THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2011 Week 4

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1951 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) CUTTERS were beaten 32-14 by the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst in league action. - Fair Lawn took the fierce 1945 – 53 rivalry with Lyndhurst 5-4 (.556). The CUTTERS and GOLDEN BEARS shared the 1947 title. The B-PIL became the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) in 1956.

1961 – New Coach Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS were beaten 25-12 by the MAROON RAIDERS of Englewood in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. In independent action 1945-46, 1957-58 and 1986-89 and in the NNJIL 1959-71, our CUTTERS have gone 14-7 (.667) over the MAROON RAIDERS.

1971 – Frank Devens’ CUTTERS ambushed the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck 27-8 in NNJIL action. During 1954-58 independently and 1959-82 in the NNJIL our CUTTERS went 17-11-1 (.607) over the HIGHWAYMEN. Fair Lawn’s 20-6 victory in 2009 in North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) Division 3 action put our CUTTERS up 18-11-1 (.621) in the series.

1981 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were shutout 20-0 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. Fair Lawn shared the 1980 NNJIL title with the HORNETS and the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High.

1991 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS lost a 41-34 shootout to the BRAVES of Indian Hills in NBIL interdivisional action. Our CUTTERS took the 1984-97 and 2000-2008 NBIL interdivisional rivalry against the BRAVES 13-10 (.565). Realignment has ended it for now.

2001 – Alberque’s CUTTERS beat the THUNDERBIRDS of Mahwah 34-9 in NBIL interdivisional action. During 1999-2001 and 2007-2008 our CUTTERS have gone 4-1 (.800) over the THUNDERBIRDS in NBIL crossover action.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2011-5

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, September 23, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the YAIAA Division II Warriors of Susquehannock at the Mustang Corral and galloped and passed their way to a 40-0 shutout victory. Temple University bound Mike Felton led the way again, this time with two rushing and 2 receiving touchdowns.

Jeremy Loughlin set the Mustangs up in good field position by recovering the Warriors opening squib kick at the Mustangs 42-yard line. Five plays later Felton scored on a nifty 32-yard run and Jake Tracy kicked the extra point to put the Mustangs up 7-0 at 10:14, just one minute and 46 seconds into the game.

The Warriors got two plays in before Felton intercepted a pass and returned it 20-yards to the Warriors 10-yard line for the Mustangs. Joshua Mueller sacked Zach Gross at the 18-yard line and then Gross threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Felton. Tracy’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 14-0 at the 7:01 mark in the first quarter.

The Warriors again got off just two plays before Reid Cruz intercepted a pass and returned it 5-yards to the Warriors 33-yard line. Gross immediately threw a picture perfect 33-yard touchdown pass to Keith Pappas and Tracy’s extra point kick upped the score to 21-0 with 5:15 still left in the first quarter.

The Warriors went three and out and punted. The Mustangs then drove 60-yards in nine plays, featuring an 8-yard run by Carnie Fryfogle, a 10-yard run by Dillon Thomas, an 11-yard pass from Gross to Fryfogle, and a 23-yard pass from Gross to Pappas. The drive ended with Felton’s 8-yard touchdown run and Tracy’s extra point kick upped the score to 28-0 with 10:04 to go in the second quarter.

The Warriors then put on a 12 play, 42-yard drive, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Mustangs 26-yard line. The Mustangs then drove 74-yards in nine plays, featuring six passes from Gross, a 10-yard pass to Brandon Krise, a 12-yard pass to Dakotah Moses, a 15-yard pass to Felton, a 14-yard pass to Felton, an 8-yard pass to Logan Bowman, and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Felton. That upped the score to 34-0 with 12 seconds left in the first half.

The Warriors opened the second half and moved only 4-yards before punting. The Mustangs then drove 58-yards in four plays, ending with a Dillon Thomas 46-yard touchdown jaunt. That upped the score to 40-0 at the 7:44 mark in the third quarter.

The Mustangs kicked off to the Warriors and then the Mustangs varsity defense came off the field in mass. The Mustangs substituted liberally on offense and defense for the rest of the game.

Felton kicked off 7 times for 352-yards, with the longest going for 57-yards. Jaelen Langenfeld returned 3 punts for 19-yards, with the longest going for 11-yards for the Mustangs.

Carnie Fryfogle, who had 13 tackles, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Reid Cruz with 5 tackles and an interception, Rich Delea and Keith Pappas with 5 tackles each, Zach Townsend and Wyatt Trostle with 4 tackles each, Mike Felton with 3 tackles, an interception and a pass defense, Brandon Stremmel with 3 tackles and 2 pass hurries, Ryan Dotson, Eddie Lane, and Dillon Langenfeld with 3 tackles each, Devon Ackerman, Alex Baugher, Aram Moffit, Zach Osborne, Jerome Robinson, and Dillon Thomas with 2 tackles each, Jeremy Loughlin with 1 tackle and a pass hurry, and Rick Bosse, Domnick Holcombe, Jake Hunt, Daulton James, Alex Jones, Ryan Klinedinst, Jaelen Langenfeld, Jordan Markle, Dakotah Moses, David Schaub, Shawn Secola, and Bobby Wildasin with 1 tackle each.

Devon Ackerman, Alex Baugher, Logan Bowman, Reid Cruz, Rich Delea, Ryan Dotson, Carnie Fryfogle, Matt Hawn, Jeremy Loughlin, Aram Moffit, Keith Pappas, Brandon Stremmel, Dillon Thomas, and Zach Townsend, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Dakotah Moses. Mike Duffy, Mike Felton, Brandon Krise, Dillon Langenfeld, Jaelen Langenfeld, and Jerome Robinson, patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 180-yards rushing and 191-yards passing for a total of 371-yards of offense. Dillon Thomas led the Mustangs rushing attack with 4 carries for 60-yards (including a 46-yard touchdown), followed by Mike Felton with 5 for 54-yards (including touchdowns of 32 and 8-yards), Dakotah Moses with 6 for 21-yards, Reid Cruz with 3 for 19-yards, Bobby Wildasin with 4 for18-yards, Jon Hoover with 2 for 13-yards, Carnie Fryfogle with 1 for 8-yards, Brady Stevenson with 1 for no yards, Daulton James with 4 for minus 1-yard, Mike Duffy with 1 for minus 3-yards, and Zach Gross with 1 carry for minus 9-yards. Quarterback Gross completed 12 of 13 passes for 164-yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 for 56-yards to Keith Pappas (including a 33-yard touchdown), 3 for 50-yards to Felton (including touchdowns of 18 and 19-yards), 2 for 18-yards to Cruz, 1 for 11-yards to Fryfogle, 1 for 10-yards to Brandon Krise, 1 for 8-yards to Logan Bowman, 1 for 8-yards to Moses, and 1 for 3-yards to Thomas, for the Mustangs. Quarterback Mike Duffy completed 2 of 2 passes for 27-yards, 1 for 18-yards to James and 1 for 9-yards to Ben Bynaker, for the Mustangs. Jake Tracy kicked 4 extra points, Felton intercepted a pass and returned it 20-yards, Cruz intercepted a pass and returned it 5-yards, and Fryfogle registered 13 tackles, for the Mustangs.

