THE GRIDIRON 8–2010

By Dick Engelhardt

In Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action last Friday night at Hodgins Field in Paramus, the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High faced one of the best 2-3 (.400) teams in North Jersey and fell 42-13 to the SPARTANS. Captains Kelvin Rosario and Brendan Walis went out for the coin toss which Paramus won and elected to receive and the SPARTANS never looked back. They ran and passed at will and led 28-0 at halftime. Our CUTTERS were not without heroics, however. In the 2nd half Steven Tatekawa electrified the crowd with a sensational 75 yard TD run. Later, Anthony Tozzi bulled his way for 22 yards to the 7, Davon Johnson scampered to the 2 and Tozzi scored. With Alex Callons snapping and Walis holding, Bryan Turton kicked the extra point closing out the scoring.

On “D,” Kevin Benjamin sacked the QB, Kevin Osback got off great punts and made a TD saving tackle, as did Tatekawa. Johnson, Adam Polisi, Tozzi, and Walis made big plays. Paramus and Fair Lawn fans alike applauded and cheered honoring a real warrior, Steven Sherlock, as he was wheeled on a gurney to an ambulance with a leg injury. We all wish him well! Paramus leads the 1962-83 and 2010 rivalry 13-10 (.565).

Fair Lawn’s BNC Division II went 0-4 in crossover play. In addition to Fair Lawn’s loss, the BNC Division II leading BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute were shellacked 63-0 by the IRONMEN of Don Bosco in the latest parochial powerhouse versus public school travesty, the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside were shutout 45-0 by the CRUSADERS of Bergen Catholic in the second such mismatch and the INDIANS of Passaic lost a 35-34 thriller to the INDIANS of Wayne Valley. The BNC Division II is now 4-16 (.200) against outside teams! The FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High and the KNIGHTS of JFK of Paterson drew a Bye.

Saturday at 1:00, in BNC Division II action, our CUTTERS play host to the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside at SASSO FIELD. Before Fair Lawn High opened in 1943, most Fair Lawn students attended Eastside while the Radburn area students attended Ridgewood High and a few students near Lincoln Avenue attended Hawthorne High. During 1947-54 our CUTTERS and the GHOSTS each won 4 games in the fierce rivalry in which some Fair Lawn fans actually rooted for their alma mater – Eastside! In 1983 Fair Lawn’s thrilling 20-18 win in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) interdivisional action put our CUTTERS up 5-4 (.556).

Fair Lawn comes into the game 1-6 (.143) having been outscored 204-65 for an average 29-9 loss while Eastside comes into the game 2-4 (.333) having been outscored 188-31 for an average 31-5 loss. Fair Lawn fans were shocked to read the story in the paper about the sad state of football at both Eastside and Kennedy. While we feel sorry about that, Fair Lawn fans are disappointed in our season and want a win. The GHOSTS can’t be taken lightly and I’m sure our CUTTERS will make an all out effort in this game. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21 - Eastside 6. GO CUTTERS GO!!!