THE GRIDIRON 2-2010

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High opened the 2010 season in the brand new Big North Conference (BNC) Division II with an impressive 25-6 victory over the INDIANS of Passaic last Saturday at SASSO FIELD. Team Captains James Choe, Kelvin Rosario and Bryan Turton went out for the coin toss, which Passaic won and elected to receive. It was to be the only thing the INDIANS won all day! Passaic scored first and led 6-0 as Steven Tatekawa thwarted the 2 point conversion attempt. Sensational running back James Hegybeli scampered 64 yards for a TD and with Alex Callons snapping and Brendan Walis holding, Kevin Osback kicked the extra point to put our CUTTERS ahead 7-6 and they never looked back. After a bad snap on a Passaic punt attempt, Rosario ran for a TD and Fair Lawn led 13-6. Davon Johnson intercepted a pass at the Fair Lawn 9 yard line. After a 4th down try failed and Fair Lawn turned the ball over, Turton intercepted a pass. Anthony Tozzi ran like a raging bull all day and converted on another 4th down Fair Lawn run. Our heroes took the 13-6 lead into halftime.

Behind center, Callons, guards Max Jacobs and Matt Paisely and tackles Adam Polisi and Steve Sherlock, Hegybeli, Rosario and Tozzi continued to pick up yardage. The speedy Rosario raced for another TD and Fair Lawn led 19-6. Tozzi made an amazing run through wood-be tacklers to the 2 and Hegybeli ran for the TD to close out the scoring. The “D” was fantastic all day as Kevin Benjamin, Kevin Guy, Johnson, Matt Peligritto, Polisi, Rosario and Walis made big plays. Junior Roberts made a great stop on a 4th down run!

The atmosphere was made even more pleasant by the performance of the award winning Fair Lawn High School Marching Band and Color Guard under the direction of Paul A. Kafer. And how about Fair Lawn’s own version of “Football’s Fabulous Females,” the fantastic FLHS cheerleaders and their coach, Lauren Gimon? Lauren was proud as a peacock as one of her original squad members, Christie Artinger, made the New York JETS Flight Crew cheerleading squad for the second year in a row. Way to go Christie!

In the other BNC Division II game, the BULLDOGS of Passaic Tech shut out the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High 15-0. The KNIGHTS of JFK of Paterson won the first BNC Division II crossover game beating the Division IV HIGHLANDERS of West Milford 28-13. The GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside had a Bye. History will record that, after the first week of play in the new league, Fair Lawn and Passaic Tech were on top and Clifton and Passaic were on the bottom with Eastside and Kennedy yet to play a league game!

Thursday night at 7:00 our CUTTERS travel to Demarest to take on the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley. Our CUTTERS faced the NORSEMEN in the old Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) 1956-58 before moving up to the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) for 25 seasons 1959-83. In 1984, Fair Lawn, Bergenfield and Ramsey all returned to their old NBIL but our CUTTERS did not face NV/Demarest in interdivisional play until 1990. Fair Lawn took the 1956-58 and 1990- 2008 NBIL rivalry 13-9 (.591). While our CUTTERS were beating Passaic, the NORSEMEN were beaten 38-13 by the LANCERS of Lakeland in BNC Division V action. Our CUTTERS are powerful and figure to take the NORSEMEN. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 35-NV/Demarest 7. GO CUTTERS GO!!!