SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2013-6

By Bill Engelhardt

________

Last Friday evening, September 27, the Mustangs of South Western visited the YAIAA Division II Warriors of Susquehannock and rode the arm of Tyler Sterner to a convincing 28-14 victory.  Sterner threw 3 touchdown passes for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs opened the game with a five play 16-yard drive, featuring a 12-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Logan Bowman and punted.  The Warriors returned the favor after a three and out, which included a sack by Skylar Bowman for the Mustangs, and punted.

The Mustangs then drove 37-yards in five plays, featuring a 28-yard run by Jordan Markle to the 7-yard line, and ending with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Camden Brown.  The extra point kick by reliable sophomore Brock Geiman put the Mustangs up 7-0 at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter.

The Warriors then drove 36-yards to the Mustangs 28-yard line in 13-plays, featuring a 27-yard pass from Bryan Kerr to Steven Nalls for the Warriors and a sack for a 7-yard loss by Ryan Krebs for the Mustangs, only to turn the ball over on downs.  The Mustangs ended up punting and the Warriors had a 51-yard drive, featuring a 31-yard pass from Kerr to Sammy Miller, end with another turnover on downs

The Mustangs then drove 76-yards in five plays, featuring an 18-yard pass from Sterner to Markle.  The drive ended with a beautiful 52-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Brandon McMinn, helped by a tremendous block by Markle.  McMinn must have the magic touch because he has 3 receptions for 3 touchdowns for the year.  Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-0 with 6:56 left in the first half.

The Warriors went three and out and punted.  The Mustangs then drove 72-yards in ten plays, ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Hunter Palmer.  Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 21-0 with 26 seconds left in the half.

The Warriors and the Mustangs exchanged punts, twice, in the third quarter.  Then the Warriors drove 80-yards in eight plays, featuring a 42-yard pass from Kerr to Nalls.  Kerr ran in for a 4-yard touchdown and Adam Hedgeland’s extra point kick made the score 21-7 at the 2:26 mark of the third quarter.

The Mustangs then drive 52-yards in 3 plays, ending with Sterner’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Logan Bowman.  Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 28-7 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Warriors went three and out, including a sack for a 5-yard loss by McMinn for the Mustangs, and punted.  The Mustangs then drove 58-yards in ten plays, featuring a 25-yard pass from reserve quarterback Geiman to Miles Francis and a 32-yard pass from Geiman to Markle, only to miss on Geiman’s 36-yard field goal attempt.

The Mustangs substituted liberally and the Warriors drove 80-yards in ten plays, featuring a 35-yard pass from Colin Kelly to Luke Knott.  The drive ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Kelly and Hedgeland’s extra point kick made the final score 28-14 in favor of the Mustangs with 23 seconds left in the game.

Brock Geiman kicked off 4 times for 133-yards, with the longest going for 49-yards, and punted 4 times for 142-yards (for a 35.5-yard average), with the longest going for 38-yards, for the Mustangs.  Miles Francis returned 1 kickoff for 10-yards and 3 punts for 45-yards, with the longest going for 24-yards, Ryan Krebs returned1 kickoff for 9-yards, and Brady Thayer returned 1 punt for 5-yards, for the Mustangs. 

Tyler Jachelski, with 10 tackles, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Ryan Lane with 6 tackles and a pass defense, Josh Walker with 6 tackles, Brandon McMinn with 5 tackles and 1 sack, Skylar Bowman with 4 tackles and 2 sacks, Domnick Holcombe with 4 tackles and 1 sack, Logan Bowman with 4 tackles and a pass defense, Payton Taylor with 4 tackles, Ryan Krebs with 3 tackles and 1 sack, Matt Helwig with 2 tackles and 1 pass defense, Hunter Palmer with 2 tackles and 1 pass defense, Marcus Jones and Jordan Markle with 2 tackles each, Trevor Bankert with 1 tackle and 1 pass defense, Corbin Byers, Robby Harbison, Zach Hughes, Chris Steckel and Brady Thayer with 1 tackle each, Brock Geiman with 2 pas defenses, and Jeff Green with 1 pass defense.

Rich Bosse, Skylar Bowman, Camden Brown, Scotty Dickmyer, Matt Helwig, Domnick Holcombe, Gunner Holtz, Tyler Jachelski, Ryan Krebs, Gus Landis, Ryan Lane, Brandon McMinn, Elder Sterner, Aaron Uttley, and Josh Walker, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions.

