THE GRIDIRON 10 - 2009

By Dick Engelhardt

Without their star quarterback, Travis Kubasta, still out with a back problem, the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High were beaten 33-13 by the BRUINS of North Bergen last Saturday night in North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) crossover action. Captains Egor Buharin, Regis Larkin and James Mallon won the coin toss and Fair Lawn received. Mallon would still be out of action with a hip injury. Davon Johnson ran back the kickoff and, behind center Alex Callons, guards Max Jacobs and Matt Paisley and tackles Adam Polisi and Steve Sherlock, QB Dan Prigge was able to hand off to running backs Buharin, James Hegybeli and Christian Samra who picked up big yardage. Buharin’s TD run behind Callons, Jacobs and Paisley put our heroes up 6-0 and Fair Lawn fans were euphoric! Alas, the joy was short lived. The BRUINS drove right down the field to take a 7-6 lead and never looked back. They continued the onslaught and led 27-6 at halftime. Late in the game Anthony Tozzi recovered a fumble leading to another TD gallop by Buharin. With Callons snapping and Brendan Walis holding, Chris Soltys kicked the extra point to close out the scoring. Bryan Turton’s interception electrified the crowd and Johnson, Polisi, Kelvin Rosario, Samra, Eric Simeonoglou and others made big plays on “D” but the BRUINS prevailed. It was nice to see former Fair Lawn coach and athletic director, Mike Alberque at the game. No doubt he was remembering his 1989 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 champion CUTTERS upsetting North Bergen 14-7 in the playoffs on the very same field in the only other game played between the two teams!

All 5 teams in Fair Lawn’s NJTCC Division 3, faced outside foes going 3-2 (.600). In addition to Fair Lawn’s loss, the champion GREEN KNIGHTS of St. Joseph were beaten 28-7 by the CRUSADERS of Bergen Catholic. However, the HIGHLANDERS of West Milford downed the SOARING EAGLES of Union City 34-0, the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck stung the BEES of Bayonne 41-0 and the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills smashed the RAMS of Dickinson of Jersey City 60-0. The NJTCC Division 3 record against outside teams is now an astonishing 18-5 (.783)!

Our CUTTERS have earned the 4th seed in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group IV playoffs and will host the 5th seed INDIANS of Passaic at SASSO FIELD Saturday. The teams have a history, all in playoff action. In 1980 Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were tri-champions of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) with Clifton and Passaic Valley. They faced the INDIANS of Passaic in round 1 in a home game. “Home” was GIANTS STADIUM! In probably the most thrilling football game in FLHS history, our heroes trailed 7-0, 12-0, 12-7 and 18-7 and roared back to scalp the INDIANS 27-18. Natale’s 1985 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 champion CUTTERS travelled to Passaic School Stadium, jokingly referred to as Passaic’s “One River Stadium” by the announcer, in the States. Trailing only 28-26 in the closing minutes our CUTTERS lost a 36-26 thriller. Coming into this game, Fair Lawn is 6-3 (.667) and has outscored the opposition 197-171 for an average 22-19 victory. Passaic is 5-3 (.625) and has outscored the opposition 206-134 for an average 26-17 victory. Our CUTTERS hope to have all their injured players back and figure to make this a whale of a ballgame! From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21 – Passaic 15. GO CUTTERS GO!!!