The Warriors rang up 115-yards rushing and minus 2-yards passing for a total of 113 yards gained. Phillip Norris led the Warriors rushing attack with 10 carries for 56-yards, followed by Austin Sauble with 9 for 33, Samuel H. Miller with 4 for 13, Bryan Kerr with 4 for 5, Stephen Ward with 3 for 4, and Josh Mueller with 2 for 4-yards. Quarterback Norris completed 1 of 4 passes for minus 1-yard to Kyle Miller and quarterback Kerr completed 1 of 3 passes for minus 1-yard to Sauble for the Warriors.

The 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 stirring pre-game performance, presenting their 2011 field show “The Colors of Dreams.” The relaxing mallet introduction led to the haunting sound of “The Dream is Collapsing” from Inception, followed by “Zooster’s Rebellion” from Madagascar, the sorrowful longing of “Hummel Gets the Rockets,” from the Rock, and the show closed with “The Burning Bush,” from Prince of Egypt. The Susquehannock Marching Band put on a rousing half time performance. Unfortunately, due to the weather and field conditions, both bands played their music while standing on the track so we missed out on their precision marching. The Mustangs and Warriors Cheer Leading squads were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

Don Seidenstricker has a 190-86-1 (.688) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 331-204-8. The results of the 543 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .619 winning percentage and a .624 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the Division II Bulldogs of West York (3-1 overall, 0-0 league). West York is coming off of a hard fought 21-13 victory over the Wildcats of Dallastown. The Mustangs are looking to gallop along in their winning tradition. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 4 – 2011

By Dick Engelhardt

The scrappy CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High came out smoking and led the vaunted BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute 3-0 before falling 49-9 last week in Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division action. Captains Kris Burger, Boris Lifshits and Steve Tatekawa went out for the coin toss. PCTI received the opening kickoff and their fumble was alertly recovered by Nick Hickey. After Tatekawa carried, QB Kevin Osback ran to the 11. The drive stalled and, with Kevin Benjamin snapping and Pete Danko holding, the sure footed Aryeh Moslavi booted a 25 yard field goal to give our CUTTERS a 3-0 lead on the defending BNC Liberty Division champs. The BULLDOGS scored quickly despite a TD run being nullified by a penalty. They led 21-3 at the half.

The 2nd half began with a PCTI squib kick taken by Thomas Koike. That drive stalled and Koike then made a TD saving tackle. Osback got off booming punts; one to the 10. Tatekawa electrified the crowd with an 89 yard gallop to the 1 and Osback snuck for the TD making it 28-9. The speed and depth of the BULLDOGS showed as the score mounted and the game ended with the BULLDOGS taking a knee. On “D,” Benjamin recovered a fumble, Burger and Brendan Sibilio stopped a drive and nice plays were made by Brian Centeno, Danko, Lifshits Franklyn Ramirez, Jeff Welsh and others. Passaic Tech leads the new rivalry 2-0. The BULLDOGS are clearly the class of the BNC Liberty Division and figure to defend their title.

In the other BNC Liberty Division game, the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High demolished the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside 37-7 (The same score by which the New York GIANTS lost the 1961 National Football League title to the Green Pay PACKERS!). In BNC crossover action, the KNIGHTS of Paterson’s JFK were stung 17-0 by the HORNETS of Passaic Valley. Fair Lawn’s BNC Liberty Division is 0-7 against outside competition so far!

The award winning Fair Lawn High School CUTTER Marching Band, having taken 1st place in Group IV open competition the week before, put on a great show before heading to Piscataway for their 2nd competition. Fair Lawn’s version of “Football’s Fabulous Females,” the cheerleaders, were led this week by JV coach Nicole Mattina whose JV squad performed nicely also.

The Class of 1956 was in town for their 55th anniversary reunion. Their ’55 CUTTERS, with my twin brother, Bill, and me serving as “water boys,” were Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) champs.

This Saturday at 2:30 our CUTTERS travel to Hackensack to take on the Comets for the 27th time. During 1959-82 in the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) the Comets went 16-7-1 (.696) over our CUTTERS. In 1959, Fair Lawn’s maiden season in the league, our CUTTERS beat the COMETS 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. The 12-6 Hackensack win in BNC crossover action in 2010 brought the COMETS’ record against our CUTTERS to 18-7-1 (.720).

Fair Lawn is 0-3. Hackensack is 2-1 (.667) having lost to powerful Wayne Hills and beaten weak JFK and Bergen Tech. Our CUTTERS play tough against the COMETS and I know they’ll make an all out effort again. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 10 - Hackensack 8. Let’s have another Moslavi field goal! GO GUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2011 Week 3

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1951 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) CUTTERS were beaten 34-12 by the Passaic Valley Conference (PVC) WILDCATS of East Rutherford, now Becton Dickinson Regional. During 1950-53 the WILDCATS went 2-1-1 (.667) against our CUTTERS.

1961 – New Coach Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS beat the RED RAIDERS of Cliffside Park 13-7 in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. Our CUTTERS took the 1959-66 rivalry against the RED RAIDERS 6-2 (.750).

1971 – Frank Devens’ CUTTERS scalped the INDIANS of Wayne Valley 16-6 in NNJIL action. During 1967-80 the INDIANS went 9-5 (.643) over our CUTTERS. They left the NNJIL 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.

1981 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were shutout 21-0 by the COMETS of Hackensack in 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. The 12-6 Hackensack win in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action in 2010 brought the COMETS’ record against our CUTTERS to 18-7-1 (.720).