Logan Bowman, Brenden Fahs, Jordan Markle, Hunter Palmer, Payton Taylor, and Brady Thayer patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 129-yards rushing and 209-yards passing for a total of 338-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 7 of 14 passes for the 152-yards and 3 touchdowns, 1 for 52-yards and a touchdown to Brandon McMinn, 2 for 49-yards to Logan Bowman (including a 37-yard touchdown), 1 for 18-yards to Jordan Markle, 1 for 17-yards and a touchdown to Hunter Palmer, and 2 for 16-yards to Noah Staub, and Brock Geiman completed 2 of 2 passes for 57-yards, 1 for 32-yards to Markle, and 1 for 25-yards to Miles Francis, for the Mustangs. 

Camden Brown led the Mustangs rushing attack with 16 carries for 58-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown), followed by Markle with 4 carries for 32-yards, Francis with 7 carries for 29-yards, Payton Taylor with 4 carries for 14-yards, Tyler Sterner with 1 carry for minus 1-yard, and Jeff Green with 1 carry for minus 2-yards.  Brock Geiman kicked 4 extra points for the Mustangs.

The Warriors gained 129-yards rushing and 148 yards passing for a total of 277-yards gained.  Quarterback Bryan Kerr completed 7 of 16 passes for 105-yards, 3 for 77-yards to Steven Nalls, 2 for 14-yards to Sammy Miller, 1 for 9-yards to Steven Martinez, and 1 for 5-yards to Colin Rennoll, and quarterback Colin Kelly completed 2 of 4 passes for 43-yards, 1 for 35-yards to Luke Knott, and 1 for 8-yards to Rennoll, for the Warriors. 

Sammy Miller led the Warriors rushing attack with13 carries for 49-yards, followed by Kerr with 12 carries for 30-yards, Sam Alis with 3 carries for 26-yards, Martinez with 5 carries for 13-yards, Kelly with 3 carries for 8-yards (including a 7-yard touchdown), and Colin Riley with 1 carry for 3-yards.  Adam Hedgeland kicked 2 extra points for the Warriors.

The 66 member strong 10-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 2013 field show “Joyful Beethoven.”  The Ode to Joy theme from the 9th Symphony is among the most recognizable melodies of all time.  Throughout the show this melody was combined, altered, and woven into many of Beethoven’s other compositions.  The show opened with a bold statement of the Ode to Joy theme that transitioned into the main theme from the fifth Symphony, featuring a horn trio of Amanda Smith, Nicia Werner, and Briannah Rohrbaugh.  Following a brief interlude of the Ode to Joy, the passion of the Egmont Overture was heard.  The music evolved from passion to triumph as the band segued into the Overture from Fidelio.  The Ballad began with the haunting sounds of the Moonlight Sonata and continued with the theme from the 2nd Movement of the Pathetique Sonata before being combined with the Ode to Joy Theme.  The closer began with the light-hearted sounds of the Scherzo theme from the Eroica Symphony before finishing with the triumphant reprise of the Ode to Joy Melody.

The 72 member strong Warriors Marching Band thrilled the crowd with their post game show “Future Shock.”

The 25 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the 14 member strong Warrior’s squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

The Mustangs of South Western are 2-3-0 overall and 0-0-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

The Mustangs have a career record of 340-205-8.  The results of the 553 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .624 winning percentage and a .630 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Wildcats of Dallastown (4-1 overall, 0-0 league).  Dallastown is coming off of a 34-17 win over the Colonials of New Oxford.  The Mustangs are looking to continue their winning tradition.  GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 4-2013

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High lost a 32-29 thriller to the KNIGHTS of Paterson’s JFK last Saturday at SASSO FIELD in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action. Captains Thomas Koike, Richard Marchese, Mike Nieman and Nick Perez went out for the coin toss which Kenedy won and deferred to the 2^nd half. Our CUTTERS moved the ball with runs by Carlos Carlone and passes by QB Dillon Rinaldo to David Rodriguez but an interception led to a Kennedy score. The KNIGHTS scored again and led 26-0 before runs by Zach Parisi and a pass to David Milnes (Grandson of Fair Lawn luminary “Pop” Milnes) and a run by Rinaldo got the ball deep into JFK territory. Rinaldo passed to Rodriguez for a TD and with Niemnan snapping and Milnes holding, the sure footed Ari Moslavi kicked the point after. Kennedy led 26-7 at the half. The KNIGHTS went up 32-7 and our heroes roared back. Parisi’s TD run and Moslavi’s kick made it 32-14. Parisi scored again and the PAT made it 32-21. With 37 seconds on the clock Rinaldo threw to Koike for a TD and ran for the 2 point conversion. The ensuing on-side kick didn’t go 10 yards and the KNIGHTS took a knee to end the game. Deshawn Roberts blocked a PAT and Matt Phillips blocked a punt. Nice plays on “D” were made by Dan Morganstein, Nieman, Frank Ortoll, Justin Williams and others. Jacob Baron made a TD saving tackle. Our CUTTERS lead the 1951-58, 1988, 2003 and 2009-12 rivalry against Kennedy and its predecessor COLTS of Paterson Central 8-6 (.571).

