THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2008 Week 7

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1948 - Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS drew a Bye.

1958 – Bennett’s CUTTERS were beaten 33-14 by the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL). The B-PIL became the NBIL in 1956. Ramapo leads the 1956-58 and 1984-present rivalry 17-11 (.607).

1968 - Frank Devens’ CUTTERS beat the COMETS of Hackensack 21-7 in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. During 1959-82 in the NNJIL the COMETS went 16-7-1 (.696) over our CUTTERS. In 1959, Fair Lawn’s maiden season in the league, our CUTTERS won 27-6 and yet saw Hackensack take the title by half a game. Frank Bennett’s 1953 B-PIL champs shared the North Jersey, Section 1, Group III State title with the COMETS. Mike Alberque’s 2000 CUTTERS put up a whale of a battle before losing 14-6 to the nationally ranked COMETS in the States.

1978 – New coach Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were edged 14-12 by the INDIANS of Wayne Valley in NNJIL action. During 1967-80 the INDIANS went 9-5 (.643) over our CUTTERS in the NNJIL. They left the league for the Northern Hills Conference (NHC) Skyline Division in 1981 and Fair Lawn left the NNJIL to return to the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) in 1984.

1988 – New coach Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were shut out 14-0 by the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in NBIL Division 1 action. Ramapo leads the 1956-58 and 1984-present rivalry 17-11 (.607).

1998 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were beaten 45-21 by the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills in NBIL Division 1 action. The PATRIOTS lead the 1984 – present rivalry 18-5 (.783). Fair Lawn’s last victory was in 1989 as Alberque’s NBIL Division 1 champion and playoff bound CUTTERS thrashed Wayne Hills 35-8.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2008-10

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, October 24, the Mustangs of South Western visited the den of the undefeated Bearcats of York High (William Penn) and were barely edged 32-27 after a valiant effort. The Bearcats opened the game with a five play, 76-yard touchdown drive, featuring passes of 20-yards to Malik Generett, 7-yards to Andre Callum, and a 36-yard touchdown strike to Generett. Ethan Fair’s extra point kick put the Bearcats up 7-0 only 1:25 into the game, but the Mustangs matched the Bearcats touchdown for touchdown the rest of the game.

After the Mustangs punted, the Bearcats marched 87-yards in three plays, ending with a 78-yard touchdown jaunt by Brandon Walker. Fair’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-0 at 6:35 in the first quarter.

The Mustangs answered right back with a 65-yard 12 play touchdown drive. It featured a 24-yard gain by Jeb Shipley on a fake punt and a 12-yard pass from David Sager to Drew Sneeringer, and ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by David Sager. Zak Kruger’s extra point kick made the score 14-7 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.

After exchanges on a punt and a turnover on downs by the Mustangs and a punt by the Bearcats, Barry Bowman recovered a Mustangs fumble and returned it 38-yards for a touchdown for the Bearcats. The 20-7 score was the way the first half ended.

After the Mustangs ended the opening drive of the second half with a punt, the Bearcats marched 55-yards in eight plays. Steffonte Doby scored on a 24-yard run and that upped the score to 26-7.

The Mustangs responded when Zac Scott blocked a Bearcats punt at the Bearcats 10-yard line. David Sager threw a 10-yard touchdown strike to Drew Sneeringer and Kruger’s extra point kick made the score 26-14 with 2:24 to go in the third quarter.

The Mustangs had a drive that included another fake punt but ended up turning the ball over on downs. The Bearcats then drove 70-yards in two plays, ending with Steffonte Doby’s 49-yard touchdown streak, and the score went to 32-14 with 11:14 to go in the game.

Chris Helwig returned the kickoff 67-yards to the Bearcats 30-yard line. David Sager then threw a 30-yard touchdown strike to Zac Scott and the score tightened to 32-20.

The Mustangs tenacious defense forced the Bearcats to punt and the Mustangs launched an 8 play 60-yard drive. The drive featured an 18-yard run by Chris Helwig, a 10-yard run by Kyle King, a 12-yard run by Jeb Shipley, and a 16-yard pass from David Sager to Drew Sneeringer to the Bearcats 1-yard line. David Sager then threw a 1-yard touchdown strike to Sneeringer. Kruger kicked the extra point and suddenly the score was 32-27 with 5:48 left in the game.

The never say die Mustangs got the ball on their 20-yard line, were penalized back to the 10-yard line, then drove to the 30-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 1:23 to go in the game. The Bearcats then took a knee to end the game.

Jake Myers led the Mustangs defense with 15 tackles, followed by Jake Shaffer with 11, Andrew Sells with 10, Brandon Nicastro and Drew Sneeringer with 8 tackles each, Zac Scott with 7, Levi Sager and Derek Supel with 4 tackles each, Jimmy Nicklas with 3, Mike Brant, Adam Day, and Kyle King with 2 tackles each, and Alex Berwager, Chris Helwig, Kyle Mahorney, and Ryan Sexton with 1 tackle each. Day, Mahorney and Shaffer were each credited with a sack for the Mustangs. Kyle King was credited with 2 pass defenses and Adam Day was credited with a pass hurry for the Mustangs.

Chris Helwig returned 4 kickoffs for 115-yards, with the longest going for 67-yards, and he returned a punt for 2-yards for the Mustangs. Levi Sager returned 1 punt for 5-yards for the Mustangs. Zak Kruger kicked off 5 times for 241-yards, including 2 touchbacks, and Jake Myers punted 5 times for 180-yards, for a 36-yard average, for the Mustangs.

