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!!!