It was the 3rd game in that first season of 1943 that resulted in the naming of the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High! I told the crowd the story about that fateful Leonia JV game in my “Walk Down Memory Lane.” I’ll tell it in detail here in THE GRIDIRON after Fair Lawn’s October 12^th “Bye” when there is no game to report on.

Drew Gibbs, the coach of the GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo, was at the game. He’s a class guy and his son, Brian, is on Amir Saadah’s staff at Fair Lawn. Ramapo took the 1956-58 and 1984-2008 Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) rivalry with Fair Lawn 17-11 (.607).

In Fair Lawn’s BNC Liberty Division, the defending champion BULLDOGS of Passaic Tech shutout the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High 27-0. The Division went 0-2 (.500) against outside opposition. In addition to Fair Lawn’s loss, The GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside were beaten 45-20 by those GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo. The Division is 3-6 (.333) against outside opposition.

This Friday night at 7:00 our CUTTERS travel to BOVERINI STADIUM in Passaic to take on the INDIANS for the 7th time. Pete Natale’s CUTTERS roared from behind to beat the INDIANS 27-18 in 1^st round playoff action at GIANTS STADIUM in 1980 and lost a 1985 playoff game 36-26 at Passaic in 1985. Stan Myles’ CUTTERS edged the INDIANS 39-38 in playoff action in 2009. Fair Lawn’s 2-1 record in 2010-12 BNC action, brought our record against Passaic to 4-2 (.667). Both teams are 0-3. Passaic has been outscored 92-12 for an average 31-4 loss. Fair Lawn has been outscored 95-32  for an average 32-11 loss.  

I think our CUTTERS can get their first victory. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 21 - Passaic 6. GO GUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2013 Week 4

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

By Dick Engelhardt

Fair Lawn High School opened September 13th, 1943. This history covers the years ending in “3.”

1943 – Marty Fischbein’s brand new team began action with 3 JV games to get started. In the 1st ever varsity game the CUTTERS shutout the LAKERS (Now the HERD) of Mountain Lakes 13-0 I independent action. Mountain Lakes evened the record in 1944 with a 13-7 victory.

1953 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) and co-State champion CUTTERS mauled the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst 25-6 in B-PIL action.  Fair Lawn took the fierce 1945 – 53 rivalry with Lyndhurst 5-4 (.556).

1963 – Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS shutout the MIGHTY MITES of Bergenfield 12-0 in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. The MIGHTY MITES became the BEARS in 1966.  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. State realignment has ended the 51 season rivalry, which remains the longest in either school’s history.  

1973 – Al Reinoso’s CUTTERS were beaten 21-15 by the INDIANS of Wayne Valley 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 NBIL in 1984.

1983 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS edged the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside 20-18 in NNJIL interdivisional action taking a 5-4 (.556) lead in the 1947-54 and 1983 rivalry. 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. Fair Lawn is 1-2 (.333) against the GHOSTS in Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division action in 2010-12 and our CUTTERS and the GHOSTS are knotted up at 6-6 (.500).  

1993 – Alberque’s CUTTERS were beaten by the INDIANS of Pascack Valley 17-6 in NBIL interdivisional action. Pascack Valley took the 1955-56, 1984-85 and 1988-2008 rivalry 14-10-1 (.583).

2003 – Alberque’s CUTTERS were beaten 35-14 by the NORSEMEN of Northern Valley, Demarest in NBIL action. Our CUTTERS took the 1956-58 and 1990- 2008 rivalry 13-9 (.591). The NORSEMEN went 2-0 in 2010 and 11 Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action and Fair Lawn leads the rivalry 13-11 (.552).

