SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2013-10

By Bill Engelhardt

________

Last Friday evening, October 25, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Bearcats of William Penn (York High) and galloped and passed to a 42-33 victory in a shoot out. The Mustangs rang up 28 first downs and eight runners galloped up and down the field.  Some timely passes gained more than a few of those first downs.

Jordan Markle electrified the crowd by returning the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown for the Mustangs.  Brock Geiman’s extra point put the Mustangs up 7-0 twelve seconds into the game.

The Bearcats went three and out and punted.  The Mustangs then drove 63-yards in eleven plays, featuring 10 and 9-yard runs by Jonas Walter, an 11-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Wyatt Trostle, and an 18-yard pass from Sterner to Camden Brown, and ending with Sterner’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Noah Staub.  Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-0 at the 5:41 mark of the first quarter.

Bryshon Sweeney returned the kickoff for 76-yards to the Mustangs 11-yard line and then scored a touchdown for the Bearcats on an 11-yard run.  Thurman Fogleman’s extra point kick made the score 14-7 at the 5:18 mark (23 seconds separated the two touchdowns).

The Mustangs then drove 78-yards in thirteen plays, featuring a 26-yard gallop on a fake punt play by Geiman.  Robby Harbison’s 5-yard touchdown plunge and Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 21-7 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Bearcats then drove 54-yards in eleven plays, featuring a 24-yard run by James Way II, and a 12-yard pass from Way II to Saequan Whitaker, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Mustangs 8-yard line.

The Mustangs then drove 92-yards in fourteen plays, starting with a 13-yard run by Walter, and featuring a 13-yard run by Brown and a 12-yard run by Trostle.  Sterner ended the drive with a

1-yard touchdown plunge and Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 28-7 in favor of the Mustangs with 2:09 left in the first half.

The Bearcats then drove 61-yards in nine plays, featuring passes of 14 and 8-yards from Way III to Whitaker, and ending with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Way III to Dakeem Dennison.  Fogleman’s extra point kick made the score 28-14 with 25 seconds remaining in the half.

The Bearcats and the Mustangs exchanged the ball on fumbles on back-to-back plays and then the Bearcats scored a touchdown on a 55-yard run by Sweeney.  The extra point attempt failed and the score went to 28-20 in favor of the Mustangs at the 11:03 mark of the third quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 69-yards in nine plays, featuring a 13-yard pass from Sterner to Staub, a 16-yard pass from Sterner to Logan Bowman, and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Bowman.  Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 35-20 at the 7:12 mark of the third quarter.

Dennison returned the Mustangs kickoff 81-yards for a touchdown.  Fogleman’s extra point kick made the score 35-27 at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 73-yards in eight plays, featuring a 39-yard pass from Sterner to Bowman.  Trostle scored a touchdown on a 5-yard run and Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 42-27 at the 3:45 mark of the third quarter.

The Bearcats gave up the ball when Payton Taylor recovered a fumble for the Mustangs and the Mustangs ended up punting.  The Bearcats then drove 65-yards in ten plays, featuring a 36-yard pass from Way III to Sweeney and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Way III to Dennison.  Fogleman’s extra point kick closed out the scoring at 42-33 in favor of the Mustangs with 8:21 left in the game.

Brock Geiman kicked off 7 times for 288-yards, with the longest going for 50-yards, and punted 2 times for 60-yards, for a 30-yard average, with the longest going for 41-yards, for the Mustangs.  Zach Hughes returned 3 kickoffs for 34-yards, with the longest going for 15-yards, Jordan Markle returned 1 kickoff for 78-yards and a touchdown, Matt Shanks returned 1 kickoff for 10-yards, and Miles Francis returned 1 punt for 2-yards, for the Mustangs.

Logan Bowman, with 8 tackles and a pass defense, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Tyler Jachelski, with 6 tackles and 1 interception, Aaron Uttley with 4 tackles and 2 pass hurries, Payton Taylor with 3 tackles and 1 recovered fumble, Josh Walker with 3 tackles and 1 pass hurry, Skylar Bowman with 3 tackles, Gunner Holtz with 2 tackles and 1 recovered fumble, Ryan Lane with 2 tackles and 1 pass hurry each, Zach Hughes with 2 tackles, Ryan Krebs with 1 tackle and 1 pass defense, and Luke Baugher, Brenden Fahs, Steven Foster, Brock Geiman, Domnick Holcombe, Jordan Markle, and Hunter Palmer with 1 tackle each.