1991 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were edged 15-14 by the BEARS of Bergenfield in NBIL Division 1 action. - Fair Lawn took the 1945-48 and 1962-2008 rivalry 35-16 (.686) and the 1994-2008 Turkey Day rivalry 11-4 (.733). The teams squared off 1945-48 in the B-PIL, 1962-83 in the NNJIL and 1984-2008 in the NBIL.

2001 – Alberque’s CUTTERS beat the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley, Old Tappan 22-6 in NBIL Division 1 action. Fair Lawn took the 1984 – 2008 rivalry 15–10 (.600).

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2011-4

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, September 17, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Mid-Penn Keystone Division Falcons of Lower Dauphin at the beautiful Hershey Park Stadium and galloped and passed to a 34-28 victory in a thriller. Dillon Thomas scored the winning touchdown on a 10-yard run with 33 seconds left in the game. But the rest of the night belonged to Temple University bound Mike Felton. Felton had 333 all-purpose yards (89 rushing, 124 receiving, and 120-yards on kickoff returns) and accounted for 20 points for the Mustangs. He scored touchdowns rushing, receiving, and on a 96-yard kickoff return, and caught a 2-point conversion pass.

The Mustangs opened the game with a 37-yard drive, featuring a 23-yard run by Reid Cruz, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Falcons 36-yard line. The Falcons drove 20-yards in six plays and their kicker, Joe Julius, attempted a 62-yard field goal that fell short.

The Mustangs then ended a drive with a punt. The Falcons then drove 79-yards in ten plays. Travis Morrill scored on a 20-yard run and the extra point kick by Julius put the Falcons up 7-0 at the 10:31 mark in the second quarter.

The Mustangs immediately retaliated when Felton returned the kickoff 96-yards for a touchdown. Jake Tracy’s extra point kick tied the score at 7 with 10:17 to go in the quarter.

The Falcons went three and out and punted and the Mustangs drove 50-yards in two plays, an 8-yard run by Dakotah Moses and a 42-yard touchdown sprint by Felton. Tracy’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 14-7 with 8:37 to go in the quarter.

The Falcons drove 27-yards to the Mustangs 34-yard line and Julius attempted a field goal. Dillon Langenfeld blocked the field goal, recovered the ball and returned it to the Falcons 30-yard line. Five plays later Thomas ran it in from the 5-yard line, upping the score to 20-7 in favor of the Mustangs with 2:21 left in the first half.

A Falcons drive was ended by Cruz sacking the quarterback. The Falcons punted and Dillon Langenfeld returned it 43-yards to the Falcons 24-yard line. The Mustangs drove to the 3-yard line and missed on a field goal attempt. That ended the first half.

The Falcons came out inspired to open the second half and drove 80-yards in eight plays, featuring a 37-yard pass from Ben Goss to Jack Miller and a 30-yard touchdown strike from Goss to Miller. The extra point kick by Julius made the score 20-14 with 7:22 to go in the third quarter.

The Mustangs went three and out and punted and the Falcons drove 66-yards in eight plays, featuring a 27-yard run by Josh Palmer and a 14-yard touchdown pass from Goss to Miller. The extra point kick by Julius put the Falcons up 21-20 with 2:21 to go in the third quarter.

Goss ended a Mustangs drive with an interception and Zach Townsend pretty much ended a Falcons drive with a sack. The Falcons punted and the Mustangs drove 79-yards in two plays, a 1-yard run by Felton and a 78-yard touchdown pass from Zach Gross to Felton. Gross then threw a 2-point conversion pass to Felton to put the Mustangs up 28-21 with 10:12 to go in the game.

Palmer returned the kickoff 42-yards to set the Falcons up at the Mustangs 38-yard line. A five-play drive, featuring a 23-yard pass from Goss to Quincy Nissley, ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Goss to Nissley. The extra point kick by Julius tied the score at 28 with 7:27 left in the game.

The Mustangs ended up punting and the Falcons gave the ball back to the Mustangs when Felton recovered a fumble at the Falcons 21-yard line. Gross then threw a touchdown strike to Felton but it was called back due to a penalty. The Mustangs punted from the 34-yard line and the Falcons took over on their 20. Loughlin ended that drive with another sack and the Falcons punted.

The Mustangs then drove 45-yards in four plays, featuring a 17-yard pass from Gross to Keith Pappas, an 11-yard run by Thomas, a 7-yard run by Felton, and ending with a 10-yard touchdown run by Thomas with 33 seconds left in the game. That made the final score 34-28 in favor of the Mustangs.

Felton kicked off 5 times for 225-yards, with the longest going for 54-yards, punted 4 times for 164-yards and a 41.0-yard average and returned 2 kickoffs for 120-yards, with the longest going for 96-yards for the Mustangs.

Keith Pappas, who had 13 tackles and a pass defense, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Carnie Fryfogle with 12 tackles, a sack and a pass defense, Jeremy Loughlin with 9 tackles, a sack and a pass hurry, Zach Townsend with 9 tackles and a sack, Brandon Krise with 9 tackles, Mike Felton with 8 tackles and a fumble recovery, Dillon Langenfeld with 7 tackles, a blocked field goal attempt, a fumble recovery and a pass defense, Reid Cruz with 7 tackles, a sack and a pass hurry, Ryan Dotson with 7 tackles, Devon Ackerman with 5 tackles, Brandon Stremmel with 4 tackles and a sack, Alex Baugher 4 tackles, Aram Moffit with 3 tackles, Rich Delea and Jaelen Langenfeld with 2 tackles each, Daulton James with 1 tackle and a caused fumble, and Logan Bowman with 1 tackle.