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2013-5

By Bill Engelhardt

________

Last Friday evening, September 20, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the YAIAA Division II Colonials of New Oxford at the Mustang Corral and were edged 24-17 in overtime in a thriller.

The Colonials started the game on their own 33-yard line and two plays later Ryan Lane intercepted an Anthony Lippy pass for the Mustangs at their own 47-yard line.  The Mustangs drive 41-yards in eleven plays, featuring a 12-yard run for a first down on a fake punt by Brock Geiman, to the Colonials’ 5-yard line.  Geiman kicked a 22-yard field goal and the Mustangs led 3-0 at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter.

The Colonials then drove 77-yards in six plays, featuring a 57-yard run by Wesley Beans, and ending with a 4-yard touchdown run by Beans.  Trey Parrish kicked the extra point and the Colonials took the lead 7-3 at the 4:21 mark of the first quarter.

The Mustangs went three and out and punted and the Colonials drove 40-yards in eleven plays, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Mustangs 35-yard line.  The Mustangs then drove 59-yards in five plays, featuring a 41-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Noah Staub, only to have Beans intercept a Sterner pass in the end zone.

The Colonials went three and out and punted and the Mustangs drove 57-yards in nine plays, featuring a 25-yard pass from Sterner to Bret Hertzog and ending with Hertzog’s 4-yard touchdown run.  Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 10-7 with 3:35 to go in the half.

A 60-yard kickoff return by Daulton Snyder put the Colonials on the Mustangs 29-yard line.  A six-play drive, featuring a 14-yard run by Aaron Zinneman, ended with a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Zinneman.  The extra point kick by Parrish put the Colonials up 14-10 with 35 seconds left in the half.

The Mustangs opened the third quarter with a 13-yard drive in seven plays and punted.  The Colonials then drove 78-yards in six plays, featuring a 57-yard run by Beans, only to misfire on a 26-yard field goal attempt.

The Mustangs and the Colonials then exchanged punts.  Brady Thayer returned a Colonials’ punt for 36-yards to the Colonials 29-yard line, but four plays later the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs at the 20.  The Colonials quick kicked on third down.

The Mustangs then drove 67-yards in 14 plays, featuring an 18-yrd pass from Sterner to Logan Bowman, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Colonials 3-yard line.

The Colonials went three and out and punted and the Mustangs drove 56-yards in four plays, featuring a 41-yard pass from Sterner to Thayer, and ending with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Hertzog.  Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 17-14 with 1:52 left in regulation time.

The Colonials then drove 37-yards in ten plays and Parrish kicked a 3-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 as regulation time expired.

Anthony Lippy threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Garner on third down and the extra point kick by Parrish put the Colonials up 24-17 in overtime.

The Mustangs then had an incomplete pass, a 5-yard run by Camden Brown, a run for no gain by Sterner, and an incomplete pass in the end zone to end the game as they failed to score in overtime.

Brock Geiman kicked off 4 times for 179-yards, with the longest going for 53-yards, and punted 3 times for 125-yards (for a 41.67-yard average) for the Mustangs.  Camden Brown returned 2 kickoffs for 28-yards, with the longest going for 16-yards, and Brady Thayer returned 2 punts for 43-yards, with the longest going for 36-yards, for the Mustangs. 

Tyler Jachelski, with 9 tackles and a pass hurry, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Ryan Lane with 7 tackles and 1 interception, Domnick Holcombe with 5 tackles, Logan Bowman with 4 tackles and a pass defense, Matt Helwig, Hunter Palmer, Aaron Uttley, and Josh Walker with 4 tackles each, Brandon McMinn and Payton Taylor with 3 tackles each, Ryan Krebs and Jordan Markle with 2 tackles each, Brock Geiman, Bret Hertzog, Gunner Holtz, and Elder Sterner with 1 tackle each, Ryan Lane with an interception, and Skylar Bowman with a sack.

Rich Bosse, Skylar Bowman, Camden Brown, Matt Helwig, Domnick Holcombe, Gunner Holtz, Tyler Jachelski, Ryan Krebs, Gus Landis, Ryan Lane, Brandon McMinn, Elder Sterner, Wyatt Trostle, Aaron Uttley, and Josh Walker, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions.

