SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2005-5

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, September 23, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Panthers of Central York and were shut out 21-0. The Mustangs run defense was stellar as they held the Panthers to 45-yards on 26 carries, but Eric Schwartz completed 8 passes for 169-yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to Ryan Ortyl to open the scoring.

The teams jostled back and forth until midway through the second quarter when Ortyl scored. The Mustangs roared back and drove from their own 33-yard line to the Panthers 30-yard line, where a sack by John Pickerill resulted in a 47-yard field goal attempt that went wide right. The Mustangs held the Panthers and then started a drive on their own 42-yard line. Joe Ault gained 4-yards and Shawn Rider ripped off a nifty 28-yard jaunt to the Panthers 26. J. C. Laughlin threw a picture perfect 26-yard touchdown strike to Jeremy Renoll but it was negated by a penalty. Ryan Tribue sacked Laughlin shortly thereafter and then a hurried snap resulted in a blocked 37-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Mustangs trailing 7-0 at the half. Shawn Rider was a real spark plug for the Mustangs until an injury forced him from the game.

The Panthers scored twice in the second half, once on a 1-yard run by Ryan Brumner and again on his 3-yard run. Pat Strine intercepted a Mustangs pass from the 10 and returned it to the 3 to set up the final score.

The never say die Mustangs drove to the Panthers 1-yard line and then turned the ball over on downs at the 4, held the Panthers and regained the ball at the 26 after a short punt. David Abror sacked Laughlin at the 36 but the Mustangs drove to the 9 (partly on the strength of a 13-yard pass from Laughlin to Drew Snyder), where Abror ended the drive with the recovery of a Mustangs fumble.

Joe Ault with 1 for 9-yards, Robert Barnett with 1 for 21-yards and Aaron Repman with 1 for 34-yards accounted for 3 kickoff returns for 64-yards for the Mustangs. Jason Gigous returned a punt for 2-yards and Repman returned one for 14-yards. Drew Snyder punted 5 times for 198-yards, for a 39.6-yard average, and kicked off once for 51-yards.

Matt Bosley with 10 tackles and Tim Smith with 9 tackles for the night, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Jeremy Renoll who seemed to be all over the field as he had 7 tackles (including 2 sacks), blocked a pass and caused 2 incompletions with hurries. Eric Updegrove and Jessie Smith each had a sack as well.

Joe Ault, Mark Bittinger, Seth Bolte, Matt Bosley, Jason Gigous, Chad La Gore, Jeremy Renoll, Aaron Repman, Clint Shaffer, Dustin Shaw, Cody Shue, Jesse Smith, Jason Sneeringer, Drew Snyder, Mike Stremmel, Eric Updegrove, Chris Wilson and Ben Yelton manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Justin Barnes, Robert Barnett, Matt Ferguson, Adam Hartman, Curtis Maphis, Shawn Rider, Cody Smith, Tim Smith and Max Wagaman patrolled the secondary.

The Mustangs gained 152-yards rushing and 53-yards passing for a total of 205 yards of offense. J. C. Laughlin completed 4 of 8 passes for the 53-yards. Jason Gigous caught 2 for 30-yards, Robert Barnett caught 1 for 10-yards and Drew Snyder caught 1 for 13-yards. Jason Gigous led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 78-yards, followed by Shawn Rider with 2 for 30, Joe Ault with 9 for 18, Tim Smith with 1 for 14, Robert Barnett with 6 for 7, Aaron Repman with 5 for 7 and Cody Smith with 2 for 7-yards.

The Panthers only garnered 45-yards rushing but gained 169-yards passing for a total of 214-yards of offense. Eric Schwartz completed 8 passes for the 169-yards and a touchdown. Derrick Bender led the rushing attack with 3 carries for 18-yards, followed by Ryan Brumner with 6 for 16-yards and 2 touchdowns, Matt Nugent with 5 for 8, Shane Gilbert with 5 for 3-yards and Eric Schwartz with 5 carries for no gain. Ryan Ortyl caught 2 passes for 152-yards and a touchdown, Anjelo Kellum caught 3 for 45-yards, and they were followed by Shane Gilbert with 1 for 36-yards, Matt Nugent with 1 for 18-yards and Garyon Johnson with 1 for 18-yards.