Devon Ackerman, Alex Baugher, Logan Bowman, Reid Cruz, Rich Delea, Ryan Dotson, Carnie Fryfogle, Matt Hawn, Jeremy Loughlin, Aram Moffit, Keith Pappas, Brandon Stremmel, and Zach Townsend, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Dillon Thomas. Mike Duffy, Mike Felton, Brandon Krise, Dillon Langenfeld, Jaelen Langenfeld, and Jerome Robinson, patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 181-yards rushing and 170-yards passing for a total of 351-yards of offense. Mike Felton led the Mustangs rushing attack with 14 carries for 89-yards (including a 42-yard touchdown), followed by Reid Cruz with 4 carries for 45-yards, Dillon Thomas with 5 carries for 39-yards (including touchdowns of 5 and 10-yards), Dakotah Moses with 10 carries for 20-yards, and Zach Gross with 2 carries for minus 12-yards. Quarterback Gross completed 7 of 12 passes for 170-yards and 1 touchdown), 3 for 124-yards to Felton (including a 78-yard touchdown), 1 for 19-yards to Moses, 2 for 17-yards to Keith Pappas, and 1 for 10-yards to Reid Cruz, for the Mustangs. Felton returned a kickoff 96-yards for a touchdown and recovered a fumble, Gross threw a 2-point conversion pass to Felton, Jake Tracy kicked 2 extra points, Dillon Langenfeld blocked a field goal attempt and recovered a fumble, Cruz, Carnie Fryfogle, Jeremy Loughlin, Brandon Stremmel, and Zach Townsend each recorded a sack, Keith Pappas registered 13 tackles and Fryfogle registered 12 tackles, for the Mustangs.

The Lower Dauphin Falcons rang up 123-yards rushing and 210-yards passing for a total of 333 yards gained. Travis Morill led the Falcons rushing attack with 18 carries for 74-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown), followed by Josh Palmer with 10 carries for 68-yards, Cole Robinson with 1 carry for 3-yards, Kenton Heinbaugh with 2 carries for minus 1-yard, and Zach Goss with 8 carries for minus 21-yards. Quarterback Goss completed 14 of 23 passes for 210-yards and 3 touchdowns, 5 for 114-yards to Miller (including touchdowns of 30 and 14-yards), 7 for 74-yards to Quincy Nissley (including an 11-yard touchdown), and 1 for 11-yards to Wade Weiser, for the Falcons. Joey Julius kicked 4 extra points for the Falcons.

The 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 stirring half time performance, presenting their 2011 field show “The Colors of Dreams.” The relaxing mallet introduction led to the haunting sound of “The Dream is Collapsing” from Inception, followed by “Zooster’s Rebellion” from Madagascar, the sorrowful longing of “Hummel Gets the Rockets,” from the Rock, and the show closed with “The Burning Bush,” from Prince of Egypt. The Lower Dauphin Falcons Marching Band put on a rousing pre-game performance. The Mustangs and Falcons Cheer Leading squads were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

Don Seidenstricker has a 189-86-1 (.687) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 330-204-8. The results of the 542 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .618 winning percentage and a .624 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Division II Warriors of Susquehannock (0-3 overall, 0-0 league). Susquehannock is coming off of a 54-17 loss to the Panthers of Central Dauphin East. The Mustangs are looking to gallop along in their winning tradition. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 3-2011

By Dick Engelhardt

In a game that was on WGHT Radio (1500 AM) with Jon Fass and Peter Gilmartin broadcasting last week, the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High roared out to lead the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest 7-0, 7-6 and 10-6 in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action and then the dam broke leading to a 48-10 loss. Mike Venezia recovered a fumble and QB Kevin Osback ran for a 1st down. Swift Steve Tatekawa scampered to the 3 and Osback bulled in for the TD. With Kevin Benjamin snapping and Pete Danko holding, the sure footed Aryeh Moslavi kicked the extra point and our heroes led 7-0. After the NORSEMEN scored, Venezia blocked the point after kick and our CUTTERS led 7-6. Osback threw a picture pass to George Alexandris for a 1st down, Osback rambled to the 13 and Tatekawa scampered to the 10. When the drive stalled Moslavi booted a 25 yard field goal and Fair Lawn led 10-6. The NORSEMEN went ahead 12-10 and our CUTTERS were holding on until, on the final play as the clock ticked out the 1st half, the NORSEMEN completed a 35 yard pass to score. Their 2 point conversion put them up 18-10.

The flood gates opened in the 2nd half. One highlight was a tremendous goal line stand by Fair Lawn, the final play of which saw Brian Centano lead the charge that stopped the NORSEMEN inside the 1. A safety followed, however and the NORSEMEN led 20-10. After that they were able to pour it on even blocking a punt and scoring a TD. On “D,” fine plays were made by Alexandris, Benjamin, Kris Berger, Danko (who finished up at QB too), Boris Lifshits, Moslavi, Franklyn Ramirez, Jeff Welsh and others. Our CUTTERS took the 1956-58 and 1990- 2008 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) rivalry 13-9 (.591). The NORSEMEN are 2-0 in 2010 and 11 Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action and Fair Lawn leads the rivalry 13-11 (.552).

Fair Lawn’s BNC Liberty Division played all outside foes this weekend and laid a goose egg! In addition to Fair Lawn’s loss, the BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute were beaten 14-7 by the INDIANS of Wayne Valley, the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High were ambushed 9-0 by the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck, the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside were shut out 42-0 by the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills, the INDIANS of Passaic were beaten 55-30 by the RED WINGS of Hoboken and the KNIGHTS of JFK of Paterson were shut out 28-0 by the COMETS of Hackensack. The BNC Liberty Division is 0-6 against outside foes so far.

The award winning Fair Lawn High School Marching Band under the direction of Paul Kafer looked great. After their stellar performance, they were off to Scotch Plains for their 1st competition of 2011.

Cheerleader Coach Lauren Gimon was roundly applauded as I announced that Christie Artinger, a member of her first squad in 2002, was a member of the New York Jets Flight Crew Cheerleading squad in 2009 and 10 and is now a member of the San Diego Chargers “Charger Girls” squad! How many high school cheerleading coaches in America can say that one of their cheerleaders has made two National Football League (NFL) cheerleading squads? Way to go Lauren and Christie! Krisann Overmars Guy, Lauren’s predecessor as cheerleading coach, who coached Christie in her early seasons, was on hand too and her daughter, Reilly, was part of the Fair Lawn Football Association cheerleaders’ halftime show.

This Saturday our CUTTERS are home at SASSO FIELD at 1:00 against the 1-1 (.500) BULLDOGS of Passaic Tech in BNC Liberty Division action. The BULLDOGS came from behind to win the initial game between the schools last season 34-14. Having beaten Clifton, they are the favorites to repeat as BNC Liberty Division champions. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 17- PCTI 15. GO GUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2011 Week 2

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1951 – Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS were edged 7-6 by the BEARS of Hawthorne in Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) action. Independently in 1944 and in the B-PIL 1945-55, our CUTTERS went 9-3 (.750) over the BEARS. When Hawthorne, then the only Passaic County school in the league, left in ’56, the league was renamed the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL).

