After playing like a championship caliber team in their first two games, the Indians played a sloppy game in their first home contest.

Pascack Valley did pull out a 35-0 win on their field against West Milford on Saturday, but the offense did not play as well as they did in their two wins against Group 5 opponents. Turnovers and mental mistakes, though playing a small factor on the scoreboard, proved to be a headline in the early.

Quarterback Colin Dedrick came out firing in the first half, an unusual sight for this run-heavy team.

The backs did see a fair amount of touches, but Dedrick was dropping back to pass more often than not.

“Our plan going into the game was to throw it deep and run the ball,” said Dedrick.

However, throughout the game, he did have some trouble hitting receivers, especially on the longer, designed throws. His first attempt, an underthrown pass to receiver Mike Soravilla, had a chance to be intercepted, but the defensive player tipped the ball to Soravilla, who ran to the end zone to complete the 55 yard touchdown.

Dedrick played well as the rest of the half progressed, despite a subpar performance from a typically strong offensive line. When protection broke down, Colin found receivers on short routes to extend the play. He finished the half with 159 yards on 10/12 pass attempts and the touchdown to Soravilla.

The Indians headed to the locker room up 14-0, but the careless play was noticeable. Soravilla bobbled the ball on his second punt return, forcing the offense to start on their 3-yard line. Also, a fumble by running back Andrew Flores, which was recovered by PV, was followed by a fumble from wide receiver Mike Pimpinella, this time recovered by West Milford.

“I thought we protected the QB a lot better in the second half,” said coach Craig Nielsen. Getting the offensive line to give Dedrick more time was both a blessing and a curse. He was able to stay calm in the pocket and throw the ball deeper, but this caused a big drop in his completion percentage.

Dedrick overthrew and underthrew some receivers in the third quarter, but when he did hit his targets, scoring ensued. His only two completions in the second half were 29-yard and 46-yard touchdowns to Joe Colasuano and Pimpinella, respectively.

A somewhat streaky performance by Dedrick is normally backed up by a strong rushing attack, but the Indians ground game did not perform up to standard according to their head coach.

Flores’s stat line looked excellent, as he had 19 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

That didn’t matter to Nielsen, who is a perfectionist, and has come accustomed to seeing great rushing performances.

“I was not too happy with our running game today,” said Nielsen.

It was the protection and quality on each run that lacked. Flores did a great job finding holes to run through when he could, but there were many rushes that the defensive line took him down before he could gain some yardage. Despite uninspired play from the offense, they were able to put points on the board.

The defense and special teams played great in the first half, but their play in the third quarter helped further the lead.

A big part of special teams play is the return game, and after a botched return in the first quarter, Soravilla did a good job on punts the rest of the game. His 5 returns went for 56 yards. One of these, a 33-yard punt return in the second quarter, set up a Flores touchdown.

The defense played an excellent game, getting their first shutout of the year. Defensive lineman rarely give up big yardage on the ground and the few times West Milford did pass the ball, the secondary did their job.

Cornerback Kyle Alvarado, who is playing in place for injured Jake Giambona, intercepted one of the few passes Hopler had. “I saw the receiver move over on a motion, so I followed him. The QB tried to lob it over the top, so I got under it and caught it,” said Alvarado. His pick was immediately followed by the 46-yard touchdown from Dedrick to Pimpinella.

West Milford’s offensive stats showed how great the Indians’ defense truly was. Their quarterback, Austin Hopler, finished the game 3/8 passing with 16 yards and an interception, while he had 11 carries for 37 yards. Other rushers on the team totaled no yards out of the backfield on 18 carries, and four rushers on the team ended the game with negative rushing yards.

When it came down to it, Pascack Valley did perform enough to get the victory. There is room to improve, but for now, the team is 3-0 on the season.

“We didn’t play well, but I’m happy we won,” said Nielsen.