Saturday,
September 26, 2009
By
Rich Barton
NJS.com
Staff Writer
WAYNE – It was
more than an hour before the start of Friday night’s game
between Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley and the stands were already
packed. The atmosphere was electric and the decibel level seemed
to rise with each passing minute of anticipation; for the start
of only the third meeting ever between these two schools and the
first since the 2006 North 1, Group 3 state sectional final.
When Wayne Hills marched
right down the field and scored on its first possession, it appeared
it would be business as usual for the team that averaged 50 points
in its first two victories. But as the game entered the final
minute, it the Patriots; first team defense was still in the game,
in a dogfight actually, still working to keep North Jersey’s
all time record winning streak alive.
James DeDilectis made
the last of the Patriots’ eight sacks and Matt DeBlock knocked
down a Hail Mary attempt on the last play of the game as Wayne
Hills escaped with a 7-0 victory at Wayne Valley High School.
The Patriots took the
opening kickoff and marched right down the field for the game’s
lone score. DeBlock hauled in a 21-yard pass from Mike Quinn and
Tim Divers booted the extra-point to give Wayne Hills a 7-0 lead.
From there on, both
defenses controlled the line of scrimmage. Wayne Hills had a chance
to pad its lead in the waning moments of the first half when tailback
Brian Dowling took a screen pass and went 49 yards down to the
Indians’ five-yard line. The Indians held their ground and
Divers missed wide left on a field goal attempt to stay within
a touchdown at halftime.
“That was a big
stop, we bent but we didn’t break,” said Wayne Valley
head coach Brian O’Connor. “It gave us some momentum
going into the second half. We had our chances in the second half,
and our defense played great. They just made more plays in big
moments than we did.”
The lead was still
seven with just over nine minutes to go in the game before Wayne
Valley finally got the big play it was looking for all game. From
the Indians’ 20-yard line, quarterback Pete Savistano hit
Anthony Verilli on a fly pattern up the right sideline. He we
all the way inside the Patriots’ 20-yard line when Dowling,
who already had an interception to his credit, made another huge
defensive play. He tracked down Verilli and poked the ball away
from behind and DeBlock recovered to avert danger.
“I was mad that
he got behind me and I had to make up for it,” said Dowling,
a junior. “Wayne Valley is a great football team and we
definitely needed a game like this. I’m just happy we came
out on top and found a way to pull this one out.”
Wayne Valley’s
defense again forced a Wayne Hills punt to get the ball back with
two minutes to play and one last chance to force overtime. Savistano
rushed for a first-down, and hit running back Mike Castles for
another down to the Wayne Hills 34.
Savistano hung tough
in the pocket all night despite immense pressure. He tried one
last escape with 30 seconds left, but DeDilectis was there to
drag him down for an 11-yard loss. With no timeouts, Wayne Valley
(1-2) hustled back to the line to get one more play off. Savistano
rolled out to his right and heaved one up. DeBlock was right there
to knock it down and preserve the victory.
With the win Wayne
Hills (3-0) moved past Randolph into second place all-time in
New Jersey history with its 55th consecutive win. Although it
does not get any easier next week when the Patriots play host
to St. Joseph (Montvale) in possibly the biggest regular season
test of the five-year long winning streak. That is saying something
considering they are coming off Friday night’s win, their
closest victory since the streak began.
“To be a part
of a game like this and a streak like this is incredible,”
said DeBlock. “No matter what happens, no one will be able
to take that away from us. We will enjoy this win tonight, but
Monday its right back to work.”
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