s funny. He’s fast, but until you play him, you don’t realize the game speed he has. And he’s real tough behind the line of scrimmage.”
Playmakers
►Pinto had two touchdown runs for Park Ridge in the first half. The first half featured five touchdowns and one punt.
►One of the big turning points of the game came on a trick play by Lyndhurst with Michael Renta taking a reverse and throwing a pass to John Rodriguez for a 37-yard gain to set up a seven-yard run by Partyla to make the score 21-12.
►Anthony Lembo had a nifty interception on a tipped pass for Lyndhurst.
►Tommy Ryan had a sack for the Golden Bears.
►Lyndhurst roughed Park Ridge punter Daniel Gutin two times on the same possession, allowing Park Ridge to keep the ball in the third quarter, but Daizae Tucker intercepted an Owls pass on fourth down to end the threat.
SCOREBOARD: North Jersey high school football scores for Week 8
Darren Cooper is a high school sports columnist for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: cooperd@northjersey.com Twitter: @varsityaces
