PV hangs tough for three quarters, can’t seal the deal

Soravilla takes big shot, Indians fall to 1-4

Noah Schwartz, Sports Editor|October 8, 2017

Curstine Guevarra

Junior Joe Campagna played his first game at wide reciever on Friday night. He caught 2 passes for 13 yards in PV’s 40-20 loss to Wayne Hills.

For the first three quarters on Friday night, Pascack Valley’s football team kept the score close, and the game was knotted up at 20 going into the final period.

However, a major upset by the Indians was just not meant to be.

PV fell to Wayne Hills on Friday night by a final score of 40-20, with the Patriots dominating a fourth quarter where they outscored Valley 20-0. The Indians had trouble stopping the Patriots offense and its big play ability, as Wayne Hills scored all six of its touchdowns from 20 or more yards out.

“We just didn’t put four quarters together, I though we played three very good quarters… We didn’t capitalize there in the fourth quarter. A team like that you really have to put away,” PV coach Len Cusumano said.

PV seemed to wear down a bit during the fourth quarter, and the Patriots took advantage, scoring three times during the final 12 minutes. Wayne Hills racked up the yards as well, as Patriots QB Jaaron Hayek ran for 168 yards and 2 long TD’s, as well as 206 passing yards and 3 TD’s. His main beneficiaries were Charles Njoku, who finished with 2 recieving TD’s, and Michael Joyce, who played a key role as a rusher and receiver.

Even though the fourth quarter did not go the Indians way, the first three periods were a different story. PV played physical football, limited its mistakes, and showed that it belonged on the same field with a team that many considered to be a heavy favorite.

Valley signal caller Stephen Begen played his best game at the varsity level, with 104 passing yards. Begen spread the ball around nicely, as many different receivers were targeted. Senior Jack Ward (32 yards), junior Joe Campagna (13 yards), and sophomores James Della Pesca (30 yards) and Jake Ciocca (15 yards) all contributed nicely to the PV offensive attack.  However, he was intercepted twice by the Patriots’ defense, which proved to be costly.

PV also got contributions in the running game from its usual suspects, including Greg Zoll, Austin Piorkowski, and Jake Williams. In his first varsity action, sophomore Michael Gulino ran for a 60 yard TD in the third quarter, and also contributed a sack on the defensive side of the ball.

The game was plenty exciting throughout, and it was also quite contreversial. During the second quarter, Hayek completed a pass over the middle to Njoku who turned upfield and scored from 77 yards out. During the play, PV defender Stephen Soravilla, who was trying to chase after Njoku and bring him down, took a nasty and questionable shot from a Wayne Hills player who was trying to block him. No flag was thrown for the hit and possible taunt afterwards, causing the Valley sideline to erupt. Soravilla had to be helped off the field, but did return to action later in the game, showing no apparent ill effects from the hit. PV players, coaches, and fans were clearly frusturated that the Patriots got away with a hit that they deemed illegal.

Cusumano, who was unhappy with the call during the game, downplayed the incident following the game.

“You can’t nitpick out different calls that officials have to make,” Cusumano said. “You got to make the officials officiate, coaches coach, players play. It’s as simple as that.”

Pascack Valley (1-4) will play next on Friday night, when it hosts Demarest (4-2) at 6 p.m. The Indians won their matchup with Demarest last season, a 48-42 shootout.