Rich Bosse, Skylar Bowman, Camden Brown, 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 326-yards rushing and 139-yards passing for a total of 465-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 8 of 13 passes for 139-yards and 2 touchdowns, 3 for 66-yards to Logan Bowman (including an 11-yard touchdown), 2 for 23-yards to Noah Staub (including a 12-yard touchdown), 1 for 21-yards to Miles Francis, 1 for 18-yards to Camden Brown, and 1 for 11-yards to Wyatt Trostle, for the Mustangs.

Robby Harbison led the Mustangs rushing attack with 19 carries for 76-yards (including a 5-yard touchdown), followed by Jordan Markle with 7 carries for 52-yards, Jonas Walter with 11 carries for 51-yards, Francis with 9 carries for 46-yards, Trostle with 7 carries for 40-yards (including a 5-yard touchdown), Brown with 8 carries for 36-yards, Brock Geiman with 1 carry for 26-yards, and Sterner with 5 carries for 1-yard (including a 1-yard touchdown).  Markle returned the opening kickoff 78-yards for a touchdown, Geiman kicked 6 extra points and intercepted a pass, Tyler Jachelski intercepted a pass, and Gunner Holtz and Payton Taylor each recovered a fumble, for the Mustangs.

The Bearcats gained 234-yards rushing and 154 yards passing for a total of 388 yards gained.  James Way III completed 13 of 21 passes for 154-yards and 2 touchdowns, 5 for 64-yards to Bryshon Sweeney, 3 for 44-yards to Dakeem Dennison (including touchdowns of 14 and 21-yards), 4 for 40-yards to Saequan Whitaker, and 1 for 6-yards to Napolean Snelling, for the Bearcats.

Way III led the Bearcats rushing attack with 13 carries for 127-yards, followed by Sweeney with 11 carries for 107-yards (including touchdowns of 11 and 55-yards).  Dennison returned a kickoff 81-yards for a touchdown, Thurman Fogleman kicked 3 extra points, and Lasmir Mitchell recovered a fumble and recorded a sack, for the Bearcats.

The 66 member strong 10-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion, US Scholastic Band Champion, and just this week Tournament of Bands Chapter 6 Group 3A Champion, South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a stirring post game 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 48 member strong Bearcats Marching Band presented Tunes from the Broadway musical and film “Mamma Mia,” including “I Have a Dream,” “Dancing Queen,” and “The Winner Takes It All” in their half time show.

The 26 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Bearcat’s squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful on a cold night.

The Mustangs of South Western are 3-6-0 overall and 1-3-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

The Mustangs have a career record of 341-208-8.  The results of the 557 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .621 winning percentage and a .627 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the Rockets of Spring Grove (7-2 overall, 4-0 league) to close out the regular season.  Spring Grove is coming off of a 34-0 shut out by the Wildcats of Dallastown.  The Mustangs are looking to remain on the winning track.  GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 8-2013

By Dick Engelhardt

The undefeated MAROONS of Ridgewood made the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High their 6th victim last Friday night in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action, cruising to a 53-6 victory. Captains Thomas Koike, Richard Marchese, Mike Nieman and Nick Perez won the coin toss and Fair Lawn received. Anthony Nesmith ran the kick off to the 40 but the drive stalled and the MAROONS scored on their first possession and led 6-0. Our “never-say-die” CUTTERS played hard and with the score 33-0 QB Dillon Rinaldo uncorked a picture pass to Koike who electrified the crowd going 57 yards for a TD! The MAROONS led 53-6 at the half and showed good sportsmanship putting subs in for a scoreless second half.

Nesmith made 2 TD saving tackles, Dan Morganstein made another and Ryan Milnes broke up a pass. Matt Spinatto made a hellacious hit and Nieman and Gal Harari (Who finished up at QB) and others made nice plays. Losing to the Ridgewood juggernaut was nothing to be ashamed of. The MAROONS are 6-0 and have outscored their opposition 307-48 for an average 51-8 win.      

It was the 42nd game in the long rivalry. Ridgewood took the 1944-83 Thanksgiving Annual   Classic 26-11-3 (.703) and won last year’s game 38-0. Perhaps the most thrilling and, at the same time disappointing game in the series was in 1966 when Fair Lawn, led by Bruce Jankowski who went on to star for Ohio State and make the cover of Sports Illustrated, brought a 24 game non-losing streak into the game. With 13,000 fans packed into what is now SASSO FIELD, the MAROONS upset our CUTTERS 40-34 and broke the streak. And then there was 1959 when the 13-7 upset by Ridgewood kept Fair Lawn from winning the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) title in our maiden season in the league. That historic and poignant ’59 team was inducted into the FLHS Athletic Hall of Fame this year. 