The South Western Mustang Marching Band and the 22-member Mustang Cheer Leading squad were both very impressive crowd pleasers. The 7-time Cavalcade of Bands Champion, a 2000 Tournament of Bands Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion Mustang Marching Band provided the pre-game entertainment with the 2005 musical program entitled “Festive Overtures: A Holiday Collage,” which featured the majestic fanfare of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” Russian Sailors’ Dance from the ballet, “Red Poppy,” “Russian Easter” and “Russian Christmas.” The Panthers Marching Band also entertained the halftime crowd with a rousing performance of military music in support of the troops.

The Mustangs of South Western are 0-4-0 overall and 0-1-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 150-60-1 (.714) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 291-178-8. The results of the 477 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .620 winning percentage and a .627 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Wildcats of Dallastown (1-3 overall, 1-0 YAIAA Division I) on Homecoming Night at the Mustang Corral. Dallastown is coming off of a 42-21 victory over the Rockets of Spring Grove, mostly on the strength of a strong running game. From here it looks like the scrappy Mustangs are ready to roll and their stingy run defense should help them to get back on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 4 – 2005

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High spotted the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley, Demarest a 21-0 lead and then treated their deliriously happy fans to an explosion outscoring NV 26-6 and just losing a 27-26 thriller in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 action last Friday night. QB Vinnie Graff, scrambling for dear life, was saved by a hellacious block by Dan Kissane and uncorked a beautiful pass that speedy Mike Keating took to the house for a 45 yard TD. With Stephan Macchiorola holding, sure footed Randy Platter kicked the extra point and our heroes had their first 7 points of the season. Then Dominick Rizzo blocked a punt and the ever alert Tom Spear ran it in for 34 yards and a TD. Platter came through again and it was 21-14. Graff threw a screen pass to running back Michael Liptrot who scampered 31 yards for a TD. The speedy back would later leave the game to a round of applause with a leg injury. Platter’s PAT tied the game at 21 and Fair Lawn fans were wild with excitement! The NORSEMEN scored again after a punt rolled dead at the 1 putting our CUTTERS in a hole and led 27-21. A scamper by Graff put our heroes deep into NV territory and Platter kicked a 24 yard field goal to make it 27-24. The NORSEMEN snapped the football out of the end zone for a safety and now Fair Lawn trailed by just 1 point. NV fans feared Platter’s sure foot. And well they should as our CUTTERS marched down the field hoping to get within his field goal range as time ran out! Joe Acuna, Michael Barchefski, Amet Basci, John Macko, Kevin Ramishvili, Spear and others made great plays on “D.” Scott Leathem got off booming punts!

The thriller was reminiscent of the 1980 State playoffs at GIANTS STADIUM in which Pete Natale’s CUTTERS trailed the INDIANS of Passaic 7-0, 12-0, 12-7, and 18-7 and roared back to win 27-18. This effort fell short but was just as exciting. Our CUTTERS made their fans proud!

In the other NBIL Division 1 games the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo beat the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley, Old Tappan 37-21 and the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills mauled the BEARS of Bergenfield 55-0. In Division 2, the BRAVES of Indian Hills scalped the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah 41-20. The Division 2 HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands, INDIANS of Pascack Valley and RAMS of Ramsey had their “bye” week.