1961 – Bennett’s CUTTERS were shutout 20-0 by the COMETS of Hackensack 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. The 12-6 Hackensack win in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action in 2010 brought the COMETS’ record against our CUTTERS to 18-7-1 (.720).

1971 – Frank Devens’ CUTTERS shut out the BOILERMAKERS of Garfield in the 1st game ever played between the schools. During 1971-75 Fair Lawn went 5-0 (1.000) over Garfield in NNJIL action. The record went to 6-0 (1.000) in 2005 when Greg Tanzer’s CUTTERS trounced the BOILERMAKERS 47-7 in a State Consolation game.

1981 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were shutout 7-0 by the SPARTANS of Paramus in 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 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) in 1984. The rivalry was renewed as the teams squared off in Big North Conference (BNC) Crossover action in 2010. The 42-13 Paramus win put the SPARTANS up 13-10 (.565).

1991 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS fought the INDIANS of Pascack Valley to a 14-14 tie in NBIL interdivisional action. Pascack Valley took the 1955-56, 1984-85 and 1988-2008 rivalry 14-10-1 (.583) and won the last 5 games.

2001 – Alberque’s CUTTERS were thrashed 58-13 by the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo in NBIL Division 1 action. Ramapo took the 1956-58 and 1984-2008 series 17-11 (.607).

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2011-3

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Monday evening, September 9, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Mid-Penn Keystone Division Colts of Cedar Cliff at the Mustang Corral and were defeated 34-7. The quarterback and running back duo of Tyler Orris and Joel Chapman for the Colts was virtually unstoppable. Originally scheduled for Friday night, weather forced a postponement to Sunday night. Then, with 2:03 to go in the first half lightning stopped the game. After waiting about an hour it was called for the night and resumed where it left off late Monday afternoon.

The Colts took the opening kickoff and drove 65-yards in eight plays, featuring a 10-yard pass from Orris to William Hopkins, a 10-yard pass from Orris to Nol Aru, and a 15-yard pass from Orris to Aru. Orris ended the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run and Leon Van Buskirk’s extra point kick put the Colts up 7-0 at the 8:33 mark in the first quarter.

The Mustangs countered with a very impressive 13-play drive, featuring a 15-yard run by Mike Felton and a 9-yard pass from Zach Gross to Brandon Krise. Unfortunately it resulted in no points when Matt Sowers recovered a Mustangs fumble and the Colts took over on their 15-yard line.

The Colts then drove 85-yards in 12 plays, featuring a 19-yard run by Orris and his 16-yard touchdown pass to Adam Brenneman. Buskirk’s extra point kick made the score 14-0 with 10:09 to go in the second quarter.

The Mustangs again countered with another impressive drive, this time for 80-yards in 12 plays, featuring a 13-yard pass from Gross to Jerome Robinson and runs of 14 and 12-yards by Dillon Thomas. Unfortunately, this drive also ended with no points when Kyler Smith intercepted a Mustangs pass in the end zone.

The Colts then drove 80-yards in eight plays, featuring some fancy running by Joel Chapman and passes by backup quarterback Andrew Ford. Ford’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Aru (the speedster from the Sudan) and Buskirk’s extra point kick upped the score to 21-0 with 2:31 to go in the first half.

The Mustangs ran two plays for 1-yard and, with 2:03 to go in the half, lightening stopped the game and it wasn’t resumed until the next day. At which point finished the eight play 37-yard drive with a punt. This was the first punt by either team in the game and it came just at the end of the half.

The Mustangs took the second half kickoff and drove from their own 27-yard line to the Colts 43. They turned the ball over on downs when a run on a fake punt failed to gain a first down.

Five plays and 57-yards later, Orris ran in for a colts touchdown from the 3-yard line. Zac Collins extra point kick made the score 28-0 with 7:19 to go in the third quarter.

The Mustangs then drove from their own 38-yard line to the Colts 48 and punted.

The Colts then drove 85-yards in 12 plays, featuring a 10-yard pass from Jake Scott, a 14-yard pass to Brenneman, and some flashy running by Scott and Chapman. Orris threw a 33-yard touchdown bomb to William Hopkins to close out the Colt’s scoring with 11:44 to go in the game.

The Mustangs had a short drive end with Kyler Smith’s second interception for the Colts. The Colts failed to move the ball and a sack by Rich Delea and Brandon Stremmel cost them 10-yards. They punted and the Mustangs went three and out and punted. The Colts also went three and out and punted.

The Mustangs then drove 63-yards in nine plays, featuring a 10-yard run by Thomas and an 8-yard run by Reid Cruz with a 15-yard penalty tacked onto the end of it. Carnie Fryfogle plunged his way into the end zone from the 5-yard line for a Mustangs touchdown with 1:44 to go in the game. Jake Tracy kicked an extra point and the final score was 34-7 in favor of the Colts.

Felton kicked off 2 times for 114-yards, with the longest going for 60-yards and a touchback, and punted 3 times for 137-yards and a 45.67-yard average, with the longest going for 57-yards. Felton returned 5 kickoffs for 99-yards, with the longest going for 26, yards, and Carnie Fryfogle returned 1 kickoff for 3-yards. Jaelen Langenfeld returned 2 punts for 5-yards, with the longest going for 5-yards, for the Mustangs.

Carnie Fryfogle, who had 17 tackles, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Rich Delea with 7 tackles, Dillon Langenfeld with 6 tackles, Mike Duffy with 5 tackles and a pass defense, Reid Cruz, Mike Felton, Brandon Krise, and Keith Pappas with 5 tackles each, Dillon Thomas with 4 tackles and a pass hurry, Alex Baugher with 4 tackles, Jeremy Loughlin, Mike Mooradian, and Zach Townsend with 3 tackles each, Devon Ackerman, Ryan Dotson, Jaelen Langenfeld, Aram Moffit, and Jerome Robinson with 2 tackles each, and Logan Bowman with 1 tackle.