There was nostalgia attached to this game. Fair Lawn fans had not sat in those Ridgewood stands since 1983. The Thanksgiving game had been played at Fair Lawn 1964-82 because of our superior facilities but Ridgewood wanted its home game back. Fair Lawn’s 1984 return to the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) that we left in ’59 ended the rivalry until it was renewed in the BNC in 2012.    

Fair Lawn’s BNC Liberty Division went 1-1 (.500) against outside opposition. While Fair Lawn lost, the defending champion BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute beat the KNIGHTS of JFK of Paterson 14-6. The Division is 7-10 (.412) against outside opposition. In Division action the GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside surprised the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High 22-18. 

On Friday at 7:00 our CUTTERS travel to Ringwood to take on the LANCERS of Lakeland for the 2nd time. Last year the LANCERS shutout our CUTTERS 43-0. Lakeland is 5-2 (.714) and has outscored the opposition 263-137 for an average 36-20 win. Fair Lawn is 0-6 and has been outscored 242-52 for an average 40-9 loss. Like they say about a certain lottery, “Hey, ya never know!” This could be payback time. Let’s say, Fair Lawn 20 – Lakeland 14. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2013 Week 8

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 CUTTERS edged the CARDINALS of Westwood 7-6. During 1943-44 independently and 1984-85 in Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) interdivisional action, our CUTTERS went 3-1 (.750) against the CARDINALS.

1953 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) and co-State champion CUTTERS beat the BUCCANEERS of Bogota 21-0 in league action. - Fair Lawn and Bogota shared the 1946 B-PIL title and our CUTTERS took the 1945-55 rivalry with the BUCCANEERS 6-3-2 (.667).  

1963 – Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS shutout the MAROON RAIDERS of Englewood 38-0 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 went 14-7 (.667) over the MAROON RAIDERS of Dwight Morrow High in Englewood.

1973 – Al Reinoso’s CUTTERS were beaten 16-8 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 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).

1983 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were shutout 21-0 by the PALADINS of Paramus Catholic in NNJIL action. Coach Steve Gerdy, the old retired Passaic Valley coach, now at Paramus Catholic, used the ancient Single Wing formation! In 1982 and 83 the PALADINS went 2-0 (1.000) over our CUTTERS in the NNJIL.

 1993 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were beaten 21-14 by the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands in NBIL action. Fair Lawn took the 1986-93 and 1998–2008 NBIL rivalry against the HIGHLANDERS 10-9 (.526). 

2003 – Greg Tanzer’s CUTTERS beat the INDIANS of Pascack Valley 21-14 in NBIL action.  Pascack Valley took the 1955-56, 1984-85 and 1988-2008 NBIL rivalry 14-10-1 (.583).

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2013-9

By Bill Engelhardt

________

Last Friday evening, October 18, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Lions of Red Lion and were edged 20-13.  The Mustangs won the game in all aspects except the scoreboard, racking up 26 first downs to the Lions 13 and registering 365-yards of offense to the Lions 287-yards.

The Lions opened the game with a 40-yard kickoff return to the Mustangs 43-yard line by Nate Orji.  An eight-play drive, featuring a 13-yard pass from Blake Cahill to Dan Waldrup, ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Blake to Matt Wanbaugh.  Evan Miller’s extra point kick put the Lions up 7-0 at the 8:32 mark of the first quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 35-yards in ten plays, featuring an 11-yard run by Jonas Walter, and punted.  The Lions punted after a 20-yard drive and the Mustangs punted again after a three and out.  The Lions then drove 61-yards in five plays, featuring a 43-yard dash by Cahill, ending with a 7-yard touchdown run by Kenny Holloway.  That upped the score to 13-0 at the 11:40 mark of the second quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 55-yards in fifteen plays, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Lions 25-yard line.  The Lions then had a 20-yard drive thwarted by a 13-yardd sack by Tyler Jachelski for the Mustangs and punted.  The Mustangs started at their 13-yard line and drove to the Lions 47-yard line as the first half came to an end.

The Mustangs opened the second half with a ten play 66-yard drive, featuring a 31-yard run by Jordan Markle and a 10-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Markle.  The drive ended with a missed 39-yard field goal attempt.

The Lions went three and out and punted.  The Mustangs then drove 46-yards in nine plays, featuring a 14-yard pass from Sterner to Brown, and ending with Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run.  That left the Lions up 13-6 at the 2:55 mark of the third quarter.

The Lions drove 34-yards in six plays, featuring a 30-yrd pass from Cahill to Damien Hess, and punted.

