FAIR LAWN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 2014

 

By Dick Engelhardt 

Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator: Amir Sadaah

Assistant Coaches: Offensive Coordinator Billy Lynn, Brian Caiazzo, Scott Leathem, Anthony Tozzi and Brian Walis.

Freshman Coaches: Ed Guy and Andy Berninger 

Sat. 9/13          HOME   Fair Lawn      22        Clifton*                        0

Sat. 9/20          HOME   Fair Lawn        6        Ridgewood**             46

Sat. 9/27          HOME   Fair Lawn         8       Indian Hills**            45

Thurs. 10/2     AWAY    Fair Lawn       23        Eastside*                    44        

Fri. 10/10        AWAY   Fair Lawn         0         Passaic Tech*              48

Sat. 10/18        HOME  Fair Lawn          7        Hackensack**             21

Sat. 10/25        AWAY   Fair Lawn         6         St. Luke’s                    37                                

Sat. 11/1          HOME   Fair Lawn       39        Passaic**                      7

Fri. 11/7          AWAY   Fair Lawn          7        Kennedy**                  34

Thurs. 11/13   AWAY   Fair Lawn          0         Wayne Valley***         38

                                                             118                                           320 

*Big North Conference (BNC) Liberty Division Game

** BNC Crossover Game

*** State Consolation Game

BNC Liberty Division Record:                      1-2 (.333)

BNC Crossover Record:                                 1-4 (.200)

Independent Record:                                       0-2 (.000) St. Luke’s and Wayne Valley

Overall Record:                                               2-8 (.200)

Hoping for a good 72nd season, our CUTTERS got off with a bang shutting out the FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High 22-0. After 6 straight losses, they demolished the INDIANS of Passaic 39-7. The 39 points equaled those in the 39-38 playoff victory over Passaic in 2009, still the most thrilling game in FLHS history! The PALADINS of Paramus Catholic let Fair Lawn off the hook playing the HONEY BADGERS of Eastern Christian Academy in Elkton, Maryland instead. Our CUTTERS had to travel to New Canaan, Connecticut to play the STORM of St. Luke’s. No public school should be scheduled against the parochial behemoths unless it wants to.

  

In State Consolation action, our “never-say-die” CUTTERS were shutout 38-0 by the INDIANS of Wayne Valley closing out the season. Fair Lawn is 8-7 (.533) in Consolation Game action since these games began in 1998. The season brought Fair Lawn’s 1943-2014 record to 319-323-14 (.497) as our CUTTERS, with hard times in the 1970s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s, went below .500 for the first time ever. The losing season was the 30^th in FLHS Gridiron history!

Our heroes received their share of recognition. 1st Team All-BNC Liberty Division Offense honors with automatic All- Bergen County Honorable Mention went to Tarron Douglas (T) and Tyler Pollock (RB). 1^st Team Defense with automatic All-Bergen County Honorable Mention went to Mike Laboy (DL), Dan Morganstein (LB), Frank Ortoll (DB) and Ryan Rue (P). 2^nd Team Offense had Sefa Basci (G), Gal Harari (QB), Tyler Johnson (RB), Matt Phillips (T) and Deshawn Roberts (RB/WR). 2^nd Team Defense had Alex D’Angelo (LB), Dan Kutuzov (K/P) and Anthony Messina (DL). Honorable Mention was given Matt Forte and Jake Schwartz  

 

The Passaic game, the last regularly scheduled home game, was poignant as seniors soon to end their participation in the football program were honored and introduced with their escorts. We said goodbye and wished the best to: Joseph Compolo, Kutuzov, Messina, Morganstein, Phillips, Ortoll, Dillon Rinaldo, Roberts and Schwartz. With players coming back and freshmen moving up, our CUTTERS could be strong in 2015.

 

By Dick Engelhardt 

Fair Lawn graduate and star player, Amir Saadah, became the 11th Fair Lawn High School Football Coach in 2011. His fourth season, 2014, the 72nd in the history of Fair Lawn High, was a disappointing one but the lessons learned in sportsmanship, teamwork and overcoming adversity and the friendships formed will be with these CUTTERS as long as they live!

The season started out with a bang! The FIGHTING MUSTANGS of Clifton High were looking forward to the CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High inaugurating their new field turf in football just as they had Fair Lawn’s new field turf last year. However it became apparent the field and CLIFTON SCHOOL STADIUM renovations would not be ready and the game was switched to Fair Lawn’s SASSO FIELD. Our heroes shocked the FIGHTING MUSTANGS 22-0 and Fair Lawn fans were ecstatic about the prospects for a good season.

Alas, Fair Lawn suffered through 6 straight losses. That streak ended in dramatic style as our CUTTERS demolished the INDIANS of Passaic 39-7, keeping them winless. The 39 points equaled those in the 39-38 Fair Lawn playoff win in 2009. Stan Myles’ CUTTERS led 32-6 at halftime and the INDIANS roared back in the second half. The game replaced the 1980 playoff game at GIANTS STADIUM in which Fair Lawn trailed 7-0, 12-0, 12-7 and 18-7 and roared back to win 27-18, as the most thrilling in FLHS history. In that ’09 playoff game, on 4th down, with 5 seconds on the clock and Passaic out of timeouts, Fair Lawn QB Travis Kubasta took the snap and ran 21 yards backwards taking a knee as the clock expired. Whew!  

