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Evan Jones

PV "deflated" Montclair in their 20-13 win, similarly to Montclair's inflatable tunnel.

Run the ball at will, and if it doesn’t work, keep at it until it does.

That was the strategy the Pascack Valley football team employed Saturday in their matchup with Montclair, who was looking to rebound from a home loss last week. This strategy isn’t a new one for the Indians, especially not when playing Montclair. The Indians entered Woodman Field in Montclair coming off of a come from behind win against Hackensack, where the passing game actually made headlines.

In what was a marquee game, Pascack Valley’s second against a Group 5 school in as many weeks, the Indians came out ahead 20-13.

Flashback to September 12, 2014:

Montclair enters their game at Pascack Valley riding a 24 game winning streak, surely feeling unstoppable. After all, before Pascack Valley, 24 teams couldn’t find a way to beat the Mounties. Pascack Valley found a way- via the run. The Indians ran the ball at will en route to a 29-14 victory, ending Montclair’s win streak.

Last year it was Jorge Cortes starring in the backfield, this year, a new face, senior running back Andrew Flores showed that he is more than capable of filling the void.

“We use a [running back rotation], so no, I wasn’t expecting to get as much time as I did,” said Flores who absolutely dominated, recording 126 yards on 22 carries.

After stagnation was seemingly crippling the Indians (2-0) early in the second half, they found their spark in the fourth quarter. This time, up 12-7 with 10:43 in the fourth, Mounties quarterback Tarrin Earle connected with wide receiver Elijah Robinson for 47 yards to put Montclair (0-2) up 13-12. But after a failed attempt at a two-point conversion, the rest of the game would be deemed a failure for Montclair.

The Mounties defense was no match for the Indians in the fourth, who would record three first downs in a span of nearly three minutes. More impressive however, was Pascack Valley’s drive that would end up being the game winner.

First down and ten on the twenty yard line: the red zone. Games are won or lost here, and Pascack Valley won in the red zone with just about seven minutes remaining.

Finding themselves at third and sixteen with 7:08 left to play after a five-yard penalty and an incompletion, quarterback Colin Dedrick, in normal fashion, connected with wide receiver Mike Pimpinella for a 26 yard touchdown, putting PV up 20-13, thanks to a successful two-point conversion.

Dedrick immediately points to one aspect of the game when talking about the execution by Pascack Valley on that late game drive.

“We have a lot of seniors playing, a lot of seasoned vets on the line and at wide receiver. That helps,” he said.

Pascack Valley played well offensively, including field goals, of 24 and 28 yards respectively, in addition to Pimpinella’s 26-yard touchdown catch and running back Jake Giambona’s early six-yard touchdown run.

Montclair regained possession with plenty of time on the clock, and the defense responded with the game’s critical stop.

“We win with our defense,” said coach Craig Nielsen. “I’ve always been a defense guy.”

That stop came on the Mounties final drive of the game, where they failed to convert on third and fourth downs, one of the lone failures on the day.

In typical Pascack Valley fashion, the defense put on a clinic, evident when junior Noah Baumgarten recorded two sacks, pummeling Montclair’s offensive line. The other sack, by senior Joe Williams, came in just the same way. With those sacks, came hard hits, resulting in numerous tackles for loss, and a forced fumble from Mike Gramegna that was scooped up by Joe Colasuono of PV. Defensive back Mike Soravilla also recorded a 45-yard interception. Seniors Joe Colasuono and Connor Jones also played a stronger game in the secondary.

Some may have expected a high scoring game, favoring Montclair, but following Nielsen’s philosophy, defense was key to the Indians victory.

And for people who were doubting Pascack Valley?

To them, the result was never in question.

“I always knew we would win,” said Nielsen.