Adam Day, Colby Fuhrman, Jordan Gall, Chris Helwig, Kyle Mahorney, Jake Myers, Brandon Nicastro, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Jake Shaffer, Drew Sneeringer, Derek Supel, and Wes Trostle manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Alex Berwager, Kyle King, Jimmy Nicklas and Levi Sager patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 125-yards rushing and 109-yards passing for a total of 234-yards of offense. Jeb Shipley led the Mustangs rushing attack with 8 carries for 43-yards, followed by Chris Helwig with 6 for 34, J. R. Mummert with 11 for 24, Levi Sager with 2 for 17, Zac Scott with 2 for 2-yards, and David Sager with 3 carries for minus 5-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown). Quarterback David Sager completed 13 of 29 passes for 109-yards and 3 touchdowns, 4 for 39-yards to Drew Sneeringer (including touchdowns of 10 and 1-yards), 1 for a 30-yard touchdown to Scott, 3 for 18-yards to Kyle Mahorney, 2 for 12-yards to Shipley, 1 for 12-yards to Jimmy Nicklas, and 1 for minus 2-yards to Helwig, for the Mustangs. Zak Kruger kicked 3 extra points and had 2 touchbacks on kickoffs for the Mustangs.

The Bearcats gained 248-yards rushing and 81-yards passing for a total offense of 329-yards. Steffonte Doby led the Bearcats rushing attack with 15 carries for 126-yards (including touchdowns of 24 and 49-yards), followed by Brandon Walker with 9 for 121-yards (including a 78-yard touchdown), Javaughn Murphy with 1 for 8-yards, Barry Bowman with 1 for 1-yard, Jordan Davis with 8 for minus 2-yards, and Andre Callum with 1 carry for minus 6-yards. Quarterback Davis completed 10 of 15 passes for 81-yards, 4 for 62-yards to Malik Generett (including a 36-yard touchdown), 2 for 13-yards to Callum, 1 for 13-yards to Walker, 1 for minus 1-yard to Barry Bowman, and 1 for minus 6-yards to Doby, for the Bearcats. Bowman returned a fumble 38-yards for a touchdown and Ethan Fair kicked 2 extra points for the Bearcats.

The 93 member 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a rousing half time show entitled “B-Classical” and featuring the energetic rhythms of Bernstein, passionate melodies of Borodini, and empowering harmony of Bizet. The 71 member William Penn Marching Band put on a stirring post game show titled “The Sounds of Simon,” featuring the tunes “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “You Can Call Me Al,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover,” “Late In The Evening,” and “The Sounds of Silence.” The 25 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Mustangs Mascot, and the Bearcats Cheer Leaders were very impressive in rousing their fandom.

The Mustangs of South Western are 3-6-0 overall and 2-4-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 172-77-1 (.691) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 313-195-8. The results of the 516 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .616 winning percentage and a .622 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and visit the Colonials of New Oxford. The Colonials are coming off of a 30-15 loss to the Eagles of Dover. From here it looks like the Mustangs are ready to end the season on a high and winning note. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 8 - 2008

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High roared from behind to beat the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands 29-23 in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 action last week. Captains Yuval Bussi, Kevin Carlson, Nick Graff and Joe Visaggio won the coin toss and Fair Lawn elected to receive. Visaggio was the hero of the day, scoring all 4 TDs. He ran the opening kickoff 90 yards for a TD and Sacir Hot, with Visaggio holding, kicked the extra point to put Fair Lawn up 7-0. The HIGHLANDERS intercepted a pass and then scored to tie the game at 7. They scored again to go up 14-7. QB Travis Kubasta threw a 48 yard TD strike to Visaggio and Hot’s kick tied the game at 14. Northern Highlands led 20-14 at the half.

Nick Graff recovered a fumble and Kevin Carlson ran to the 10. Visaggio ran 4 yards for a TD. Hot’s point after kick put Fair Lawn ahead 21-20. The HIGHLANDERS kicked a field goal to lead 23-21 late in the game. Then, in the closing minutes, our CUTTERS faced 4th and 3 at their own 27 yard line. Visaggio burst through the line and electrified the crowd with a 73 yard TD gallop. Carlson ran for the 2 point conversion for the 29-23 lead and Fair Lawn hung on for dear life. With 9 seconds on the clock and the HIGHLANDERS knocking at the door, Visaggio broke up what would have been a TD pass and saved the game. Whew! On “D,” Mike Berkhofer, Bussi, Sergio LaPlaca, James Mallon, Tiburtius Roberts, Kevin Rosario, Christian Samra, Chris Soltys and others made big plays. Fair Lawn leads the 1986-93 and 1998 – present rivalry 10-9 (.526).

In the other NBIL Division 1 game the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills brought their winning streak to 47 thrashing the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/ Demarest 50-0. The GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley/Old Tappan had a bye. In the NBIL Division 2 the INDIANS of Pascack Valley beat the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah 24-14 and the BRAVES of Indian Hills beat the RAMS of Ramsey 20-7. Fair Lawn’s NBIL Division 1 went 1-0 (1.000) over Division 2 as the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo shut out the BEARS of Bergenfield 42-0. The NBIL Division 1 is 12-6 (.667) over Division 2 so far this season.

