Sunday, Devember 7, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

HACKENSACK – Confidence and speed are what had carried Hackensack to consecutive upsets and a spot in the North 1, Group 4 state final. If they were to pull off a third straight upset over Livingston and win their first state title since 2000, the Comets just figured that they would follow the same blueprint they have used in recent weeks. Use their speed to react to the opposing team’s offense, then wrap up and make solid tackles. Unfortunately though, they were faced with the worst possible matchup on Saturday when they faced Livingston.

The Lancers run a spinner series attack out of a full-house backfield. It is an offense filled with misdirection plays and counters to help use a opposing defense’s quickness and aggressiveness against themselves. In the first half, the Lancers reeled out the bait and Hackensack took it hook, line, and sinker. Before they finally figured out how to properly attack it, it was too late.

Livingston quarterback Mike Genovese played for the first time in seven weeks and made up for lost time in the first half. He threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Lancers grabbed a 21-point lead by halftime en route to ending Hackensack’s dream run with a 28-8 defeat at Giants Stadium.

“It was important that we came out and set the tone from the first play,” said Livingston fullback Zach McGehee. “We knew if we executed the way we were capable of that we didn’t think they could handle our offense. Hackensack was really fast and physical, but we were prepared for that. To be honest, we played about as well as we could play in the first half and we could not have picked a better time to get off to the start that we did.”

Hackensack’s starting quarterback Nick Hayes was hurt in a Thanksgiving Day win over Teaneck, which forced Raiyel Hammond into a starting role with a state title on the line. He understandably came into the game with some jitters and the Lancers took full advantage of them.

Greg Romagnoli intercepted a pass that led to Livingston’s first touchdown. On the next play from scrimmage, Genovese found Nick Grande for a 20-yard touchdown scoring strike to make it 7-0.

After a Hackensack drive stalled, they gained some momentum by downing a punt at the Livingston two-yard line. But the Lancers quickly seized it back with one misdirection play after another. On a third-and-two from the Comets’ eight-yard line, McGehee broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and went seven yards down to the 1. Genovese snuck over on the next play to give Livingston a 14-point lead.

On Hackensack’s next possession, Livingston’s Zach Lomita intercepted an ill-advised pass by Hammond. Three plays later, McGehee bulled his way in from five yards out and added the third of his three first-half PAT’s as Livingston grabbed a 21-0 halftime lead.

“We lost our focus and before we knew it we were down three touchdowns,” said Hackensack’s Romaine Wall. “We started to let little things get to us and it added up to a big problem. We had a tough time figuring out their offense and we couldn’t get it together in the first half. I thought we fought much harder in the second half. But it’s tough to come back against any team when you’re down by (21) points.”

Hackensack’s most productive drive became its only scoring drive. They marched 88 yards on 16 plays until finally reaching paydirt on a fourth-down play. Sprung by a huge block from guard Junior Solice, Larry Campbell virtually walked into the end zone on a counter play from 11 yards out. Hammond scampered in for the two-point conversion to trim the lead to 21-8 with 1:33 left in the third quarter.

The Comets had the ball twice inside the Livingston 35 early in the fourth quarter. But they could not capitalize on either opportunity and the bruising McGehee made them pay for it. He broke three tackles and rumbled for a 38-yard touchdown with 4:40 left to seal any hopes for another Hackensack upset.

“We saw in the way they played in the third quarter that they weren’t going to give up,” added McGehee. “Our goal was to get the ball back, run the ball well, and take some time off the clock. They weren’t a team that threw the football a lot, so we wanted to give them as little time as possible once they got the ball back.”

Genovese came back in a big way by accounting for two touchdowns and also having two interceptions for Livingston (9-3). McGehee finished with 149 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns.

Hackensack finished with an 8-4 mark and a berth in the North 1, Group 4 state title game, which is quite an accomplishment being that it was not even in the playoffs last year. But even the senior players feel that the foundation has been set for success.

“We lose a lot of seniors, but we have a lot of talent coming back,” said Wall. “Give Livingston credit, they run a tricky offense and they are a very, very good team. We’re a good team too, they were just a better team tonight. It feels great to get to this game, especially on the run we went on. But when you get to the big game, you’ll always feel disappointed if you don’t win it. It hurts right now, but I know the underclassmen will get back here next year and win it.”

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