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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