Logan Bowman, Brenden Fahs, Jordan Markle, Hunter Palmer, Payton Taylor, and Brady Thayer patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 181-yards rushing and 174-yards passing for a total of 355-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 9 of 25 passes for the 181-yards and 1 touchdown, 2 for 59-yards to Brady Thayer, 3 for 53-yards to Noah Staub, 2 for 28-yards to Bret Hertzog (including a 3-yard touchdown), 1 for 18-yards to Logan Bowman, and 1 for 16-yards to Camden Brown, for the Mustangs.

Brown led the Mustangs rushing attack with 15 carries for 71-yards, followed by Jonas Walter with 14 carries for 57-yards, Payton Taylor with 2 carries for 16-yards, Sterner with 9 carries for 14-yards, Brock Geiman with 1 carry for 12-yards, Hertzog with 3 carries for 8-yards (including a 4-yard touchdown), and Robby Harbison with 3 carries for 3-yards.  Geiman kicked a 22-yard field goal and 2 extra points, Ryan Lane intercepted a pass, Skylar Bowman recorded a sack, Logan Bowman recorded a pass defense, and Tyler Jachelski recorded a pass hurry, for the Mustangs.

The Colonials gained 217-yards rushing and 63 yards passing for a total of 280-yards gained.  Quarterback Anthony Lippy completed 8 of 19 passes for the 63-yards and 1 touchdown, 2 for 21-yards to Aaron Reichart, 1 for 12-yards to Daulton Snyder, 1 for 8-yards and a touchdown to Jordan Gardner, 1 for 8-yards to Jacob Morningstar, 1 for 6-yards to Aaron Zinneman, and 1 for 3-yards to Josh Shultz, for the Colonials.  Zinneman led the Colonials rushing attack with 22 carries for 131-yards (including a 2-yard touchdown), followed by Wesley Beans with 11 carries for 83-yards (including a 4-yard touchdown), Lippy with 4 carries for 3-yards, and Keegan Romanoff with 1 carry for no yards.  Trey Parrish kicked a 31-yard field goal and 3 extra points, Beans intercepted a pass, Charlie Hoffman recorded 1 sack and 1 pass hurry, Reichart recorded 4 pass defenses, Romanoff recorded 1 pass defense, Marc O’Brien recorded 2 pass hurries, and Morningstar and Hunter Ringrose each recorded a pass hurry, for the Colonials.

The 66 member strong 10-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 pregame time performance, presenting their 2013 field show “Joyful Beethoven.”  The Ode to Joy theme from the 9th Symphony is among the most recognizable melodies of all time.  Throughout the show this melody was combined, altered, and woven into many of Beethoven’s other compositions.  The show opened with a bold statement of the Ode to Joy theme that transitioned into the main theme from the fifth Symphony, featuring a horn trio of Amanda Smith, Nicia Werner, and Briannah Rohrbaugh.  Following a brief interlude of the Ode to Joy, the passion of the Egmont Overture was heard.  The music evolved from passion to triumph as the band segued into the Overture from Fidelio.  The Ballad began with the haunting sounds of the Moonlight Sonata and continued with the theme from the 2nd Movement of the Pathetique Sonata before being combined with the Ode to Joy Theme.  The closer began with the light-hearted sounds of the Scherzo theme from the Eroica Symphony before finishing with the triumphant reprise of the Ode to Joy Melody.

The 89 member strong Colonials Marching Band thrilled the crowd with their halftime show “Mirage,” with all original compositions.

The 25 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Colonial’s squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

The Mustangs have a career record of 339-205-8.  The results of the 552 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .623 winning percentage and a .629 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the YAIAA Division II Warriors of Susquehannock (1-3 overall, 0-0 league).  Susquehannock is coming off of a 35-9 loss to the Panthers of Central York.  The Mustangs are looking to regain their winning tradition.  GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 3-2013

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High came out firing in a 19-0 loss to the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High in Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division action on Hall of Fame Saturday last week. Captains Thomas Koike, Richard Marchese, Mike Nieman and Nick Perez went out for the coin toss. Clifton won the toss but deferred the choice to the 2^nd half. Jake Schwartz ran the kickoff back and Carlos Carlone picked up yardage and QB Dillon Rinaldo romped for a first down behind a block by center Justin Williams. Rinaldo threw to Jacob Baron for yardage but, alas, the drive, deep into Clifton territory, ended with an interception. At the half our heroes had held the FIGHTING MUSTANGS to a scoreless tie! A Fair Lawn field goal try just missed.

