Sunday, September 13, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

LITTLE FALLS – Because of the NJSIAA’s realignment that took place this season, the West Milford and Passaic Valley football teams are no longer in the same league. But just because the Northern Hills Conference – Skyline Division no longer exists, it doesn’t mean the rivalry is gone or that the two teams no longer no what to expect from one a another. When these two comparable teams met on a muddy track on Saturday in Little Falls to open the season, turnovers and winning the battle at the line of scrimmage figured to be the two biggest components to victory, and they were.

Backed up deep in its own territory and down a touchdown with under a minute to play in the first half, West Milford tried to make a late push to gain some momentum before the half. But that plan backfired in a big way and it was the Hornets who seized control of the game in a manner of seconds.

Passaic Valley’s Mike Governali intercepted a pass and brought it back 30 yards. On the very next play, Matt Coiro hit a wide-open Anthony DiSanti for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the second quarter. It was the second of Coiro’s three touchdown tosses on the afternoon as Passaic Valley’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage throughout and the Hornets breezed to a 26-0 victory.

“We wanted to come out and set the tone, that starts up front,” said Passaic Valley defensive end Tom Romeo. “We felt if we made the first big play on defense, they would give us momentum. Getting a few sacks and the big interception before the half was huge. Turnovers are a big part of every game and it changed the game for us in a positive way.”

Passaic Valley got the first break of the game when Dom Coiro recovered a fumble at the West Milford 21-yard line. On a third-and-goal from the 3, Matt Coiro kept his poise in the pocket and eventually found Governali at the back of the end zone to put PV ahead, 7-0.

It appeared it would stay that way going into halftime after West Milford took over at its own 14-yard line with just over a minute to play. Instead, the Highlanders attempted to get back in it with one big play. On a first-and-10 from his own 26, quarterback Matt Bailey dropped back to pass. But with pressure in his face from Romeo and Brandon Spinella, he overshot his receiver. The ball drifted right into the hands of Governali, who raced all the way down to the 10-yard line and was dragged down by his face mask, which tacked on five yards to the end of the run.

On the very next play, Matt Coiro floated a pass to an uncovered DiSanti for a five-yard score. DiSanti tacked on his second PAT of the half as the Hornets surprisingly doubled their lead going into the locker room, 14-0.

“We just didn’t execute, plain and simple,” said West Milford head coach Shawn Poppe. “I don’t know what else to say. Passaic Valley was ready to play and we didn’t play well. When you use words like ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’, that’s not good. We just turned the ball over too many times and flat out played poorly.”

Dom Coiro recovered another fumble off of a wide receiver screen and the Hornets capitalized two plays later. Matt Coiro and Governali hooked up again, this time for 15-yard scoring strike that all but put the game away with a 20-point lead.

The Highlanders’ best chance of averting a shutout came in the fourth quarter and ended on a zany play. On a fourth-and-nine from the PV 29, Bailey dropped back to pass and it was batted by Romeo, but right back into the arms of Bailey. He immediately shot-putted a pass to Vigorita, but it was only for a one-yard gain and the Highlanders turned the ball over on downs. On the ensuing drive, PV’s Dom Coiro capped the scoring with a 12-yard TD run.

Romeo was a monster on defensive side of the ball for Passaic Valley (1-0). He finished with eight tackles; three of the Hornets’ six sacks, and two deflected passes. Matt Coiro hit 11 of 20 passes for 114 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Governali caught three passes for 35 yards and two scores, along with the big interception. Dom Coiro also had a solid game on both sides of the ball. The senior tailback rushed 17 times for 120 yards and a TD to go with five tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Jedd Blackowski had 10 tackles and Kyle Donnelly added eight tackles with two sacks for West Milford (0-1). Vigorita rushed for 81 yards on 17 carries.

The win was first for Passaic Valley under new head coach Al Cappello. The Hornets will get a week off before facing Kearny, which was shutout by Columbia in its season opener on Friday.

“We wanted to get this first win out of the way for coach (Cappello),” said PV senior quarterback Matt Coiro. “I thought both our offensive and defensive lines did a great job, they won the game for us. We came in here confident, but we played better than even we expected. This game is over and now we have to focus our attention to try and get the next one.”

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