Devon Ackerman, Alex Baugher, Logan Bowman, Reid Cruz, Rich Delea, Ryan Dotson, Carnie Fryfogle, Matt Hawn, Jeremy Loughlin, Aram Moffit, Mike Mooradian, Keith Pappas, Zach Townsend, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Ryan Klinedinst, Chad Kolper, and Dillon Thomas. Mike Duffy, Mike Felton, Brandon Krise, Dillon Langenfeld, Jaelen Langenfeld, Jerome Robinson, and Brandon Stremmel, patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 177-yards rushing and 79-yards passing for a total of 256-yards of offense. Quarterback Zach Gross completed 9 of 19 passes for 79-yards, 2 for 24-yards to Jerome Robinson. 2 for 23-yards to Mike Felton, 2 for 14-yards to Brandon Krise, 1 for 7-yards to Jaelen Langenfeld, 1 for 6-yards to Keith Pappas, and 1 for 5-yards to Reid Cruz, for the Mustangs. Dillon Thomas led the Mustangs rushing attack with 12 carries for 77-yards, followed by Dakotah Moses with 10 carries for 49-yards, Mike Felton with 11 carries for 47-yards, Reid Cruz with 4 carries for 15-yards, Carnie Fryfogle with 2 carries for 5-yards (including a 5-yard touchdown), and Zach Gross with 6 carries for minus 16-yards. Jake Tracy kicked 1 extra point for the Mustangs.

The Cedar Cliff Colts rang up 177-yards rushing and 175 yards passing for a total of 352 yards gained. Tyler Orris completed 10 of 14 passes for 132-yards and 1 touchdown and Andrew Ford completed 5 of 5 passes for 43-yards and 2 touchdowns. Adam Breneman caught 5 passes for 55-yards, Nol Aru caught 5 passes for 50-yards, William Hopkins caught 2 passes for 44-yards, Jake Scott caught 2 passes for 22-yards, and Jaquan McIntyre caught 1 pass for 4-yards, for the Colts. Joel Chapman led the Colts rushing attack with 15 carries for 119-yards (including), followed by Orris with 11 carries for 52-yards (including), DeShaun Woodson with 4 carries for 6-yards, Youssef Ajlane with 2 carries for 5-yards, Scott with 1 carry for 5-yards, Noah Malone with 1 carry for minus 3-yards, and Ford with 1 carry for minus 7-yards. Leon Van Buskirk kicked 3 extra points, Zac Collins kicked 1 extra point, Kyler Smith intercepted 2 passes, and Matt Sowers recovered a fumble, for the Colts.

Due to the weather conditions and the split night/next day completion of the game, neither great band performed this week. The 23-member (plus Mustangs Mascot) Mustangs Cheer Leading squad was very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

Don Seidenstricker has a 188-86-1 (.686) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 329-204-8. The results of the 541 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 visit the Falcons of Lower Dauphin (1-0 overall, 0-0 Mid-Penn Keystone Division) at the beautiful Hershey Park Stadium. Lower Dauphin is coming off of a 27-0 shutout over the Thundering Herd of Carlisle. The Mustangs are looking to return to their winning tradition. GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 2-2011

By Dick Engelhardt

Last week the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High were surprised 46-14 by the INDIANS of Passaic in Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division action. Captains Kevin Benjamin, Boris Lifshits and Steve Tatekawa went out for the coin toss. Passaic won and deferred their choice to the 2nd half. Faced with an avalanche of speed and miscues, our heroes trailed 20-0. Just before the half, they were driving at the Passaic 5 when an interception resulted in a 98 yard Passaic TD run and, instead of closing the score to 20-7, our CUTTERS trailed 27-0 at the half. Laine White’s fumble recovery led to Tatekawa running to the 1. QB Kevin Osback snuck it in. With Benjamin snapping and Pete Danko holding, sure footed Aryeh Moslavi kicked the extra point and it was 27-7. The INDIANS scored again to lead 33-7. Our never-say-die CUTTERS drove as Osback passed to John Pagios and Mike Venezia for 1st downs and ran to the 13 for another. His TD pass to Nick Hickey and Moslavi’s kick made it 33-13. Moslavi not only kicked well all day but recovered a fumble on one kickoff! White blocked a PAT and Tyler Argot sacked the QB. Good defensive plays were made by Kris Burger, Carlos Carlone, Lifshits, Osback, Brendan Sibilio, and others. Fair Lawn leads the rivalry 3-2 (.600).

Coach Amir Saadah joins Al Reinoso (1972), Rich Szura (1975), Greg Tanzer (2002) and Stan Myles (2007) in losing his first game. 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 (.692) record in independent action in 1943 and 44 after starting up with 3 JV games. Some called the new team the COMETS because they scored quickly in that 1st JV game, a 7-6 loss to Lodi, and others called them the CLIPPERS. It’s been said that some team members would leave school early to visit Doc Gurney, after whom Gurney Terrace is named, for taping and disappear for a time forcing Coach Fischbein to wait for the arrival of these "cutters" before he could run a full practice. 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 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. Livingstone 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 68 seasons later! The “original” 1943 CUTTERS were inducted into the FLHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 along with this writer and others. Van Olden had been inducted individually in 2007.

In the other BNC Liberty Division game, the defending champion BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute beat the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High 23-3. In BNC crossover action, the KNIGHTS of JFK of Paterson were shut out 26-0 by the HIGHLANDERS of West Milford bringing the BNC Liberty Division record against outsiders to 0-1. The GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside were idle.

On Sunday I took in the Clifton-Passaic County Technical Institute game. While saying hello to Clifton Band Director, Bob Morgan, I was recruited to be the anonymous “Guest Announcer” for the Clifton High School FIGHTING MUSTANG Marching Band halftime show at Clifton Stadium!

This Saturday our CUTTERS are home at SASSO FIELD to take on the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/ Demarest for the 24th time. Our CUTTERS took the 1956-58 and 1990- 2008 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) rivalry 13-9 (.591). The 40-0 NV shut out win in 2010 in BNC crossover action brought the record to 13-10 (.565) Fair Lawn.