In the 2^nd half the FIGHTING MUSTANGS scored and led 7-0. Ari Moslavi got off a fabulous punt that rolled dead at the 5 and the FIGHTING MUSTANGS raced 95 yards for a TD to lead 13-0. Their late score closed it out. Our CUTTERS made some nice plays with Rinaldo passing to Ryan Milnes and David Rodriguez and Carlone and Deshawn Roberts running the ball. Koike made a great interception at our 10 and nice “D” plays were made by Baron, Matt Katz, Justin  Mata, Anthony Messina, Milnes, Dan Morganstein, Frank Ortoll, Zach Parisi, Matt Phillips, Schwartz, Williams and others. Clifton leads the rivalry 11-3-1 (786). The shutout was the 87th in FLHS history while our CUTTERS have shutout the opposition 82 times.

Excitement ruled the day as the new Field Turf made its debut and the 2013 inductees to the Fair Lawn High School Athletic Hall of Fame were introduced at halftime. One of the 1^st inductees in 2006 was long time AD Virge Sasso after whom the field is named. The home stands, erected in 1959, were also refurbished. 

Fair Lawn’s BNC Liberty Division went 1-1 (.500) against outside opposition. The defending champion BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute walloped the COMETS of Hackensack 34-6 while the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside were mauled 50-12 by the MAROONS of Ridgewood. The Division is 3-4 (.429) against outside opposition.

The Knights of JFK of Paterson are 1-2 (.333) having eked out a 7-0 overtime win over the INDIANS of Passaic last week. On Saturday at 1:00 at SASSO FIELD, our CUTTERS host the KNIGHTS. Paterson Central was the Turkey Day rival of Paterson Eastside and most Fair Lawn students attended Eastside before FLHS opened in 1943. During 1951-56 and 58 Fair Lawn went 5-2 (.714) over Central. In 1988 the successor KNIGHTS of Paterson Kennedy beat our CUTTERS 20-6 in the States while, in the 2003 State “Consolation Game,” our heroes prevailed 20-0. During 1951-56 independently, in the playoffs in 1988, in a Consolation game in 2003, in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) in 2009 and in the BNC 2010-12, Fair Lawn has gone to 8-5 (.615) over Central/Kennedy.

I think our CUTTERS can notch their first victory. From here it looks like Fair Lawn 10 - Kennedy 7. GO GUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2013 Week 3

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

By Dick Engelhardt

Fair Lawn High School opened September 13th, 1943. This history covers the years ending in “3.”

1943 – Marty Fischbein’s brand new team began action with 3 JV games to get started. In the 3rd game the CUTTERS got their name! Before the Leonia game, team co-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 “Holy Matrimony” and “The Seventh Victim” 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, who passed away, in 2008, took a pass from Van Olden, who passed away in 1992, and ran it 43 yards for a TD. In the 4^th 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 still is! The “original” 1943 CUTTERS were inducted into the Fair Lawn High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 along with this writer. Van Olden had been inducted individually in 2007.  

  

1953 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) and co-State champion CUTTERS shutout the Passaic Valley Conference (PVC) WILDCATS of East Rutherford (Now Becton Regional) 13-0 in independent action. Fair Lawn coach Frank Devens (1965-71) played for East Rutherford 1945-47. In independent action 1950-53 the WILDCATS went 2-1-1 (.667) against our CUTTERS.

1963 – Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS were shutout 26-0 by the COMETS of Hackensack in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) action. 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 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 4-0 Hackensack lead in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action in 2010 – 13 has the COMETS’ record against our CUTTERS 21-7-1 (.750).

1973 – Al Reinoso’s CUTTERS beat the BOILERMAKERS of Garfield 20-7 in NNJIL action. During 1971-75 Fair Lawn went 5-0 (1.000) over Garfield in the NNJIL. 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.    

1983 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were beaten 27-19 by the MAROON RAIDERS of Nutley in NNJIL Division 3 action I the only game ever played between the schools.

1993 – Alberque’s CUTTERS were beaten 21-17 by the BRAVES of Indian Hills in NBIL interdivisional action. Our CUTTERS took the 1984-97 and 2000-2008 rivalry against the BRAVES 13-10 (.565).

2003 – Alberque’s CUTTERS beat the RAMS of Ramsey 28-21 in NBIL interdivisional action.  Fair Lawn took the 1945-58, 1984-99 and 2002-06 rivalry against the RAMS by an astounding 28 games to 7 (.800) in B-PIL and NBIL action!