This Saturday our CUTTERS come home to SASSO FIELD to take on the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands in NBIL interdivisional action. We might even see popular long time former Fair Lawn announcer and Fair Lawn High graduate, teacher and coach, Joe Hausmann, drop by. I “spotted” for Joe for years at Fair Lawn until he became the “Voice of The HIGHLANDERS,” and I was privileged to become the “Voice of The CUTTERS.” Fair Lawn leads the 1986-93 and 1998 – present rivalry 8-7 (.533). Northern Highlands comes into the game 1-1 (.500) having lost a 28-26 heart breaker to Mahwah and thrashed Ramsey 35-7. The HIGHLANDERS have outscored their opponents 61-35 for an average victory of 31-18. Fair Lawn comes into the game 0-3 having been outscored 113-26 for an average 38-9 loss. The “sleeping Giant” has awakened though and things could be different starting with this week! From here it looks like Fair Lawn 28 – Northern Highlands 19. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2005-4

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, September 16, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Warriors of Susquehannock and were scalped 27-19 in a free for all. This game could have gone either way and a play made or a play missed here and there could have made all the difference. The Warriors hung in there and captured their first victory over the Mustangs since 1974.

The Warriors struck first in a big way with a 77-yard touchdown strike from Andy McCoy to Chaz Powell. The Mustangs countered with a long drive that started with Tim Smith returning the kickoff 47-yards to the Warriors 49-yard line. Nine plays later Joe Ault scored on a 6-yard jaunt and tied the score at 6.

The Warriors scored twice in the second quarter, once on a 9-yard run by Cody Baker and again on Zach King’s electrifying 65-yard return of a field goal attempt that was blocked by Zach Powell. Caleb Wells kicked both extra points and the Warriors led 20-6 at the half.

The Mustangs roared back in the third quarter. Drew Snyder recovered a fumble that he forced at the Warriors 31-yard line and six plays later Joe Ault scored on a 1-yard plunge. Snyder kicked the extra point and it was 20-13. Jessie Smith recovered a Warriors fumble at the Warriors 35-yard line and two plays later J. C. Laughlin connected with Snyder for a 62-yard touchdown, with most of the yardage being picked up by Snyder after the catch. The extra point attempt bounced off the right goal post and the score remained in favor of the Warriors 20-19. The Mustangs regained possession on their own 5-yard line. Laughlin completed a 13-yard pass to Snyder at the 18-yard line and Chaz Powell returned an interception 35-yards for the final score on the next play with 1:39 left in the game.

The Mustangs performed well on special teams as Tim Smith with 1 for 47-yards, Robert Barnett with 1 for 44-yards, Aaron Repman with 1 for 39-yards and Jason Gigous with 1 for 36-yards accounted for 4 kickoff returns for 143-yards and Gigous returned 3 punts for 23-yards. Drew Snyder kicked an extra point, punted 5 times for 224-yards, for a 44.8-yard average, and kicked off 4 times for 231-yards, including 2 touchbacks.

Joe Ault, Mark Bittinger, Seth Bolte, Matt Bosley, Jason Gigous, Chad La Gore, Jeremy Renoll, Aaron Repman, Clint Shaffer, Dustin Shaw, Cody Shue, Jesse Smith, Jason Sneeringer, Drew Snyder, Mike Stremmel, Eric Updegrove, Chris Wilson and Ben Yelton manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Justin Barnes, Robert Barnett, Matt Ferguson, Adam Hartman, Curtis Maphis, Cody Smith, Tim Smith and Max Wagaman patrolled the secondary.

The Mustangs gained 116-yards rushing and 148-yards passing for a total of 264 yards of offense. J. C. Laughlin completed 9 of 20 passes for the 148-yards. Drew Snyder caught 3 passes for 96-yards and a touchdown, Tim Smith caught 2 for 17-yards, Jason Gigous caught 2 for 17, Jesse Smith caught 1 for 15 and Robert Barnett caught 1 for 3-yards. Joe Ault led the rushing attack with 17 carries for 62-yards and 2 touchdowns, followed by Cody Smith with 7 for 35, Robert Barnett with 5 for 19, Jason Gigous with 3 for 6, Tim Smith with 3 for 2 and J. C. Laughlin with 4 for minus 8-yards.