This Saturday night our CUTTERS travel to Wayne to take on the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills in NBIL Division 1 action. The Patriots lead the 1984 – present rivalry 18-5 (.783). Fair Lawn’s last victory was in 1989 as Mike Alberque’s NBIL Division 1 champion and playoff bound CUTTERS thrashed the PATRIOTS 35-8. Fair Lawn comes into the game 5-1 (.833) having outscored the opposition 195-102 for an average 33-17 win. Wayne Hills has that 47 game winning streak going and is 7-0 (1.000) this season having outscored the opposition 281-56 for an average 40-8 victory. Our “never say die” CUTTERS figure to put up a whale of a battle against one of the top teams in New Jersey and keep this game closer than some of the other teams Wayne Hills has beaten did. I hope I’m wrong but from here it looks like Wayne Hills 30 – Fair Lawn 21. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2008 Week 6

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1948 - Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS were shut out 13-0 by the CARDINALS of Pompton Lakes in independent action. - During 1945-50 Charlie Benson’s CARDS and Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS split their fierce rivalry at 3-3 (.500).

1958 – Bennett’s CUTTERS were ambushed 52-0 by the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck in independent action. In ’59 Fair Lawn would move up to the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) and begin play in the big league with a 12-7 upset victory over Teaneck. During 1954-58 independently and 1959-82 in the NNJIL our CUTTERS went 17-11-1 (.607) over the HIGHWAYMEN.

1968 - Frank Devens’ CUTTERS edged the BEARS of Bergenfield 19-14 in NNJIL play. Fair Lawn leads the 1945-48 and 1962-present rivalry 34-16 (.680) and the 1994-present Turkey Day rivalry 10-4 (.714). The teams have squared off 1945-48 in the Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL), 1962-83 in the NNJIL and since 1984 in the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL), which the B-PIL became in 1956.

1978 – New coach Pete Natale’s CUTTERS mauled the BENGALS of Bloomfield 28-7 in NNJIL action. Our CUTTERS took the 1977 independent and 1978-81 NNJIL rivalry 4-1 (.800). In ’77 Bloomfield was not yet a full NNJIL member because of a commitment to play Irvington on Thanksgiving.

1988 – New coach Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS beat the RAMS of Ramsey 13-7 in NBIL interdivisional action. Fair Lawn leads the 1945-58, 1984-99 and 2002-06 rivalry by an astounding 28 games to 7 (.800)!


1998 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were edged 34-27 by the INDIANS of Pascack Valley in NBIL interdivisional action. Pascack Valley leads the 1955-56, 1984-85 and 1988-present rivalry 13-10-1 (.565) and has won the last 4 games.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2008-9

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, October 17, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Panthers of Central York at the Mustang Corral and were defeated 38-16. The Mustangs hung tough in the beginning and got on the scoreboard first with a 41-yard field goal by Zak Kruger, set up by an interception by Jake Myers, who returned it 33-yards to the Mustangs 32-yard line. The Mustangs drove to the Panthers 24-yard line in 5 plays, featuring a 26-yard pass from David Sager to Jimmy Nicklas, and the field goal put them up 3-0 with 5:22 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers then launched a nine play 64-yard drive, featuring a 13-yard pass from Brandon Workinger to Parrish Fells and runs of 8, 8, 7, and 13-yards by workhorse D. J. Harrison. Harrison scored on a 4-yard run and Alex Kelly’s extra point kick put the Panthers on top 7-3 with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

The Mustangs countered with a ten play 73-yard drive, featuring a 14-yard pass from David Sager to Jimmy Nicklas, and a 34-yard pass to Chris Helwig. Helwig scored on a nifty 11-yard run and the score went to 9-7 in favor of the Mustangs with 9:41 left in the second quarter.

L’Mar Calhoun returned the Mustangs kickoff for 79-yards, setting the Panthers up at the Mustangs 19-yard line. 4 plays later Workinger threw a 10-yard touchdown strike to Kyle Baublitz and Kelly’s extra point put the Panthers on top 14-9 with 7:07 left in the half.

After exchanges of punts and a missed field goal attempt by the Panthers, Kyle Baublitz blocked a Mustangs punt and the Panthers were in business at the Mustangs 6-yard line. T. J. Shaffer scored on a 6-yard run and Kelly’s extra point kick put the Panthers up 21-9 with 1:13 left in the half.

Chris Helwig returned the Panthers second half kickoff 63-yards to the Panthers 33-yard line. But the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs at the 29. The Panthers drove 71-yards in seven plays, featuring a 25-yard pass from Workinger to T. J. Shaffer, and Harrison scored on a 9-yard run. Kelly’s extra point kick upped the score to 28-9 at the 6:16 mark in the third quarter.

The Mustangs punted again and Calhoun returned it 39-yards to the Mustangs 26-yard line. Three plays later Workinger threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Blaine Liggins and Kelly’s extra point kick upped the score to 35-9 with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

L’Mar Calhoun intercepted a Mustangs pass and returned it 34-yards to the Mustangs 34-yard line. Five plays later Alex Kelly kicked a 31-yard field goal at the 10:59 mark in the forth quarter and the score went to 38-9 in favor of the Panthers.

The never say die Mustangs launched an eleven play 56-yard drive, featuring a 12-yard run by Jeb Shipley and a 6-yard pass from David Sager to Chris Helwig. David Sager threw a 1-yard touchdown strike to Kyle Mahorney and Kruger’s extra point kick with 5:07 left in the game made the final score 38-16 in favor of the Panthers.

The Panthers drove from their own 34-yard line to the Mustangs 30-yard line and then took a knee twice to run out the clock.

Drew Sneeringer led the Mustangs defense with 13 tackles, followed by Alex Berwager, Jake Myers and Andrew Sells with 7 tackles each, Brandon Nicastro with 6, Levi Sager and Zac Scott with 5 tackles each, Chris Helwig and Derek Supel with 4 tackles each, Adam Day, Jimmy Nicklas and Jake Shaffer with 3 tackles each, Jordan Gall and Ben Shultz with 2 tackles each, and Mike Brant, Dan Laird Brandon Myers, J. R. Mummert, and Ryan Sexton with 1 tackle each. Zac Scott was credited with a pass defense and Jake Myers was credited with a pass hurry for the Mustangs.

