Saturday, November 17, 2007

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer

HAWTHORNE -- The heat of the moment. It is the only way to explain what transpired on Friday night in Hawthorne, as the Bears saw their comeback and their season come to a screeching and somewhat controversial end.

Converting three fourth downs with time running down, Hawthorne’s Steve Howe hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass with 51 seconds to go to pull the Bears within 33-31 of New Milford.
In his excitement, jumping up after the score, he half-heartedly spiked the ball. With one official no more than five feet away staring directly at him, there was no doubt that a penalty flag was coming out, and it did.

By rule, it was the right call, and while the circumstances certainly may not warrant such a penalty, it is the rule on the books. That meant the game-tying two-point conversion try would have to be from the 18-yard line instead of the 3, and the ensuing incomplete pass put New Milford into the North 1, Group 1 sectional final in two weeks against Hasbrouck Heights.

“It stinks that it came down to that,” Hawthorne head coach John Passero said immediately after the game, but he also said that, “(the outcome) didn’t come down to that. We made to many mistakes on offense, defense and even coaching to get to a state final.”

The final moments overshadowed a fantastic duel of running backs. A.J. Scoppa of New Milford and Steve Hein of Hawthorne put of on a show, combining for more nearly 500 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

“Scoppa ran like an animal, and so did Hein,” Passero said.

“We knew we were going to have to score points with (Hein and quarterback Jim Zenock), they’re great athletes, but we’ve got one right here,” NM head coach Billy Wilde said as he smacked Scoppa in the chest. “I’ve always believed in the running game, always did, always will, and I’m so lucky and fortunate to have A.J. Scoppa.”

Hein (31 carries, 211 yards, 3 touchdowns) got the best of the battle early on, running for 110 yards in the first quarter and helping the Bears to move out to a 13-0 lead. He scored the first TD on a 2-yard run, though he did lose a fumble at the Knight 2-yard line when he was stripped by Will Esposito and Will Walsh recovered.

Matt Goitz got the ball right back for the Bears, taking an interception 32 yards to the New Milford 17. Three penalties moved them back to the 30, where Zenock went to Goitz with a deep ball down the left side.

Scoppa got it going in the second quarter, racking up 126 yards in the period, and his 15-yard score put the Knights on the board with 7:39 left before halftime. Tommy Montecuollo’s all important extra point was good.

Nick Gnade took the kickoff back 78 yards to set up a Hein 5-yard touchdown, but the PAT try was just wide right, making it 19-7. From there, the Knights wrested control using a simple formula.

“We threw a ball when we probably should have run it, and I said to myself, let’s get back to running the ball,” Wilde recalled. “We got a couple of drives going and we got some confidence.”

Scoppa went 32 yards off right tackle to get his team within 19-13, and that run seemed to change the complexion of the game, as NM began to rip some huge holes in he Bear defense.

“I felt the momentum (change),” Scoppa (26 carries, 281 yards, 3 touchdowns) said. “We were rolling and nobody was going to stop us. After we got the lead, that was it, we knew we had it.”
The lead change came with 22 seconds to go in the half, after Hawthorne (10-1) stalled at the Knight 32 on three incomplete passes. Armed with 56 seconds, Scoppa took a third and 10 handoff over right tackle and again found room, scampering 31 yards to the Hawthorne 37.

After a time out, Knight QB Rob Hackett went to the air, finding John Esposito deep near the left pylon for a touchdown. Montecuollo’s PAT put the Knights up one.

“He took a shot,” Wilde said of Hackett. “We said if it’s there, hit it, and he took a shot there and made it happen.”

“It was our spirit, our heart, everyone together,” Scoppa said. “We lift up each other, we’re all in it together, we’re conditioned and we were ready to go.”

The New Milford defense chimed in with interceptions on each of Hawthorne’s first two drives, by Pat Mitchell and Scoppa. The first one set up Scoppa’s 10-yard Td run and Montecuollo’s third extra point success, but Scoppa lost a fumble after his own INT, with Matt Branagh recovering.

Hein cashed it in with his third score, a 3-yarder, and they appeared to tie the game at 27 with 11:29 left in the game when Zenock found Branagh for a two-point conversion. Instead, a penalty flag came out for an ineligible receiver downfield, with the official’s explanation being that one of the offensive linemen had stepped on the goal line, thus putting him outside the three-yard tackle box and illegally downfield.

Given a reprieve, New Milford (8-2) struck back, thanks to a Scoppa 70-yard run to the Bears’ 14. On third and 10, Mitchell took a handoff on a reverse going right. Trapped in the backfield, he broke a tackle at the 17, cut back left and found a seam to the end zone. Zenock blocked the key extra point, leaving it a one-score game at 33-25.

With Zenock playing on a re-taped ankle in the second half, the option was limited, so Hein saw plenty of the ball. The Knights were able to clamp down on him, with Jose Correa (12 tackles), Walsh (9) and Matt Norton (8) leading the way.

“It was a little tender in the third quarter,” Passero acknowledged, “so we kept giving the ball to Steve. He got us to the 10-0 start.”

Hawthorne’s defense did its part late, getting the offense the ball back with 3:16 to go in the game. Hein converted a fourth and 1 with a 10-yard burst and Zenock (6 of 20 passing, 119 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT) found Howe with passes of 17 and 20 yards, each time on fourth and 10. The latter reception set up the TD pass and the ill-fated spike.

“It just wasn’t enough in the end,” Passero lamented. “Too many mistakes. We gave ourselves a puncher’s chance down by eight and the penalties killed us on the two-point conversions.”

Correa added 41 rushing yards on 10 carries, part of New Milford’s 399 total yards, while Zenock ran 10 times for 57 yards for the Bears, who totaled 392 yards. Luke Cotugno (9 tackles) and Hein (8) topped the Bear defense.

“I don’t even have words to describe how devastated we are as a team and as a coaching staff,” Passero said. “When you don’t lose all year and you lose on your home field 48 minutes away from being in Giants Stadium, it obviously hurts.”

TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.