The Susquehannock Warriors rang up 145-yards rushing and 201 yards passing for a total of 346 yards gained. Andy McCoy completed 7 of 21 passes for the 201-yards and a touchdown. Justin Markel led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 60-yards, followed by Chaz Powell with 10 for 55, Joe Mummert with 10 for 17, Cody Baker with 4 for 14-yards and a touchdown and McCoy with 1 for minus a yard. Powell caught 3 passes for 122-yards and a touchdown, followed by Ian Childers with 3 for 57-yards and Mummert with 1 for 22-yards.

The South Western Mustang Marching Band and the 22-member Mustang Cheer Leading squad were both very impressive crowd pleasers. The 7-time Cavalcade of Bands Champion, a 2000 Tournament of Bands Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion Mustang Marching Band provided the halftime entertainment with the 2005 musical program entitled “Festive Overtures: A Holiday Collage,” which featured the majestic fanfare of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” Russian Sailors’ Dance from the ballet, “Red Poppy,” “Russian Easter” and “Russian Christmas.” The Warriors Marching Band also entertained the pre-game crowd with a rousing performance.

The Mustangs of South Western are 0-3-0 overall and 0-0-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 150-59-1 (.718) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 291-177-8. The results of the 476 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .622 winning percentage and a .628 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Panthers of Central York as they begin league competition. Central York has won its three games to date and is coming off of a 40-7 victory over Cedar Crest. From here it looks like the Mustangs have come to life and are due to get back on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 3 - 2005

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High suffered the 2nd largest defeat in their 63 season GRIDIRON history last Friday as they were shut out 48-0 by the powerful PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 action. Their largest margin of defeat ever was 52-0 at the hands of the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck in independent action in 1958. However, during 1954-58 independently and 1959-82 in the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) Fair Lawn went 17-11-1 (.607) over the HIGHWAYMEN. Rounding out the top 3 Fair Lawn losses was the 53-6 drubbing by the HORNETS of Passaic Valley in 1976 in NNJIL action. Our CUTTERS have posted huge victories over the years as well. The top 3 were Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS beating Bloomfield Tech 53 to 0 in 1952, Frank Devens’ CUTTERS dumping Bergenfield 54-6 in 1966 and Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS blasting Northern Valley, Demarest 48-0 in 1997. Over the years our CUTTERS have had many more blow out wins than blow out losses! This shut out loss was the 76th in FLHS history while our CUTTERS have shut out the opposition 81 times.

While Michael Liptrot lugged the pigskin and QB Vinnie Graff scrambled, the PATRIOTS nearly shut down Fair Lawn’s offense. A defensive highlight of the evening was Mike Keating’s interception of a Wayne Hills pass in the end zone. The PATRIOTS lead the 1984 – present rivalry 17-5 (.773). Fair Lawn’s last victory was in 1989 as Alberque’s playoff bound CUTTERS thrashed Wayne Hills 35-8. In the other NBIL Division 1 games the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo rolled over the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley, Demarest 33-0 and the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley, Old Tappan mauled the BEARS of Bergenfield 50-0. In Division 2, The HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands beat the RAMS of Ramsey 35-7 and the INDIANS of Pascack Valley scalped the BRAVES of Indian Hills 20-3. The THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah brought the NBIL record against other leagues to 1-1 (.500) shutting out the RANGERS of Wallkill Valley of the Sussex County League 20-0. The RANGERS had edged Ramsey 9-7 in the season opener.