Chris Helwig returned 4 kickoffs for 98-yards, with the longest going for 63-yards, Levi Sager returned 1 kickoff for 15-yards, and Drew Sneeringer returned 1 kickoff for 14-yards for the Mustangs. Zak Kruger kicked off 4 times for 213-yards, with the longest going for 56-yards, and Jake Myers punted 3 times for 96-yards, for a 36-yard average, for the Mustangs.

Adam Day, Colby Fuhrman, Jordan Gall, Chris Helwig, Dan Laird, Kyle Mahorney, Jake Myers, Brandon Nicastro, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Jake Shaffer, Drew Sneeringer, Derek Supel, and Wes Trostle manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with assistance from Curvin Boehler, Mike Brant, Chris Houser, Brandon Myers, Ben Shultz, and Ray Sites. Alex Berwager, Jimmy Nicklas and Levi Sager patrolled the secondary, with assistance from Larry Bowen, James Finnegan and Kyle King, for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 113-yards rushing and 88-yards passing for a total of 201- yards of offense. Jeb Shipley led the Mustangs rushing attack with 6 carries for 30-yards, followed by Zac Scott with 6 for 28, J. R. Mummert with 7 for 26, Chris Helwig with 7 for 21, David Sager with 3 for 5, and Levi Sager with 1 for 3-yards. Quarterback David Sager, returning from an injury after a month, completed 7 of 21 passes for 88-yards and a touchdown, 3 for 40-yards to Jimmy Nicklas, 2 for 40-yards to Helwig, 1 for 7-yards to Levi Sager, and 1 for a 1-yard touchdown to Kyle Mahorney, for the Mustangs.

The Panthers gained 149-yards rushing and 150-yards passing for a total offense of 299-yards. D. J. Harrison led the Panthers rushing attack with 22 carries for 117-yards (including touchdowns of 4 and 9-yards), followed by T. J. Shaffer with 7 for 37 (including a 6-yard touchdown), Parrish Fells with 1 for 1-yard, and Brandon Workinger with 2 for minus 1-yard. Quarterback Workinger completed 12 of 17 passes for 159-yards and 2 touchdowns, 5 for 71-yards to Blaine Liggins (including a 22-yard touchdown), 2 for 32-yards to T. J. Shaffer, 2 for 21-yards to Fells, 1 for 20-yards to Brandon Baker, 1 for 10-yards and a touchdown to Kyle Baublitz, and 1 for 5-yards to Harrison, for the Panthers. Alex Kelly kicked a 31-yard field goal and 5 extra points for the Panthers. Baublitz leads the Panthers defense with 107 tackles for the season and has 9 receptions for 129-yards and 2 touchdowns on offense, and has several colleges drooling over him.

The 93 member 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a rousing pre-game show entitled “B-Classical” and featuring the energetic rhythms of Bernstein, passionate melodies of Borodini, and empowering harmony of Bizet. The 136 member Central York Marching Band put on a fine half time show under the theme “A Pirate’s Life,” featuring “Prologue from Hook,” “Pirate Medley,” and three themes from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The 25 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Mustangs Mascot, and the Panthers Cheer Leaders were very impressive in rousing their fandom.

The Mustangs of South Western are 3-5-0 overall and 2-3-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 172-76-1 (.694) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 313-194-8. The results of the 515 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .617 winning percentage and a .623 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and travel to the den of the Bearcats of York High (William Penn). The Bearcats are coming off of a 53-19 victory over the Rockets of Spring Grove. From here it looks like the Mustangs are ready to give it their all for the fun of the game and for Mustang Pride. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 7 - 2008

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High had their BYE week last weekend. Their 31-21 upset loss to the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo on October 11th brought their 2008 record to 4-1 (.800). They had beaten the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest 41-6, the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah 27-7, the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley/Old Tappan 35-7 and the BRAVES of Indian Hills 42-28. In a game broadcast by WGHT Radio (1500AM) as the “Game of the Week,” our heroes had hoped to go into their BYE week 5-0. Instead they saw their playoff hopes dealt a blow but our CUTTERS are still in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group III hunt. Although Fair Lawn is classified as a Group IV school overall, the CUTTERS are classified as a Group III school for Football.

Last week the entire Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) schedule featured interdivisional games. The NBIL had the public school game of the year with the NBIL Division 2 INDIANS of Pascack Valley hoping to end the 45 game winning streak of the Division 1 PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills. The teams battled to a scoreless tied in the first half and then Wayne Hills cruised to a 35-0 shut out victory bringing their winning streak to 46. The NBIL Division 1 went 4-1 (.800) over Division 2 as, in addition to the Wayne Hills win, the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley/Old Tappan beat the BRAVES of Indian Hills 34-3, the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo beat the RAMS of Ramsey 48-7, and the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest beat the BEARS of Bergenfield 45-6. However, the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands were beaten 35-7 by the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah. The NBIL Division 1 leads the 2008 series 11-6 (.647).

This week our CUTTERS are home at SASO FIELD, taking on those HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands for the 19th time. The 1986-93 and 1998 – present rivalry is tied at 9 and it could end after this game if the State realignment plan is implemented. I saw the Northern Highlands – Mahwah game last week and enjoyed reminiscing with Northern Highlands’ announcer, the long time Fair Lawn announcer, Joe Hausmann, who I succeeded in 1997 after my twin brother, Bill, and I “spotted” for him for 30 years. WGHT Radio (1500AM) broadcast the game and it was nice to see the on the air luminaries, Jon Fass and Marco Balletti again. They had broadcast the Fair Lawn – Ramapo game.

