Saturday, September 20, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

LODI – For the better part of a decade, no team that did not have the words Glen Rock or Paterson Catholic in front of its nickname could have any thoughts of being considered the best team in the B-PSL. But this year, Lodi has had a lot of pre-season hype as a team to watch in both the B-PSL and North 2, Group 2. That meant the Rams were expected to take care of business against more inexperienced opponents, which is exactly what they did on Saturday against Waldwick/Midland Park.

Senior tailback Danny Ageyman rushed 17 times for 147 yards and four touchdowns and Patrick Najbar added two scores as Lodi cruised to a 46-22 triumph.

“We had a lot of penalties and stuff, but we got the win and that’s what is important,” said Ageyman. “(Waldwick/Midland Park) played hard, but we felt we could control the line of scrimmage. Our O-line is real strong and talented. I know they are going to open holes for me, I just have to run through them and make a play.”

On Lodi’s first series, Ageyman busted through a gaping hole for a 33-yard run to set up his own 15-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. On the first play of the second quarter, Ageyman struck again. The fleet senior busted through a hole up the middle and went untouched for a 34-yard score.

Despite having just three seniors on the roster, Waldwick/Midland Park showed some grit and battled back with a scoring drive of its own. On a fourth-and-2 from the Lodi 28, Eric Greenwald went off left tackle and raced all the way in for a score to cut the lead to 13-7. But any momentum the Warriors had swung back to the Lodi sideline just seconds later.

Najbar took a short kickoff and went up the left side 70 yards to paydirt to give Lodi some breathing room with a 19-7 lead.

“They were all coming up the middle and the guys in front gave me a hole up the left side,” said Najbar. “Once I got through it, I knew I was gone.”

Any hopes of a Warrior comeback were dashed on the final play of the first half. Lodi was at the Waldwick 10-yard line with four seconds remaining and elected to try and go for the touchdown. Senior quarterback Joe Salame was flushed out of the pocket to his left. Off of his back foot, he threw a pass intended for D.J. Tirico at the goal line. The pass was a bit high and deflected off Tirico’s hands, but right into the arms of Viktor Gashi at the back of the zone. Gashi tacked on the extra-point to put the Rams in front 26-7.

“The kickoff return and the play at the end of the half really hurt us,” said Waldwick/Midland Park head coach Jim Cleary. “We gave them too many opportunities and a good team will take advantage of them. But we never stopped working hard and we’ll learn from this. We have such a young team that every day is a work in progress. But the effort is there and we’ll keep improving.”

Behind sophomore quarterback Bryan Fitzpatrick, the Warriors cut Lodi’s lead to 13 midway through third quarter. He hit Anthony Iorio on a slant route that went for a 37-yard touchdown, then hit Kevin Staple on a quick out for the two-point conversion to make it 27-14.

Ageyman answered with a five-yard touchdown run and added a 19-yard score later to cap the scoring.

Salame threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns for Lodi, now 2-0. Najbar added a touchdown catch and had nearly 150 total yards. Iorio scored twice, including on an 81-yard kick return for Waldwick/Midland Park (1-1).

The Rams will face winless Saddle Brook next week before a home showdown against Paterson Catholic on October 3rd in Lodi.

“We are not going to look past Saddle Brook, but we definitely want a shot at Paterson Catholic,” added Ageyman. “But we have a lot of work to do before then and we have to keep our focus on getting better every day. We have to get rid of the mistakes we made today for next week and get even better for the week after that. It’s nice to be (2-0), but this is just the beginning.”

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