This Friday night our CUTTERS travel to Demarest to take on the NORSEMEN who are celebrating their 50th season of GRIDIRON action, in an NBIL Division 1 contest. Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS celebrated themselves in 1956 shutting out the brand new NORSEMEN 47-0! NV/Demarest comes into the game 1-1 (.500) and has been outscored 47-46 for an average 24-23 loss. Fair Lawn is 0-2 and has been outscored 86-0 for an average 43-0 loss. The NORSEMEN were shut out 33-0 by Ramapo while our CUTTERS were shut out 38-0 by the GREEN RAIDERS. Fair Lawn leads the 1956-58 and 1990- present rivalry 12-6 (.667). With a solid effort they can add to that record. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21 – NV/Demarest 17. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

South WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2005-3

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, September 9, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Golden Tigers of Hollidaysburg and were upended 37-20. Matt Wimbush with 45-yards and David Rahoi with 43-yards, led the Golden Tigers rushing attack but the real story was sophomore sensation Patrick Smith, who entered the game in the third quarter and completed 4 of 4 passes for 162-yards and 3 touchdowns, 51 and 57-yards to Jared Colmer and 12-yards to Ryan Conway. David Rahoi threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jake Vite to open the scoring, Mike Heist returned an interception 18-yards for a touchdown and Garrett Clawson kicked a 40-yard field goal for the Golden Tigers. Clawson also kicked 4 extra points, punted 6 times for 202-yards and kicked off 7 times for 371-yards, including 4 touchbacks.

The Mustangs also thrilled the crowd with exciting plays. On their first offensive play following the Jake Vite touchdown for the Golden Tigers Cody Smith, who rushed for a net of 69-yards on the night, scored a touchdown on an electrifying 80-yard jaunt. J. C. Laughlin passed for 52-yards, including a 14-yard touchdown to Jeremy Renoll. Aaron Repman returned 3 punts for 91-yards and 3 kickoffs for 69-yards.

And junior kicking sensation Drew Snyder kicked a school record 47-yard field goal and a 37-yard field goal. He is already tied for the school career field goal kicking record with 10. He also kicked 2 extra points, punted 8 times for 375-yards, for a 46.9-yard average, and kicked off 4 times for 201-yards, including a touchback.

Matt Bosley with 11 tackles and Jeremy Renoll with 10 tackles for the night, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Tim Smith who seemed to be all over the field as he had 9 tackles and 3 pass breakups. Chad La Gore recovered an onside kick for the Mustangs.

Joe Ault, Mark Bittinger, Seth Bolte, Matt Bosley, Jason Gigous, Chad La Gore, Jeremy Renoll, Aaron Repman, Clint Shaffer, Dustin Shaw, Cody Shue, Jesse Smith, Jason Sneeringer, Drew Snyder, Mike Stremmel, Eric Updegrove, Chris Wilson and Ben Yelton manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Justin Barnes, Robert Barnett, Matt Ferguson, Adam Hartman, Curtis Maphis, Cody Smith, Tim Smith and Max Wagaman patrolled the secondary.

The Mustangs gained 124-yards rushing and 52-yards passing for a total of 176 yards of offense. J. C. Laughlin completed 6 passes for the 52-yards. Jeremy Renoll caught 2 passes for 27-yards, Tim Smith caught 2 for 6, Jesse Smith caught 1 for 10 and Joe Ault caught 1 for 9-yards. Cody Smith led the rushing attack with 4 carries for 69-yards, followed by J. C. Laughlin with 5 for 20, Jason Gigous with 4 for 12, Tim Smith with 6 for 11, and Joe Ault with 8 for 12-yards.

The Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers rang up 124-yards rushing and 213 yards passing for a total of 337 yards gained. David Rahoi completed 3 of 12 passes for 51-yards and a touchdown and Patrick Smith went 4 for 4 for 162-yards and 3 touchdowns. Rahoi led the rushing attack with 10 carries for 43-yards, followed by Matt Wimbush with 10 for 41, Brandon Long with 6 for 15, Colmer with 1 for 12-yards, Nick Milardo with 2 for 7, Greg Kanski with 3 for 4, David Glunt with 1 for 4, Brad Nocek with 1 for 3, Jared Wilson with 2 for 2-yards, and David Lafferty with 1 for minus yardage. Colmer caught 3 passes for 113-yards, followed by Jake Vite with 3 for 88-yards and Ryan Conway with 1 for 12-yards.