Northern Highlands comes into the game 1-4 (.250) having been outscored 127-70 for an average 25-14 loss. Fair Lawn comes into the game 4-1 (.800) and has outscored the opposition 166-79 for an average 33-16 victory. Our CUTTERS need this game to keep any playoff hopes alive and they’ll come out fired up. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 35 - Northern Highlands 7. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2008-8

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, October 10, the Mustangs of South Western visited the den of the Lions of Red Lion and were defeated 28-6. The Mustangs out gained the Lions by 48 rushing yards and 36 passing yards for a total of 84-yards of offense. But special teams play, including Todd Maciejewski’s 8 booming punts for a 38.4-yard average for the Lions, sealed their fate.

Joe Ross started off the special teams show by returning the opening kickoff 92-yards for a touchdown for the Lions. Casey Raver kicked the extra point and the Lions were up 7-0 only 13 seconds into the game.

After a series of punts and a missed field goal attempt on the part of the Lions, the Mustangs launched a 3 play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Zac Scott ran for 6 and 71-yards and Jeb Shipley scored on a 3-yard plunge. The extra point attempt failed and the Lions led 7-6 with 11:36 left in the second quarter. That was the score at the end of the first half, in what was to that point a close, hard fought, game.

Bobby Doyle intercepted a Mustangs pass early in the third quarter. After several punts, Brett Fishel returned a Mustangs punt 57-yards for a touchdown and Raver’s extra point kick made the score 14-6 at the 8:37 mark in the third quarter.

Doyle intercepted another Mustangs pass early in the forth quarter at the Mustangs 45-yard line. Two plays later Brett Fishel raced 45-yards for a touchdown and Raver’s extra point kick upped the score to 21-6 with 9:34 left in the game.

The Lions punted to the Mustangs but the punt bounced off of a Mustang player and Steve States recovered the ball for the Lions at the Mustangs 11-yard line. Two plays later Fishel plunged in from the 4-yard line for his third touchdown of the game. Raver’s extra point kick made the final score 28-6.

Jake Meyers led the Mustangs defense with 15 tackles, followed by Derek Supel with 11, Andrew Sells with 9, Alex Berwager with 8, Brandon Nicastro, Zac Scott, and Drew Sneeringer with 6 tackles each, Adam Day, and Levi Sager with 5 tackles each, Dan Laird, Jimmy Nicklas and Jake Shaffer with 4 tackles each, and Jordan Gall with 1 tackle. Dan Laird and Jake Myers each recorded a sack and Sells was credited with a pass defense for the Mustangs.

Chris Helwig returned 3 kickoffs for 56-yards, with the longest going for 20-yards, and Jeb Shipley returned 1 kickoff for 12-yards for the Mustangs. Chris Helwig returned 2 punts for minus 5-yards and Levi Sager returned 1 punt for 11-yards for the Mustangs. Zak Kruger kicked off 2 times for 109-yards, with the longest going for 57-yards, and Jake Myers punted 9 times for 294-yards, for a 32.67-yard average, for the Mustangs.

Adam Day, Colby Fuhrman, Jordan Gall, Chris Helwig, Dan Laird, Kyle Mahorney, Jake Myers, Brandon Nicastro, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Jake Shaffer, Drew Sneeringer, Derek Supel, and Wes Trostle manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Alex Berwager, Kyle King, Jimmy Nicklas and Levi Sager patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 169-yards rushing and 59-yards passing for a total of 228- yards of offense. Zac Scott led the Mustangs rushing attack with 7 carries for 97-yards (including that 71-yard run to the Lions 3-yard line), followed by J. R. Mummert with 13 for 51-yards, Chris Helwig with 8 for 27-yards, Jeb Shipley with 5 for 8-yards (including the 3-yard touchdown), Jake Myers with 1 for 1-yard, and Ian Smith with 3 carries for minus 15-yards. Quarterback Smith completed 4 of 14 passes for 59-yards, 2 for 45-yards to Mummert, 1 for 13-yards to Jimmy Nicklas, and 1 for 1-yard to Helwig, for the Mustangs.

The Lions gained 121-yards rushing and 23-yards passing for a total offense of 144-yards. Brett Fishel led the Lions rushing attack with 23 carries for 110-yards (including those touchdowns of 45 and 4-yards), followed by Jake Hagan with 4 for 13-yards, Mike Wiertel with 8 for 4-yards, Dalton Miller with 2 for minus 3-yards, and Dave Quakenbos with 1 for minus 3-yards. Quarterback Wiertel completed 4 of 7 passes for 23-yards, 2 for 15-yards to Joe Ross, and 2 for 8-yards to Todd Maciejewski, for the Lions.

The 93 member 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a rousing half time show entitled “B-Classical” and featuring the energetic rhythms of Bernstein, passionate melodies of Borodini, and empowering harmony of Bizet. The 115 member Red Lion Marching Band, celebrating 75 years as a marching unit, put on a terrific post-game show entitled “Symphonic Prism,” inspired by the music of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. The 26 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad, and the Lions Cheer Leaders were very impressive in rousing their fandom.

