Gallery • 24 Photos

Curstine Guevarra

Senior Andrew Flores on the move.

Pascack Valley (No. 5 in The Bergen Record Public Top 20) looks at its loss to rival and No. 1 Old Tappan as a learning experience.

If there was something to take from the Indians’ (5-1) 42-14 loss on Friday night at home against the Golden Knights (6-0), it’s that the team needs to work harder on both sides of the ball.

“We couldn’t get anything done on offense or defense, so credit goes to OT for playing a great game,” said quarterback Colin Dedrick.

Dedrick, like the rest off Valley’s offense, had a hard time getting down the field against Old Tappan’s stifling defense, led by All-American athlete Jordan Fuller at cornerback. Fuller earned The Record’s Athlete of the Week honors for his all-around performance, highlighted by shutting down PV’s star and Dedrick’s main target, Mike Pimpinella, and by taking a first quarter interception back 52 yards to the end zone.

Having just one great player like Pimpinella does not mean a team great, and the Indians are typically able to their star up with an excellent running game and other senior receivers. However, it seemed as if these aspects of Valley’s offense struggled to help their cause. Halfbacks Andrew Flores and Jake Giambona were held to 61 yards rushing combined while wide receiver Mike Soravilla had some dropped passes early.

With Soravilla and Pimpinella unable to make a difference in the game, Dedrick decided to try other targets. Senior wide receivers Connor Jones and Joe Colosuano both showed their reliable hands, combining for 48 yards receiving. These two could be integrate into the offense more often if teams focus their coverage on Pimpinella and Soravilla.

One big hit that factored into PV’s offensive execution was playing another game without offensive lineman Joe Schnugg, who has been sidelined with an injury.

“We definitely felt his absence, but we had some key players step up to fill in,” said fellow lineman and center Mike Leicht. “Tommy Uhl did a great job of stepping up on offense and filling in for him and Max Putterman and Joe Figueroa moved around on defense.”

Pascack Valley’s defense did not stop the bleeding when they were on the field. The Indians saw may players on Old Tappan’s offense that had a talent for racking up yards and scoring touchdowns.

This group of Golden Knights included Fuller, who was played several positions on offense. His yardage did not seem like that of a dominating superstar, as he was 2/3 passing for 45 yards, had 9 carries for 34 yards, and 2 receptions for 43 yards, adding up to 132 all-purpose yards. However, he earned Athlete of the Week honors for shutting down the Valley offense and having a nose for scoring the ball. He added to his interception return touchdown with two scores passing and one rushing.

Fuller was the one player on the field that had to be looked out for on each play, which left room for Old Tappan’s other offensive weapons to shine. Quarterback Kevin Martinez finished the game 7/11 passing for 164 yards and a touchdown. Running back Zack DeNike saw 23 touches for 188 yards and he added a touchdown rushing. Tight end Jedh Downey had 8 touches for 103 yards, and he made it to the end zone three times.

It was the Indians’ first tough test against a team unlike any they had seen before, with talent and teamwork on both sides of the ball. Going up against Old Tappan may have some fans worried of what this team is capable of, but, knowing Coach Craig Nielsen, the team will take their failures and prosper from them. They will work on their weaknesses that were exposed by the Golden Knights and come out better than they previously were.

How can Valley avoid getting a loss like this in the future? Nielsen sums it up in five words: “We have to work harder.”

Colin Dedrick posted a typical stat line in terms of yards and touchdowns, as he ended the game with 182 yards and two scores. His two interceptions thrown put him at and impressive 14:3 TD to INT ratio on the year so far.

Phil Wong and Kyle Alvarado, both juniors, each scored their first touchdowns on the year on 52-yard and 14-yard passes, respectively. “The result of the game did make it less special because it’s a team sport, but the experience was great and I felt amazing as it happened,” said Wong about his long scoring catch early in the first quarter.

Mike Pimpinella, despite having a tough game, added to his ridiculous season receiving stats. His three catches for 22 yards bumped his season totals up to 25 receptions for 606 yards and nine touchdowns.

Jake Giambona saw his fair share of touches out of the backfield against OT. He returned from injury against Bergenfield and saw limited carries in short yardage situations, but he seems to be fully recovered and back in the halfback rotation.

Death Valley, the name coined for Pascack Valley’s fan section, showed up big in the team’s biggest contest of the regular season. A scheduled “blackout” caused the bleachers to be swarmed by a sea of fans dressed in black.

No. 4 Ramapo is Pascack’s Valley only ranked opponent on the rest of the regular season schedule, and they are ranked higher than PV in The Record’s Top 20 public teams. The Raiders (5-1) also suffered a loss at the hands of Old Tappan, losing 32-28.

The Record has the Indians’ team ranked at number 5 on their public team rankings. Valley dropped three spots after their loss to the Golden Knights, falling behind River Dell (7-0), Mahwah (6-0), and Ramapo.

Passaic Valley (0-6) will be playing the Indians at home on Saturday, October 24 at 1 p.m. Pascack Valley hosted this matchup in the middle of the season last year, walking away with an easy 49-6 victory.