The South Western Mustang Marching Band and the 22-member Mustang Cheer Leading squad were both very impressive crowd pleasers. The 7-time Cavalcade of Bands Champion, a 2000 Tournament of Bands Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion Mustang Marching Band’s 2005 musical program is entitled “Festive Overtures: A Holiday Collage” and features the majestic fanfare of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” and Russian Sailors’ Dance from the ballet, “Red Poppy.” The Golden Tigers Marching Band entertained the halftime crowd with “A Salute To Swing,” featuring “Strike Up The Band,” “April In Paris,” and “Big Noise From Winnetka.”

The Mustangs of South Western are 0-2-0 overall and 0-0-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 150-58-1 (.721) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 291-176-8. The results of the 475 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .623 winning percentage and a .630 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the Warriors of Susquehannock. Susquehannock defeated New Oxford 35-7 in it’s opener and is coming off of a 31-14 victory over Bermudian Springs. From here it looks like the Mustangs are due to get back on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 2 - 2005

By Dick Engelhardt

Last Friday night Our CUTTERS traveled to Franklin Lakes and faced the powerful GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in their Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 opener. Team Captains Vinnie Graff, Michael Keating and Scott Leathem started the season going out for the coin toss. QB Graff threw passes to Keating and picked up yardage on the QB draw. Michael Liptrot and Leathem ran the ball. Liptrot fills big shoes wearing number 28. That number was run across the goal line numerous times by the great Bruce Jankowski during Fair Lawn’s 1964-66 twenty four game non-losing streak. Jankowski played for Ohio State and the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL and the Shreveport STEAMER in the World Football League (WFL). Michael Barchefski made a jarring tackle early and Graff and John Macko sacked the QB. Josh Aviles, Yuval Bussi, Sean Hughes, Stephan Macchiorola, Dominick Rizzo, Tom Spear and others made big plays on “D.”

When it was over the GREEN RAIDERS had shut out our CUTTERS 38-0. This was slightly better than last year’s 41-0 shut out. It was the 75th shut out loss in FLHS history. The last shut out loss was 21-0 in 2004 at the hands of the BRAVES of Indian Hills. Our CUTTERS have shut out their opponents 81 times. The last shut out win was 20-0 over the KNIGHTS of JFK High of Paterson in the 2003 State consolation game. The CUTTERS and GREEN RAIDERS first met in 1956 with Fair Lawn beating the new Ramapo Regional High School 21-6. Our CUTTERS won all 3 games before leaving the NBIL for the NNJIL 1959-83. Fair Lawn, Bergenfield and Ramsey all returned to their old NBIL in 1984. Ramapo now leads the 1956-58 and 1984-present rivalry 15-10 (.600).

In the other NBIL Division 1 game Northern Valley, Demarest beat Bergenfield 46-14. In Division 2, Mahwah edged Northern Highlands 28-26 in a thriller. Fair Lawn’s NBIL Division 1 went 1-1 (.500) against Division 2 as Wayne Hills beat Indian Hills 40-7 while Northern Valley, Old Tappan lost 24-13 to Pascack Valley. The NBIL is 0-1 against other Leagues as Ramsey lost 9-7 to Wallkill Valley of the Sussex County League.

On Friday night our CUTTERS travel to Wayne to take on the NBIL Division 1 and North Jersey, Section 1, Group III defending State champion PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills. The PATS lead the 1984-present rivalry 16-5 (.762). Fair Lawn’s last victory was 35-8 in 1989. The 1984-93 Thanksgiving rivalry would up 5-5 (.500) with our CUTTERS winning 4 of the first 5 games and the PATRIOTS 4 of the next 5. The PATS are the team to beat in ’05, possibly even ahead of Ramapo, and will be heavily favored. Their 33 point victory margin last week compares to Fair Lawn’s 38 point loss. I think our CUTTERS will improve as they go along but they, and every other team except possibly Ramapo, are over matched in this one. I hope I’m wrong but from here it looks like Wayne Hills 28 – Fair Lawn 10. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