The Mustangs of South Western are 3-4-0 overall and 2-2-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 172-75-1 (.696) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 313-193-8. The results of the 514 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .619 winning percentage and a .625 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and host the Panthers of Central York. The Panthers are coming off of a 48-0 victory over the winless Eagles of Dover. From here it looks like the Mustangs are ready to return to the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 6 - 2008

By Dick Engelhardt

On the 65th anniversary of the incident that led to the naming of “The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High” and with WGHT Radio (1500AM) covering the “Game of The Week,” Fair Lawn fell from the unbeaten ranks last Saturday losing 31-21 to the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 action. On Monday, October 11, 1943 the brand new FLHS was about to play the 3rd of 3 JV games before going varsity and posting a remarkable 4-1-1 (.800) record. It all started September 13th, 1943 when FLHS opened without seniors, who stayed at Paterson Eastside, Hawthorne and Ridgewood to graduate in 1944. 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 Livingstone and Bill Perkins on a sneak trip to the Rivoli Theater in Paterson during school hours. The miscreants were caught and coach Marty 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. Livingstone, who passed away July 18th, took a pass from Van Olden and ran it 43 yards for a TD. In the 4th quarter, he ran 20 yards for a TD and plunged for the extra point winning the game. The student body, having chosen Crimson and Gray as the school colors, said “The CUTTERS won the game!” They insisted that the athletic teams be known as “The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High.” And so it is 65 years later to the day!

Our CUTTERS couldn’t get anything going and trailed 17-0 at the half. Christian Samra and Chris Soltys had made TD saving tackles and Matt Paisley had teamed up with James Mallon on a big stop. QB Travis Kubasta threw to Kevin Carlson for a big first down and then uncorked a picture pass to Soltys who took it 48 yards for a TD. With Joe Visaggio holding, Sacir Hot kicked the extra point to make it 17-7. The GREEN RAIDERS came right back to lead 24-7 and Kubasta passed to Visaggio who scampered 64 yards for a TD. Hot’s kick made it 24-14. When Ramapo went ahead 31-14, Visaggio electrified the crowd racing 97 yards with the kickoff for a TD. With Visaggio holding, Hot kicked his 3rd extra point of the day to close out the scoring. Ramapo leads the 1956-58 and 1984-present rivalry 17-11 (.607).

In the other NBIL Division 1 game, the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills upped their winning streak to 45 blasting the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley/Old Tappan 48-7. In Division 2, the INDIANS of Pascack Valley shut out the BEARS of Bergenfield 35-0. Fair Lawn’s NBIL Division 1 went 1-1 (500) against Division 2 as the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest beat the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah 41-20 while the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands were shut out 20-0 by the RAMS of Ramsey. The BRAVES of Indian Hills had their BYE. Division 1 leads the 2008 race 7-5 (.583).

Our CUTTERS have their BYE this weekend. Next week we’ll look at the season so far and ahead to the October 25th game at SASSO FIELD against Northern Highlands. Until then, GO CUTTERS GO!!!

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2008-7

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, October 3, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Rockets of Spring Grove at the Mustang Corral and galloped to a convincing 48-7 victory. Talented junior fullback J. R. Mummert led the way with 163-yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. He has gone over the 100-yard marker in 5 if his 6 games and has amassed 714-yards rushing and scored 7 touchdowns to date.

The Mustangs started off with a fizzle as they fumbled on the second play of the game and Jered Marshall recovered for the Rockets. However, the Rockets soon turned the ball back to the Mustangs on downs and the Mustangs launched an 8 play 69-yard drive, featuring a 7-yard pass to Chris Helwig and a 19-yard pass to Drew Sneeringer by quarterback Ian Smith. Mummert’s 29-yard touchdown jaunt and Zak Kruger’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 7-0 with 6:32 left in the first quarter.

The Rockets responded with a 5 play 65-yard drive, featuring a 30-yard pass from Ian Smith (yes the starting quarterbacks for both teams were named Ian Smith) to Josh Nell and Smith’s 44-yard touchdown run. Bobby Bailey’s extra point kick tied the score at 7 with 4:44 left in the first quarter.

The Mustangs countered with an 8-play 63-yard touchdown drive, featuring a 10-yard pass from Ian Smith to Jimmy Nicklas, and several Mummert runs. Zac Scott scored on a 1-yard plunge and Kruger’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-7 in favor of the Mustangs with 1:12 left in the third quarter.

It was all Mustangs after that. After a Rockets punt, the Mustangs launched a 3 play 69-yard drive, featuring Smith’s 19-yard run and Mummert’s 52-yard touchdown scamper. Kruger’s extra point kick upped the score to 21-7 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

After another Rockets punt, the Mustangs started at the Rockets 38-yard line. An incomplete pass, a 9-yard run by Jeb Shipley, and Mummert’s 29-yard touchdown run, coupled with Kruger’s extra point kick, upped the score to 28-7 with 7 minutes left in the half.

Jake Myers intercepted a Rockets pass and the Mustangs were in business again at the Rockets 26-yard line. A penalty moved the ball back to the 35 and 4 plays later the drive, featuring a 27-yard pass from Smith to Kyle Mahorney, culminated in Helwig’s 4-yard touchdown run. Kruger’s extra point kick made the score 35-7 with 3:13 left in the half.

The third quarter passed with no additional scoring. After a Rockets punt, the Mustangs took over on the Rockets 35-yard line. A penalty moved them back to the 45, Mike Brant ran for 3-yards and backup quarterback Bobby Porter launched a beautiful 42-yard touchdown pass to Levi Sager. Kruger’s extra point kick upped the score to 42-7 with 9:10 left in the game and the Mustangs began massive substitutions.