The Mustangs then drove 92-yards in nine plays, featuring a 22-yard pass from Sterner to Logan Bowman and a 29-yard run by Miles Francis, and ending with Jordan Markle’s 7-yard touchdown run.  Brock Geiman’s extra point kick tied the score at 13 with 8:38 left in the game.

The Lions then drove 73-yards in eight plays, featuring a 42-yard run by Antwan Jackson, and ending with Cahill’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Alex Keller.  Miller’s extra point kick closed out the scoring at 20-13 in favor of the Lions.

Miles Francis returned the kickoff for 38-yards and the Mustangs drove to the Lions 36-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.  The Lions went three and out and punted and the Mustangs drove to midfield before Damien Hess intercepted a Mustangs pass as the game ended.

Brock Geiman kicked off 3 time for 136-yards, with the longest going for 48-yards, and punted 2 times for 61-yards, for a 30.5-yard average, with the longest going for 33-yards, for the Mustangs.  Miles Francis returned 2 kickoffs for 55-yards, with the longest going for 38-yards, and 2 punts for 13-yards, with the longest going for 9-yards, and Payton Taylor returned 2 kickoffs 25-yards, with the longest going for 16-yards, for the Mustangs.

Tyler Jachelski, with 9 tackles and 1 sack for a 13-yard loss, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Ryan Lane with 7 tackles, Payton Taylor with 5 tackles and 1 pass defense, Aaron Uttley with 5 tackles, Matt Helwig, Domnick Holcombe, Ryan Krebs, Wyatt Trostle, and Josh Walker with 4 tackles each, Logan Bowman and Gunner Holtz with 3 tackles each, Hunter Palmer and Jordan Markle with 2 tackles each, and Skylar Bowman with 1 tackle.

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 294-yards rushing and 71-yards passing for a total of 365-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 6 of 19 passes for 71-yards, 2 for 23-yards to Camden Brown, 1 for 22-yards to Logan Bowman, 2 for 16-yards to Jordan Markle, and 1 for 10-yards to Brady Thayer, for the Mustangs.

Miles Francis led the Mustangs rushing attack with 10 carries for 84-yards, followed by Markle with 7 carries for 66-yards (including a 7-yard touchdown), Jonas Walter with 10 carries for 45-yards, Robby Harbison with 11 carries for 41-yards, Brown with 6 carries for 32-yards (including a 4-yard touchdown), Wyatt Trostle with 2 carries for 13-yards, Dillon Thomas with 1 carry for 11-yards, and Sterner with 5 carries for 2-yards.  Brock Geiman kicked 1 extra point, Tyler Jachelski recorded 1 sack for a 13-yard loss, and Taylor defended a pass, for the Mustangs.

The Lions gained 194-yards rushing and 93-yards passing for a total of 287 yards gained.  Blake Cahill completed 10 of 14 passes for 93-yards and 2 touchdowns, 2 for 35-yards to Damien Hess, 4 for 17-yards to Chris Knorr, 1 for 15-yards to Dan Waldrup, 1 for 11-yards and a touchdown to Alex Keller, 1 for 9-yards to Luke Patterson, and 1 for 6-yards and a touchdown to Matt Wanbaugh, for the Lions. 

Cahill led the Lions rushing attack with 16 carries for 92-yards, followed by Antwan Jackson with 8 carries for 62-yards, Kenny Holloway with 8 carries for 35-yards (including a 7-yard touchdown), and Waldrup with 3 carries for 5-yards.  Evan Miller kicked 2 extra points and Hess intercepted a pass on the last play of the game, for the Lions.

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 91 member strong Lions Marching Band presented their show “The Tribal Effect” after the game.

The 33 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Lion’s squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

The Mustangs of South Western are 2-6-0 overall and 0-3-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

The Mustangs have a career record of 340-208-8.  The results of the 556 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .620 winning percentage and a .626 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Bearcats of William Penn (3-5 overall, 2-1 league) at the Mustang Corral.  William Penn is coming off of a 49-35 victory over the Rockets of Spring Grove.  The Mustangs are still looking to regain the winning track.  GO MUSTANGS GO.

THE GRIDIRON 7-2013

By Dick Engelhardt

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High were the 6th victim of the undefeated Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division champion BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute last Saturday at SASSO FIELD. The BULLDOGS pulled away to a 60-0 victory! Sometimes a game just gets away from you. It’s happened to others even worse! Old time Fair Lawn fans remember Fair Lawn’s years in the old Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL). Frank Bennett’s CUTTERS took the title in 1945, their maiden season in the league, shared it with the BUCCANEERS of Bogota in 1946 and the GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst in 1947 and won it outright again in 1953 and 1955. My twin brother, Bill, and I were “water boys” on that ’55 championship team. In 1949, those GOLDEN BEARS of Lyndhurst shutout the BEARS of Hawthorne 111-0. The great Weeb Ewbank said in 1963 when he took over the New York JETS, “I’ve seen sicker cows get well!” The BEARS of Hawthorne have had many great seasons since 1949 and are strong today. Fair Lawn Coach Amir Saadah was their defensive coordinator before coming to Fair Lawn in 2011.