THE GRIDIRON 1 - 2005

By Dick Engelhardt

THE GRIDIRON unfolds again as The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High begin their 63rd season with a record of 291-252-14 (.536). Our CUTTERS have outscored their opponents 9,238 to 8,441. It all started September 13th, 1943 when FLHS opened without seniors, who stayed at Paterson Eastside, Hawthorne and Ridgewood to graduate in 1944. Coach Marty Fischbein led the CUTTERS to a fine 9-4-2 (.682) record in independent action 1943–44. Some called the new team the COMETS because they scored quickly in their first game (A 7-6 loss to Lodi), and others called them the CLIPPERS. Then, before the Leonia game, team captain Jack Van Olden led Tony DiNegri, Art Jaeggi, Jack Knowles, Al Livingston and Bill Perkins on a sneak trip to the Rivoli Theater in Paterson to see a movie during school hours. The miscreants were caught and coach Fischbein kept those “cutters” out of the game. With the LIONS up 12-0 he put our heroes in and Fair Lawn roared back to win 13-12. The student body, having chosen Crimson and Gray as the school colors, now insisted the athletic teams be known as “The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High.” And so it still is 62 glorious years later!

In 2002, Greg Tanzer, a 1976 FLHS grad, became the 9th head coach. He had been defensive coordinator the previous 2 years and was also an assistant under Coach Pete Natale 1983–85. He followed Marty Fischbein (1943–44), Frank Bennett (1945–60), Ed Sheehy (1961-64), Frank Devens (1965–71), Al Reinoso (1972–74), Rich Szura (1975–77), Pete Natale (1978–87) and Mike Alberque (1988–2001). Alberque is now the athletic director. Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) championships came under Bennett in 1945, 1946 (with the BUCCANEERS of Bogota), 1947 (with the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst), 1953 and 1955. Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) championships came in 1965 and 1966 under Devens and 1980 (with the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High and the HORNETS of Passaic Valley) under Natale. In 1984 Fair Lawn returned to the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (the B-PIL had been renamed the NBIL in 1956), which our CUTTERS had left in 1959, and Natale’s CUTTERS took the Division 1 title in 1984, 1985 and 1987. Albergue’s 1989 CUTTERS took the NBIL Division 1 title too. The football playoffs began in 1974 and Fair Lawn was in them under Natale in 1979, 1980, 1985 and 1987. Alberque got the CUTTERS into the States in 1988, 1989 and 2000.

Fair Lawn opens the season Friday night at 7:30 in Franklin Lakes against Ramapo. The GREEN RAIDERS lead the 1956–58 and 1984–present rivalry 14–10 (.583) and have won the last 9 games. Fair Lawn’s last victory was 37–14 in 1995 when Ramapo’s QB, Chris Simms (Son of Phil) was a freshman. Our CUTTERS have hopes for a successful season and want to start it off with a victory. Last season ended with a dramatic 16 yard TD pass from QB Vinnie Graff to Stephen Macchairola giving our CUTTERS a thrilling 19-18 victory over Bergenfield on Thanksgiving Day. In 1978, Vinnie’s Uncle, Richie Graff, threw a 24 yard TD strike to Steve Jubelt as time expired beating the MAROONS of Ridgewood 15-7 on Turkey Day. The huge Fair Lawn crowd roared “He caught it! He caught it!” Twenty six years later the fans were treated to a repeat miracle. Let’s root for more such moments in ’05. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21 – Ramapo 14. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2005-2

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, September 2, the Mustangs of South Western traveled to the Warriors of Gettysburg and were shut out 27-0. This one boiled down to the Evan Lewis and Terrill Barnes show. Lewis, only a sophomore, completed 15 of 20 passes for 269-yards and his favorite receiver was Barnes, who caught 9 passes for 189-yards, including touchdowns of 69, 15 and 20-yards. Just to add a little variety, Lewis also threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to J. D. Stahl. And a 62-yard touchdown pass to Barnes was wiped out by a holding penalty.