Chris Helwig returned a Rockets punt for 54-yards to the Rockets 16-yard line for the Mustangs. Ryan Sexton ran for 2-yards, Kyle King added 9-yards, and Tyrell McCleary scored the Mustang’s last touchdown on a 5-yard run with 2:29 left in the game, making the final score 48-7 in favor of the Mustangs.

Jake Shaffer led the Mustangs defense with 6 tackles, followed by Colby Fuhrman, Chris Helwig, Jake Myers and Derek Supel with 5 each, Alex Berwager, Adam Day, Tyler Frederick, Dan Laird, Andrew Sells, and Drew Sneeringer with 4 each, Chris Houser, Kyle Mahorney, Brandon Nicastro, Jimmy Nicklas, Levi Sager, Zac Scott, and Jeb Shipley with 3 each, Curvin Boehler, Brandon Myers and Ryan Sexton with 2 each, and Jeff Hacker, Kyle King, and Mike Pugh with 1 tackle each. Mike Brant, Jake Myers and Scott each recovered a fumble and Jake Myers intercepted a pass for the Mustangs. Mahorney recorded 2 sacks and Shaffer recorded a sack, Nicklas was credited with 3 pass defenses, Scott was credited with 2, and McCleary and Sexton were each credited with a pass defense, and Day, Mahorney, and Supel each were credited with a pass hurry for the Mustangs.

Kyle Mahorney returned 2 kickoffs for 22-yards, with the longest going for 12-yards for the Mustangs. Chris Helwig returned 3 punts for 74-yards, with the longest going for 54-yards, and Levi Sager returned a punt for 15-yards for the Mustangs. Zak Kruger kicked off 6 times for 330-yards (including 2 touchbacks) Mahorney kicked off 2 times for 96-yards, with the longest going for 51-yards, and Jake Myers punted 2 times for 74-yards, for a 37-yard average, for the Mustangs.

Adam Day, Colby Fuhrman, Jordan Gall, Chris Helwig, Dan Laird, Kyle Mahorney, Jake Myers, Brandon Nicastro, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Jake Shaffer, Drew Sneeringer, Derek Supel, and Wes Trostle manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with assistance from Curvin Boehler, Jeff Hacker, Chris Houser, Brandon Myers, and Ben Shultz . Alex Berwager, Kyle King, Jimmy Nicklas and Levi Sager patrolled the secondary, with assistance from Tyler Frederick, Tyrell McCleary, Mike Pugh, Ryan Sexton and Jeb Shipley.

The Mustangs gained 255-yards rushing and 114-yards passing for a total of 369- yards of offense. J. R, Mummert led the Mustang rushing attack with 14 carries for 163-yards (including touchdowns of 29, 52 and 29-yards), followed by Ian Smith with 3 for 24, Chris Helwig with 7 for 21 (including a 4-yard touchdown), Mike Brant with 4 for 19, Levi Sager with 3 for 14, Kyle King with 1 for 9, Tyrell McCleary with 1 for a 5-yard touchdown, Ryan Sexton with 1 for 3, Zac Scott with 2 for 2-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown), Jeb Shipley with 3 for minus 2, and Jake Myers with 1 for minus 3-yards. Quarterback Smith completed 5 of 9 passes for 72-yards, 1 for 27-yards to Kyle Mahorney, 1 for 19-yards to Drew Sneeringer, 1 for 10-yards to Jimmy Nicklas, 1 for 9-yards to Shipley, and 1 for 7-yards to Helwig, an backup quarterback Bobby Porter completed 1 pass for a 42-yard touchdown to Levi Sager, for the Mustangs.

The Rockets gained 45-yards rushing and 46-yards passing for a total offense of 91-yards. Ian Smith led the Rockets rushing attack with 10 carries for 25-yards, followed by Bobby Bailey with 14 for 16, Joseph Slate with 1 for 3-yards, and Dillon Durst with 3 for 1-yard. Quarterback Ian Smith completed 5 of 20 passes for 40-yards, 1 for 30-yards to Josh Nell, 3 for 16-yards to Matthew Brookhart, and 1 for minus 6-yards to Bailey, and backup quarterback Jacob Hoover completed 1 of 2 passes for 6-yards to Tyler Kerchner for the Rockets.

The 93 member 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a rousing post-game show entitled “B-Classical” and featuring the energetic rhythms of Bernstein, passionate melodies of Borodini, and empowering harmony of Bizet. The 74 member Spring Grove Rockets Band put on a half-time show under the theme “Flight,” featuring “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine,” “To Tame the Perilous Skies,” “In Heaven’s Air,” and “Countless Halls of Air.” The 26 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad, and the Rockets Cheer Leaders were very impressive in rousing their fandom.

The Mustangs of South Western are 3-3-0 overall and 2-1-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 172-74-1 (.699) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 313-192-8. The results of the 513 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .620 winning percentage and a .626 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and visit the Lions of Red Lion. The Lions are coming off of a 44-7 victory over the winless Eagles of Dover. From here it looks like the Mustangs are ready to continue galloping along the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2008 Week 5

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1948 - Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS beat the RAMS of Ramsey 20-6 in Begen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) action. Fair Lawn leads the 1945-58, 1984-99 and 2002-06 rivalry by an astounding 28 games to 7 (.800)!


1958 – Bennett’s CUTTERS edged the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest 21-19 in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) action. Our CUTTERS lead the 1956-58 and 1990- present rivalry 13-9 (.591). The B-PIL became the NBIL in 1956 when the BEARS of Hawthorne, then the only Passaic County school in the league, dropped out.

