Northern Highlands (3-6) was able to open up the Thursday night bout against Pascack Valley (7-2) on their home field with an early score. But PV proved to be just too much, rolling the Highlanders 42-14 in their final regular season games.

Now, PV will move into the North 1, Group 3 playoff bracket as the No. 3 seed. Their first round matchup will be against #6 Bergenfield (5-3), a team that the Indians defeated earlier in the season, 49-13.

“I’m always looking forward to the next game,” PV coach Craig Nielsen said about his team.

Northern Highlands’ first drive of the night went consisted of five plays for 80 yards. The drive was capped off by a 39-yard screen pass by quarterback Noah Abdalla to running back Jeremy Barr for a touchdown. With 10:10 left in the first quarter, it looked like PV might have had unexpectedly had a game on their hands.

But then the rest of the game was all PV. Through the rest of the game, PV scored 42 points and allowed only seven the rest of the game, which came late in the fourth quarter.

Both the running and passing game were on full display under the lights.

The passing game was led by senior quarterback Colin Dedrick. Dedrick recovered after throwing an early interception that was bobbled by fellow senior wide receiver Mike Pimpinella, to throw for a total of 174 yards and three touchdowns. The passing game was used to make many long downfield plays, like the 66-yard pass on the third play of the second from Dedrick to Pimpinella that went for a touchdown, and pushed the lead to 35-7.

Pimpinella made up for the early bobble by hauling in three catches later in the game, including the 66-yard reception. He totaled 110 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Matt Urrea also caught a touchdown from eight yards out.

Many different running backs saw the ball, but Andrew Flores was the team’s lead back. He saw the majority of the carries by rushing 12 times for 70 yards. Flores has been a constant all season, behind PV’s impressive offensive line.

After seeing more action last week against Ramapo, Jack Jankowsky only carried the ball once against Northern Highlands. But his sole carry went for 15 yards and a score. Jake Giambona was exclusively used in short yardage situations, where he converted a first down and a touchdown. In the second half, sophomore Casey Lewis carried nine carries. He ran for 68 yards and scored PV’s final touchdown to extend the lead to 42-7.

The PV defense also played well, as they only allowed 14 points total. The final touchdown occurred with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Northern Highlands running back Jack Zatorski broke through the line and ran 85 yards for the late score, to cut PV’s lead to 42-14, which would end up being the final score.

This blowout win should give PV confidence heading into their matchup next week with Bergenfield. The team faced some adversity early in the game and responded well.

When asked about the matchup with Bergenfield, Nielsen said, “It’s a divisional game, they know us and we know them.”

If the game is similar to the matchup earlier this season, then PV should easily move on into the semifinals, where they will most likely face No. 2 Ramapo, who defeated PV last week 42-21.

While this victory against Northern Highlands is certainly a step in the right direction, PV must continue to play well and improve leading into the state playoffs, with some tough opponents looming.