Greg Mattura / NorthJersey.com
GLEN ROCK — The Glen Rock football team ended Rutherford’s magnificent three-year title run in the NJIC and stamped itself as a potential successor.
Senior Mike Flaccavento’s 25-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter was the difference in the Panthers’ 31-30 victory Friday in the NJIC Liberty Division.
Flaccavento’s field goal came with 5:51 remaining, and Glen Rock (4-0) then stopped Rutherford (2-2) on downs and ran out the clock.
“To be able to be on the same level, and even be better than them and surpass them in the league, is really meaningful to us,” Flaccavento said. “We think of them as the top echelon of teams, so to be able to play at that level means a lot to us.”
Rutherford, eliminated from the four-team NJIC championship playoffs, had taken a 30-28 lead at the end of the third quarter thanks to senior Drew Carney’s 31-yard field goal.
Glen Rock senior quarterback Nick Atme threw touchdown passes of 53 and 11 yards to Flaccavento and a 16-yard score to senior receiver John Iachetti. Atme also opened the scoring on a 54-yard TD run.
Rutherford senior Chris Gioia scored on a 2-yard run and caught TD passes of 9 and 47 yards from sophomore quarterback Myles Balchan, who also threw a 31-yard TD pass to senior running back Nick Lora.
“I thought my kids played their tails off,” said Rutherford coach Steve Dunn, whose team’s final nine-play drive ended at the 36-yard line after three incompletions. “We didn’t lose this game because of effort, we lost because of execution.”
Check out the photo gallery, then continue reading.
What it means
The NJIC sends its four division champions into the playoffs, and Glen Rock has already secured the Liberty Division crown with a 4-0 record heading into its final division matchup Oct. 5 at North Arlington (0-4). The Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.
“We’ve been outscored by them 113-14 the last three years,” Glen Rock senior lineman Peter Lagemann said of Rutherford, and his math is correct. “This means a lot to us, especially all the seniors who lost to these guys. Now we get a shot at what they’ve been getting, an NJIC title.”
Key drive
Flaccavento’s game-winning field goal capped a nine-play drive that began at the 17-yard line. Key plays included Atme’s 15-yard completion to Iachetti on a third-and-7, Atme’s 20-yard run, and his 47-yard completion to senior running back Jack Burstiner to set up a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.
“We watched film, looked at their personnel, and we knew we matched up man-to-man,” Atme said. “We took advantage of their defense, and we knew what their flaws were.”
By the numbers
Glen Rock had 369 total yards. Atme was 14-for-20 passing for 242 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. The Panthers had 127 yards rushing.
Rutherford had 387 total yards, featuring 225 rushing. Gioia, who lines up all over the field, including quarterback, carried 14 times for 179 yards.
They said it
“In a lot of ways I’m proud of them, but we’re still not where we need to be,” Dunn said of a relatively young lineup. “Right at crunch time, we came up short, and we had multiple opportunities there at the end to win it and we came up short. And kudos to Glen Rock, because we’re going to have a new champion in the NJIC.”
“The players stepped up when we needed them to,” said Kyle McCourt, Glen Rock’s first-year coach. “I’m definitely proud of them, because they definitely wanted this game.”