1968 - Frank Devens’ CUTTERS were beaten 20-15 by the SPARTANS of Paramus in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. During 1962-83 in the NNJIL, the SPARTANS went 12-10 (.545) over our CUTTERS. It was a great rivalry that ended when Fair Lawn returned to the NBIL in 1984.

1978 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS upset the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High 15-13 in NNJIL action. During 1972-74 independently and 1975-81 in the NNJIL, Clifton went 8-2-1 (.800) over Fair Lawn including a State playoff victory in 1979.

1988 – New coach Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were scalped 21-6 by the BRAVES of Indian Hills in NBIL interdivisional action. Fair Lawn leads the 1984-97 and 2000-present rivalry 13-10 (.565).


1998 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS walloped the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest 42-7 in NBIL action. Our CUTTERS lead the 1956-58 and 1990- present rivalry 13-9 (.591).

THE GRIDIRON 5 - 2008

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High remained undefeated last Saturday night coming from behind to beat the BRAVES of Indian Hills 42-28 in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) interdivisional action. They are 4-0 (1.000) for the first time since 1988! A muffed punt gave the BRAVES the ball deep in Fair Lawn territory and they scored for a 7-0 lead. Great defensive plays by Egor Buharin, Kevin Carlson and Mike Berkhofer held the BRAVES off and Joe Visaggio raced 80 yards for a TD. With Visaggio holding, Sacir Hot kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7. The BRAVES went ahead 14-7 but, just before the half, Buharin intercepted a pass. Visaggio raced 39 yards for a TD but a penalty nullified it. Carlson then raced to the 4 and another penalty moved our CUTTERS back to the 9. Carlson ran for a TD and our CUTTERS trailed 14-13 at the half.

Fair Lawn kicked off to start the 2nd half and recovered the muff at the 10. Carlson’s TD run put our CUTTERS ahead 19-14 as the 2 point conversion run failed. Buharin broke up a pass and Rob Burns, Sergio LaPlaca, James Mallon, Christian Samra and Chris Soltys made great plays to hold Indian Hills off. Visaggio’s 25 yard TD run followed by his 2 point conversion run put Fair Lawn up 27-14. The BRAVES scored twice to go ahead 28-27 late in the game. On a 4th down play QB Travis Kubasta passed to Visaggio for a 1st down. Visaggio then galloped for a TD and Carlson’s 2 point conversion run put Fair Lawn up 35-28 with 2:29 on the clock. Berkhofer’s fumble recovery led to Carlson’s final TD run and with Visaggio holding, Hot kicked the extra point to close out the scoring. Carlson’s last second interception iced the victory.

Fair Lawn’s NBIL Division 1 went 4-1 (.800) against Division 2 as, in addition to Fair Lawn’s win, the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills ran their winning streak to 44 games beating the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah, 38-14, the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands beat the BEARS of Bergenfield 33-7 and the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest shut out the RAMS of Ramsey 28-0 while the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley/Old Tappan were beaten 38-23 by the INDIANS of Pascack Valley. The GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo had their bye. The NBIL Division 1 is 6-4 (.600) over Division 2 so far in ’08.

This Saturday our CUTTERS are home at SASSO FIELD at 1:30 against the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in a key NBIL Division 1 matchup. From 11:30 until 1:00 there is the 1st annual FLHS Tailgate Party. The $8 admission price includes the game plus a hamburger, hot dog, snack, drink and a raffle ticket. The 1st 50 FLHS students wearing Fair Lawn apparel will receive a prize! Ramapo leads the 1956-58 and 1984-present rivalry 16-11 (.593). Prior to last year’s Fair Lawn 19-18 victory, our CUTTERS had last won in 1995 when we beat freshman QB Chris Simms. Fair Lawn is 4-0 (1.000) and has outscored the opposition 145-48 for an average 36-12 victory. Ramapo is 1-2 (.333) and has been outscored 66-45 for an average 22 -15 loss. Our heroes figure to continue winning. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 35 – Ramapo 10. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2008 Week 4

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1948 - Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS were shut out 7-0 by the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst in Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) action. Fair Lawn took the fierce 1945 – 53 rivalry with Lyndhurst in the B-PIL 5-4 (.556). The B-PIL became the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) in 1956 when Hawthorne, then the only Passaic County school in it, dropped out.

1958 – Bennett’s CUTTERS beat the RAMS of Ramsey 19-6 in NBIL action. Fair Lawn leads the 1945-58, 1984-99 and 2002-06 rivalry by an astounding 28 games to 7 (.800)!

1968 - Frank Devens’ CUTTERS ambushed the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck 31-7 in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. During 1954-58 independently and 1959-82 in the NNJIL our CUTTERS went 17-11-1 (.607) over the HIGHWAYMEN.

1978 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were stung 34-0 by the HORNETS of Passaic Valley in NNJIL action. During 1944-46 and 1966 independently and 1967- 81 and 83 in the NNJIL the HORNETS went 13-6-2 (.684) over our CUTTERS including a 20-0 shut out victory in the 1980 State playoff finals at GIANTS STADIUM after Fair Lawn had beaten the INDIANS of Passaic 27-18 in the first round.

1988 – New coach Mike Alberque’s NBIL Division 1 CUTTERS beat the MAROON RAIDERS of Englewood, representing the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL) American Division 14-7 in independent action. Independently 1945-46, 1957-58 and 1986-89 and in the NNJIL 1959-71, our CUTTERS have gone 14-7 (.667) over the MAROON RAIDERS.

1998 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS lassoed the COWBOYS of Pascack Hills 40-0 in NBIL interdivisional action. During 1984-86 and 1994-98 our CUTTERS went 6-2 (.750) over the COWBOYS.