Our CUTTERS will come back too. Fair Lawn has a great coaching staff. Billy Lynn is offensive coordinator, Saadah is the defensive coordinator and Brian Gibbs (Son of Ramapo Coach Drew Gibbs), Dan Iozzia, Doug Lemberg and Brian Walis are assistants. Ed Guy and Andy Berninger coach the freshman team. It was nice to see Drew Gibbs at the game. His GREEN RAIDERS of Ramapo beat the HIGHLANDERS of West Milford 42-7 Friday night. The staff is working hard and the players are playing hard. They’ve lived up to my calling them our “Never Say Die Cutters!”

Frank Ortoll blocked an extra point kick, Carlos Carlone and Dan Morganstein made TD saving tackles. Newly eligible Anthony Nesmith ran the ball nicely and made a TD saving tackle. Jon Fochesato, Gal Harari, Thomas Koike, Justin Mata, Anthony Messina, Zach Parisi, Marc Terwilliger and others made nice plays. A number of other players got valuable playing time! Kevin Arias, Erion Conte, Rob Figueroa, Matt Spinatto and others made plays. The shutout was the 88^th in FLHS history while our CUTTERS have shutout the opposition 82 times.  

Fair Lawn’s Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division went 1-1 (.500) against outside opposition. The GHOSTS of Paterson Eastside shutout the INDIANS of Passaic 22-0 while the            FIGHTING Mustangs of Clifton High were shutout 29-0 by the COMETS of Hackensack. The   Division is 6-9 (.400) against outside opposition.

On Friday at 7:00 our CUTTERS travel to Ridgewood to take on the MAROONS for the 42nd time. Ridgewood took the 1944-83 Thanksgiving rivalry 26-11-3 (.703) and won last year’s game 38-0. Fair Lawn is winless while the MAROONS are undefeated. I know our CUTTERS will give it their best effort. Let’s all go to Ridgewood Friday night and support them. GO CUTTERS GO!!!

THIS WEEK IN FLHS GRIDIRON HISTORY – 2013 Week 7

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 CUTTERS shutout the OWLS of Park Ridge 6-0 in independent action. The CUTTERS were surprised 14-7 in 1944 by the OWLS who evened the series at 1-1 (.500).  
  

1953 – Frank Bennett’s Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) and co-State champion CUTTERS drew a BYE.

1963 – Ed Sheehy’s CUTTERS were beaten 13-6 the SPARTANS of Paramus in Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (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. It resumed in 2010-11 in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action where the SPARTANS went 2-0 (1.000) and lead the series 14-10(.583). 

1973 – Al Reinoso’s CUTTERS were mauled 34-0 by the BEARS of Bergenfield in NNJIL 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. The 51 season rivalry remains the longest in either school’s history.  

1983 – Pete Natale’s CUTTERS were beaten 40-20 by the IRONMEN of Bon Bosco in NNJIL action. In 1976 in independent action and 1982 and 83 in the NNJIL, the IRONMEN went 3-0 over our CUTTERS. The unfair advantage the parochial schools had was the main reason Fair Lawn and Bergenfield left the NNJIL in 1984 and returned to the NBIL, which Fair Lawn had left in 1959. In Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action in 2012, the IRONMEN made it 4-0 (1.000) with a 44-0 shutout.  

1993 – Mike Alberque’s CUTTERS were shutout 19-0 by the GOLDEN KNIGHTS of Northern Valley, Old Tappan in NBIL Division 1 action. Our CUTTERS took the 1984–2008   NBIL rivalry against the GOLDEN KNIGHTS 15–10 (.600).   

2003 – Greg Tanzer’s CUTTERS were beaten 41-7 by the PATRIOTS of Wayne Hills in NBIL Division 1 action. The PATRIOTS took the 1984-2008 NBIL and 2009 North Jersey Tri-County Conference (NJTCC) rivalry 20-5 (.800). Fair Lawn’s last victory was in 1989 when Mike Alberque’s NBIL Division 1 champion and playoff bound CUTTERS thrashed Wayne Hills 35-8. Their 1984-93 Thanksgiving Day rivalry wound up tied at 5-5 (.500)!