Pascack Valley football loses double overtime thriller to Paramus

Ethan Perlman and Robert Colletti|September 9, 2022

Olivia Jackson

The Pascack Valley offensive line works hard to protect the quarterback. The Panthers lost a close game to Paramus in double overtime.

The Pascack Valley Football Team lost a nail-biter to the Paramus Spartans by a score of 21-20 in double overtime.

Despite Kevin Regula’s rushing touchdown in the second overtime, Evan Starr’s kick was blocked, which opened the door for Paramus to take the lead. Valley was unable to stop the Spartan offense from connecting on a 4th and 9 touchdown to even the game up at 20. Guacci Massimo iced the game for Paramus, nailing the PAT and winning them the game.


Defense was the story tonight for Valley, making multiple stops and plays throughout the game that allowed Valley’s offense the opportunity to put some points on the board. Whether it was stopping Paramus on 4th and goal on the Spartans’ first drive of the game, or Conor Higgins intercepting a pass in Panthers’ end zone to prevent a touchdown, the defense continuously made plays that kept Valley in the game.

Both offenses struggled out of the gate, not scoring a single point in the first half. Valley’s offensive struggles continued, with Jake Crawbuck throwing an interception late in the second quarter and again on the first drive of the second half.

In overtime, Paramus started with it, and quickly came to life, with Mason Merkle scoring his second touchdown of the game. Valley answered accordingly, with Kevin Regula rushing it in from the one-yard line. After Paramus was offside on the PAT, Valley had a chance to go for 2 and win the game. However, a false start call pushed them back, forcing them to take the PAT and tie the game at 14.

Despite his early-game performance, Crawbuck was able to bounce back. Following a punt from Paramus after Crawbuck’s second interception, Valley marched down the field and capped off the drive with its first points of the season from none other than Crawbuck. He dove for the zone after an 11-yard run to put Valley up 7-0 halfway through the second quarter.

Paramus’s offense finally broke loose late in the third quarter with Merkle beating a guy and running 57 yards into Valley territory. The drive was capped off with Liam Jones edging his way into the endzone. The PAT was good, and the Spartans tied the game at 7.

Valley’s defense stayed strong for most of the game with Jake Merlino, Brandon Flanagan, and Higgins making some big plays on the defensive side of the ball.

With this loss, Valley falls to 0-2 on the season, their worst start since 2017. They will face NVOT next week, at home at 6 p.m.