In their opener, the NORSEMEN fell 34-16 to the LANCERS of Lakeland. Representing their BNC Liberty Division against an outsider, our Cutters will fight hard. They’ve lost a game they won last year; now it’s time to win a game they lost last year! From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21- NV/Demarest 15. GO GUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2011 Week 1

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Dick Engelhardt

1951 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) CUTTERS were shutout 33-0 by the Passaic Valley Conference (PVC) GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside in independent action. During 1947-54 and 1983 Fair Lawn went 5-4 (.556) over the GHOSTS. This was sweetened by the fact that, until FLHS opened in 1943, most Fair Lawn students attended Eastside. A few students from the Columbia Heights section went to Hawthorne and the Radburn section students went to Ridgewood. The 4-4 (.500) deadlock was broken by the 20-18 Fair Lawn victory in 1983. In 2010 the GHOSTS and CUTTERS found themselves in the new Big North Conference (BNC) Division II, which became the Liberty Division. Fair Lawn’s 40-16 victory brought the record of our CUTTERS to 6-4 (.600) over the GHOSTS.

1961 –New Coach Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS mauled the TIGERS of Dover 19-0 in independent action closing out the rivalry at 1-1 (.500).

1971 – Frank Devens’ CUTTERS edged the MAROON RAIDERS of Englewood 2-0 in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. In independent action 1945-46, 1957-58 and 1986-89 and in the NNJIL 1959-71, our CUTTERS have gone 14-7 (.667) over the MAROON RAIDERS.

1981 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were ambushed 47-14 by the HIGHWAYMEN of Teaneck in NNJIL action. During 1954-58 independently and 1959-82 in the NNJIL our CUTTERS went 17-11-1 (.607) over the HIGHWAYMEN. Fair Lawn’s 20-6 victory in 2009 in North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) Division 3 action put our CUTTERS up 18-11-1 (.621) in the series.

1991 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were shut out 13-0 by the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley/Demarest in NBIL interdivisional action. Fair Lawn leads the 1956-58 and 1990- 2008 and 2010 rivalry 13-10 (.565).

2001 – Alberque’s CUTTERS were beaten 23-7 by the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands in NBIL Division 1 action. Fair Lawn took the 1986-93 and 1998 – 2008 rivalry 10-9 (.526).

THE GRIDIRON 1-2011

By Dick Engelhardt

It’s great to be on THE GRIDIRON again as the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High begin their 69th football season with a 1943-2010 record of 314-290-14 (.520). Amir Saadah, a 2000 FLHS graduate who played for Mike Alberque’s 1997-99 CUTTERS, takes over as the 11th Football coach in FLHS history. He follows Marty Fischbein 9-4-2 (.692) during 1943-44, Frank Bennett 71-55-6 (.564) during 1945-60, Ed Sheehy 19-15-1 (.559) during 1961-64, Frank Devens 39-23-1 (.629) during 1965-71, Al Reinoso 7-18-2 (.280) during 1972-74, Rich Szura 6-21 (.222) during 1965-77, Pete Natale 58-36-1 (.617) during 1978-87, Mike Alberque 71-61-1 (.538) during 1988-2001, Greg Tanzer 14-36 (.280) during 2002-06 and Stan Myles 20-21 (.488) during 2007-10.

Championships came in the Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) in 1945, 53 and 55 with co-championships in ’46 with BUCCANEERS of Bogota and ’47 with the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst; the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) in 1965 and 66 with a tri-championship in ’80 with the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High and the HORNETS of Passaic Valley and the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 in 1984, 85, 87 and 89. The State playoff system began in 1974 and our CUTTERS were in the playoffs in 1979, 80, 85, 88, 89, 2000 and 2009.

Saadah has an all-star coaching staff. Billy Lynn is offensive coordinator, Bobby Guy is defensive coordinator and Dan Iozzia and Joe Borkowski are assistants. Jim Beshaw and Ed Guy coach the freshmen team. The names Beshaw, Guy, Iozzia, Lynn and Saadah are big in FLHS Gridiron history and Joe Borkowski is a nephew of former Fair Lawn Coach Mike Alberque!

FLHS Cheerleader Coach Lauren Gimon is proud as a peacock as Christie Artinger, a member of her first squad in 2002, was a member of the New York JETS Flight Crew Cheerleading squad in 2009 and 10 and is now a member of the San Diego CHARGERS “CHARGER GIRLS” squad! How many other high school cheerleading coaches in America can say that one of their cheerleaders has made, not one, but two, National Football League (NFL) cheerleading squads? Way to go Lauren and Christie!

This Saturday our CUTTERS travel to Passaic to take on the INDIANS at Boverini Stadium. Pete Natale’s CUTTERS roared from behind to beat the INDIANS 27-18 in 1st round playoff action at GIANTS STADIUM in 1980 in the most thrilling game in FLHS history to date and lost a 1985 playoff game 36-26 at Passaic in 1985. Stan Myles’ CUTTERS edged the INDIANS 39-38 in the first “Home” playoff game ever played at SASSO FIELD in 2009 in a game that edged out the 1980 game as the most thrilling ever played by our CUTTERS. The other 2 “Home” Fair Lawn playoff games were at GIANTS STADIUM in 1980. In 2010 in Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division action, Fair Lawn’s 25-6 victory put our CUTTERS up 3-1 (.750) over the INDIANS. The games have been fierce as our CUTTERS averaged a 29-25 winning score through the four games.

Our heroes got ready for the season with scrimmages against the BLUE BEARS of Barringer High of Newark, the CRIMSON of Morristown Beard, the HAWKS of Hudson Catholic of Jersey City and the TIGERS of Tenafly. I look forward to seeing our heroes get off to a good start in their quest for a BNC Liberty Division title and a playoff spot. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21- Passaic 7. GO GUTTERS GO!!!

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2011-2

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, September 3, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Warriors of Gettysburg and galloped and passed to a resounding 41-0 shutout. Mustangs running back Mike Felton kept the offense moving with 103-yards rushing on 8 carries. He scored 2 rushing touchdowns and scored another touchdown on an electrifying 95-yard kickoff return, accounting for 18 of the 41 points for the Mustangs. Zach Gross accounted for 148-yards passing on 7 completions to round out the balanced offense.

The Warriors opened the game and went three and out, punting to the Mustangs. The Mustangs opened with a neat 15-yard run by Dakotah Moses, but the drive stalled and they turned the ball over on downs.

The Warriors only got in two plays before Reid Cruz intercepted a pass and returned it 40-yards for a touchdown for the Mustangs. Jake Tracy’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 7-0 with 7:07 to go in the first quarter.

The Warriors went three and out and punted again. The Mustangs drove 67-yards in six plays, featuring a 29-yard run by Carnie Fryfogle, only to lose the ball on a fumble at the Warriors 6-yard line.