The season ended with a 34-7 loss to JFK of Paterson in Big North Conference (BNC) crossover action and a 38-0 loss to the INDIANS of Wayne Valley in the Consolation Game. Fair Lawn is 8-7 (.533) in Consolation games since they started in 1998. This was a historic season in that, for the first time ever, Fair Lawn fell below .500. The 1943-2014 record is 319-323-14 (.497). This is the result of hard times in the 1970s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s cumulatively. Fair Lawn started out in 1943 with a remarkable record of 4-1-1 (.800) under Coach Marty Fischbein and did not have a losing season until 1950. The 50s, 60s and 80s were highly successful decades. Old time Fair Lawn fans will never forget the 22 game non-losing streak   1964-66 that was broken by a shocking 40-34 Ridgewood upset on Thanksgiving Day 1966 before 13,000 fans at SASSO FIELD.

A word about the schedule. Once again the BNC scheduled Fair Lawn against a parochial behemoth; this   time the PALADINS of Paramus Catholic. The PALADINS found an out-of-state opponent but Fair Lawn was forced to find another game and wound up traveling over 60 miles to New Canaan, Connecticut to play the STORM of St. Luke’s. This should stop! And a modest BNC realignment would give Fair Lawn a chance to compete for a Division title. The BNC Liberty Division has Clifton, Eastside, Fair Lawn and Passaic Tech. The BNC Freedom Division, with which we cross play, has Hackensack, Kennedy, Passaic and Ridgewood. A much more competitive alignment would have the Liberty Division include Eastside, Fair Lawn, Kennedy and Passaic and the Freedom Division include Clifton, Hackensack, Passaic Tech and Ridgewood.   

The return of a number of players next season and the freshmen group moving up could see our CUTTERS improve. I enjoyed being “The Voice of the Cutters on the Gridiron” for the 18th season and working with my spotter, Shawn Kerestes. For many years before that my twin brother, Bill, and I were the “spotters” for long time popular Fair Lawn announcer Joe Hausmann, who now announces for the HIGHLANDERS of Northern Highlands and the IRONMEN of Don Bosco. I can hardly wait for next year! Until then, GO CUTTERS GO!!! 

THE GRIDIRON 14-2014

 

By Dick Engelhardt 

The CUTTERS of Fair Lawn High and their fans, especially old timers, had plenty of rooting interests in State Playoff Finals action involving present or former foes. Let’s look at some of these games.

In North Jersey, Section 1, Group V, Fair Lawn’s Big North Conference (BNC) 5 time champion BULLDOGS of Passaic County Technical Institute were beaten 26 -14 by the MOUNTIES of Montclair. The BULLDOGS won sectional titles in 1998 and 2001. They are 5-0 (1.000) over our CUTTERS 2010-14. The loss closed out the BNC Liberty Division 2014 record against outside opposition at 11-19 (.367).  

In Group IV, the INDIANS of Pascack Valley beat the SPARTANS of Paramus 22-6. PV Coach Craig Nielsen was an assistant at Fair Lawn under Pete Natale 1980-85. He was the architect of the great Fair Lawn passing attack on the 1980 Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) tri-championship team (with Clifton and Passaic Valley) that beat Passaic in the States at GIANTS STADIUM and lost to Passaic Valley in the finals. Craig’s offense led the way again in 1984 as Fair Lawn took the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League (NBIL) Division 1 title in our first season back in the league and in 1985 when the NBIL Division 1 champs lost a 36-26 thriller to Passaic in the States. Nielsen was a star running back for the BEARS of Bergenfield in the ‘70s. Pascack Valley took the 1955-56, 1984-85 and 1988-2008 NBIL rivalry with Fair Lawn 14-10-1 (.583). During 1962-83 and 2010-11 in NNJIL and Big North Conference (BNC) action, the SPARTANS of Paramus went 14-10 (.583) against our CUTTERS.

In Group III, the GOLDEN HAWKS of River Dell were beaten 31-23 by the SPARTANS of Sparta, who defended their title. In 1958, brand new River Dell, with Bill Parcells at running back/QB, beat our CUTTERS 26-13 in the only game ever played between the schools before Fair Lawn left the NBIL for the NNJIL in 1959. Ironically River Dell leaving the NBIL in 1984 opened the door for Bergenfield, which had left the then Bergen-Passaic Interscholastic League (B-PIL) in 1949, Fair Lawn and Ramsey to come back in!

  

In Group II, the CARDINALS of Westwood beat the WARRIORS of Waldwick/Midland Park 21-7. During 1943-44 independently and 1984-85 in the NBIL, our CUTTERS went 3-1 (.750) against the CARDINALS. Westwood Coach Vito Campanile grew up in Fair Lawn and was an assistant coach here under Greg Tanzer along with Anthony and Nick. The Campanile family, headed by Mike, was huge in the Fair Lawn Football Association and at FLHS.

Next week we’ll wrap up 2014 with a look back at the season. Until then, GO CUTTERS GO!!!