Indians fall to Bergenfield in regular season finale
Despite defeat, Indians sneak into playoffs
In a season mired in struggles for the Pascack Valley football team, it was only apropos that in its last game of the regular season, the Indians were held out of the end zone. The Indians had plenty of chances to take the lead in the second half, but PV could not pull it out in the end, falling to Bergenfield 14-9.
“[We were not able to] execute, make plays, play physical, play tough,” Valley coach Len Cusumano said.
Despite the loss to Bergenfield and a 2-7 regular season record, the Indians will still get a shot in the postseason. With the power points system that is used by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Indians benefited from playing a tough schedule against top-flight programs. PV’s strength of schedule gave them the edge over Jefferson, allowing them to clinch the 8th and final seed in North 1, Group 3.
Pascack Valley will play top seeded Ramapo next week in its opening round game. The Indians were blown out by Ramapo 44-8 back in Week 4, so PV will need to play much better this time around if they want to advance. The Raiders (7-2) are led by star quarterback AJ Wingfield, who torched Valley for 199 passing yards, 81 rushing yards, and 5 total touchdowns in their last meeting.
The game will be played next Friday, Nov 10. at 7 p.m. at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes.
On Saturday, offensive execution was a major problem for the Indians, as Valley had trouble finishing drives with touchdowns. Held without a touchdown the entire game, Pascack Valley could only muster 3 field goals. PV also committed a few costly penalties, and turned the ball over three times.
The Indians deployed a pass heavy attack, which has not been the case in most of their other games. Junior Jake DeMilia made his third start of the season against Bergenfield, completing nine of his 22 pass attempts for 72 yards and one interception.
“I thought Jake did the best he can… He is a new guy at the position, was kind of thrown into the fire there, and did the best he can with the skill set that he does have,” Cusumano said.
Defensively, the Indians had a lot of trouble stopping the run, as quarterback Chris Sunga and running back Brian McCoy consistently found room to maneuver against the PV front seven. The duo combined for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
PV lost for the second straight season to Bergenfield, after the Indians fell to the Bears by a final of 23-17 in 2016. Valley had beaten up on Bergenfield in the past, however, as the Indians won all four matchups from 2012-2015.
One of the lone bright spots for Valley against Bergenfield was the play of do-it-all sophomore Jake Ciocca. Ciocca, who plays offense, defense, and special teams, was the lone Indian to score a point on Saturday. While he had only kicked PATs until Saturday’s game, he still went 3-3 on his first three career field goal attempts. Ciocca’s first field goal just made it over the crossbar from 33 yards out, but his makes from 22 and 26 yards were more comfortable.