The Warriors gained 15-yards and punted. The Mustangs got the ball at their 49-yard line and Felton galloped 51-yards for a touchdown on the first play. Tracy’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 14-0 at the 11:50 mark in the second quarter.

The Warriors and the Mustangs exchanged punts and the Warriors punted again. The Mustangs then drove 55-yards in five plays, featuring passes of 19 and 24-yards from Gross to Felton. Felton scored a touchdown on a nifty 24-yard run and Tracy’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 21-0 with 2:35 to go in the first half.

Mike Felton opened the second half with his 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Tracy’s extra point kick upped the score to 28-0 at the 11:50 mark in the third quarter.

The Warriors drove 42-yards, featuring a 32-yard pass from Chase Whitman to Benttion Hendricks, only to turn the ball over on downs. Felton then raced 74-yards for an apparent touchdown, only to have it come back due to a penalty. Not to be denied, three plays later Gross connected with the speedy Carnie Fryfogle for a 63-yard touchdown pass. Tracy’s extra point upped the score to 35-0 at the 7:48 mark in the third quarter.

The Mustangs substituted liberally after that and tacked on another score. Logan Bowman intercepted a Warriors pass and returned it 24-yards to the Warriors 35-yard line. A penalty moved the ball to the 24-yard line and Dillon Langenfeld jaunted in for a 24-yard touchdown with 8:25 remaining in the game. That made the final score 41-0 in favor of the Mustangs.

Felton kicked off 3 times for 137-yards, with the longest going for 52-yards, and punted 2 times for 80-yards (for an average of 40-yards), with the longest going for 41-yards. Ryan Lane kicked off 2 times for 73-yards, with the longest going for 38-yards, and Jake Hunt kicked off 2 times for 66-yards, with the longest going for 43-yards, for the Mustangs. Gabe Morela punted 1 time for 29-yards for the Mustangs. Felton returned a kickoff for 95-yards and a touchdown and fair caught 1 punt, and Jaelen Langenfeld returned 3 punts for 9-yards, for the Mustangs.

Carnie Fryfogle, who had 12 tackles, led the Mustangs defense; followed by Rich Delea with 10 tackles, Dillon Langenfeld with 6 tackles and a pass defense, Logan Bowman with 4 tackles and an interception, Zach Townsend with 4 tackles and a sack, Dakotah Moses and Jeremy Loughlin with 4 tackles each, Aram Moffit with 3 tackles and a pass hurry, Brandon Krise with 3 tackles and 2 pass defenses, Shawn Secola, Ryan Dotson, Mike Mooradian, and Keith Pappas with 3 tackles each, Reid Cruz with 1 tackle and an interception, Alex Jones with 1 tackle and a fumble recovery, Devon Ackerman with 1 tackle and a sack, Jon Hoover, Daulton James, Chad Kolper, Eddie Lane, Jaelen Langenfeld, Dan McMillen with 1 tackle each, and Dillon Thomas with a pass defense.

Devon Ackerman, Alex Baugher, Logan Bowman, Reid Cruz, Rich Delea, Ryan Dotson, Carnie Fryfogle, Matt Hawn, Jeremy Loughlin, Aram Moffit, Mike Mooradian, Keith Pappas, Zach Townsend, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Ryan Klinedinst, Chad Kolper, and Dillon Thomas. Mike Duffy, Mike Felton, Brandon Krise, Dillon Langenfeld, Jaelen Langenfeld, Jerome Robinson, and Brandon Stremmel, patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 204-yards rushing and 148-yards passing for a total of 352-yards of offense. Quarterback Zach Gross completed 7 of 9 passes for 148 and a touchdown, 1 for 63-yards and a touchdown to Carnie Fryfogle, 2 for 43-yards to Mike Felton, 2 for 28-yards to Reid Cruz, 1 for 11-yards to Keith Pappas, and 1 for 3-yards to Jerome Robinson, for the Mustangs. Quarterbacks Jesse Good and Mike Duffy each had 1 pass attempt with no completions, for the Mustangs. Mike Felton led the Mustangs rushing attack with his 8 carries for 103-yards (including touchdowns of 51 and 24-yards), followed by Dillon Thomas with 7 for 37-yards, Carnie Fryfogle with 3 for 26-yards, Dakotah Moses with 2 for 21-yards, Dillon Langenfeld with 1 for 24-yards and a touchdown, Jon Hoover with 1 for 3-yards, Bobby Wildasin with 1 for 2-yards, Gross with 1 for minus 2-yards, and Good with 1 for minus 9-yards, for the Mustangs. Jake Tracy kicked 5 extra points for the Mustangs.

The Gettysburg Warriors rang up 52-yards rushing and 61-yards passing for a total of 113-yards gained. Quarterback Chase Whiteman completed 6 of 19 passes for the 61-yards, 3 for 46-yards to Benttion Hendricks, 1 for 9-yards to Dane Purdy, 1 for 8-yards to Kurt Hoffman, and 1 for 2-yards to Darren Hartzell, for the Warriors. Whitman led the Warriors rushing attack with 10 carries for 32-yards, followed by Hendricks with 3 for 18-yards, Jordan Stouch with 5 for 10-yards, Kurt Hoffman with 2 for 7-yards, and Jesse Stouch with 5 for 5-yards, for the Warriors.

The Mustangs are hoping to contend for the Division I championship in the YAIAA this year.

The 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 stirring half time performance, presenting their 2011 field show “The Colors of Dreams.” The relaxing mallet introduction led to the haunting sound of “The Dream is Collapsing” from Inception, followed by “Zooster’s Rebellion” from Madagascar, the sorrowful longing of “Hummel Gets the Rockets,” from the Rock, and the show closed with “The Burning Bush,” from Prince of Egypt. The Gettysburg Warriors Marching Band put on a rousing pregame performance. The Mustangs Cheer Leading squad was very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

Don Seidenstricker has a 188-85-1 (.689) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 329-203-8. The results of the 540 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .618 winning percentage and a .624 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Colts of Cedar Cliff. Cedar Cliff opened the season with a 45-14 win over the Bears of Elizabethtown. The Mustangs played great offense and great defense in their season opener. They are looking to continue in their winning tradition and make this a season to remember. GO MUSTANGS GO.