The Mustangs actually got off to a promising start, with a drive from their 10-yard line to the 1-yard line of the Warriors. 36 and 18-yard runs by Tim Smith and a nifty 31-yard jaunt by Joe Ault highlighted the drive. A penalty put them back to the 6 and in interception in the end zone by Barnes ended the threat. Barnes also ended another drive with an interception near midfield.

Matt Bosley, who had 13 tackles for the night, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Jesse Smith and Tim Smith who each had 10 tackles. Jeremy Renoll had 4 tackles and also had a sack and 2 “hurries” to break up pass attempts. He also recovered what was a blocked pass in my book but may be recorded as a fumble recovery, and he blocked the extra point attempt after the Warriors last touchdown.

Mark Bittinger, Seth Bolte, Matt Bosley, Chad La Gore, Jeremy Renoll, Aaron Repman, Clint Shaffer, Dustin Shaw, Cody Shue, Jesse Smith, Jason Sneeringer, Drew Snyder, Mike Stremmel, Eric Updegrove, Chris Wilson and Ben Yelton manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Justin Barnes, Robert Barnett, Matt Ferguson, Adam Hartman, Curtis Maphis, Cody Smith, Tim Smith and Max Wagaman patrolled the secondary.

The Mustangs gained 125-yards rushing and 78-yards passing for a total of 203 yards of offense. J. C. Laughlin completed 7 passes for the 78-yards. Drew Snyder caught 2 passes for 48-yards, Jason Gigous caught 3 for 12, Cody Smith caught 1 for 12 and Jeremy Renoll caught 1 for 6-yards. Joe Ault led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 58-yards, followed by Tim Smith with 3 for 55-yards, Jason Gigous with 3 for 18-yards, Cody Smith with 3 for 10-yards, Robert Barnett with 2 for 2-yards and J. C. Laughlin with 3 for minus yardage.

The Gettysburg Warriors rang up 155-yards rushing and 269 yards passing for a total of 424 yards gained. Evan Lewis accounted for the entire passing yardage with his 15 completions. Besides the 189-yards to Barnes, Tim Monahan caught 2 passes for 43-yards and J. D. Stahl had 4 receptions for 37-yards. Chris Vivaldi led the Warriors rushing attack with 17 carries for 119-yards, followed by Barnes with 4 for 13-yards, Brandon Brookens with 2 for 11-yards, Tony Hill with 6 for 8-yards, Lewis with 3 for 3-yards, Cody Trail with 2 for 2-yards and Storm Woerner with a carry for minus 1-yard.

Gettysburg hopes to be a contender in the Capital Division of the Mid Penn Conference. The Mustangs are still hoping to do the same in Division I of the YAIAA this year.

The South Western Mustang Marching Band and the 22-member Mustang Cheer Leading squad were both very impressive crowd pleasers. The 7-time Cavalcade of Bands Champion, a 2000 Tournament of Bands Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion Mustang Marching Band’s 2005 musical program is entitled “Festive Overtures: A Holiday Collage” and features the majestic fanfare of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” and Russian Sailors’ Dance from the ballet, “Red Poppy.” The Gettysburg Warriors Marching Band ably performed sections of Beethoven’s 5th, 6th and 9th symphonies and “America The Beautiful.”

The Mustangs of South Western are 0-1-0 overall and 0-0-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 150-57-1 (.725) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 291-175-8. The results of the 473 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .624 winning percentage and a .631 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the District 6 powerhouse Golden Tigers of Hollidaysburg at the Mustang Corral. Hollidaysburg opened the season with a 24-19 win over Altoona. The Mustangs got off to a shaky start in their season opener but are looking to get back on track and resume their winning ways. GO MUSTANGS GO.