Valley falls to undefeated Ramsey 21-7

Ethan Schwartz, Sports Writer|October 29, 2021

Leesung Dang

Dylan Hutchinson tallies another reception to the list also adding on some receiving yards.

Both defenses showed up to play in the first half of tonight’s game as the weather played a role in fumbles as well as interceptions. 

Ramsey had 2 picks in the game as well as a fumble recovery while Valley had 1 pick and a fumble recovery forced on the 1 yard line.

Ramsey defeated Pascack Valley by a score of 21-7 in Ramsey at 7 p.m Friday night. The game was a closely fought defensive battle, with a 7-7 scoreline holding up for the entirety of the second and third quarter before Ramsey took the lead courtesy of a 10 yard touchdown reception from Luca Gemma. 

“We gotta give them credit,” Cusumano said. “They had a lot of good plays and they did a really good job.” 

It seemed as though neither side could gain the upper hand in the first half, as both teams’ first half touchdowns and fumbles respectively were canceled out on the opposition’s following possession. 

The first half didn’t offer much offensively from either side, with only 126 total rushing yards and 116 passing yards between them by halftime.

But Valley were unable to respond to Ramsey’s go-ahead touchdown with 10 minutes remaining, and Ramsey sealed the victory with another Gemma touchdown following Ethan Silcher’s interception on the following drive. 

Making amends for his first half fumble, Gemma rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown, as well as 25 receiving yards and a touchdown catch, all occurring in the 4th quarter. 

It was Valley who scored first on the night, with Nick Messina rushing into the endzone soon after his critical 4th-down conversion kept the drive alive. 

Ramsey responded quickly after a blown coverage let Joseph Hunt break loose for a 72-yard touchdown. 

Hunt’s touchdown was an outlier in a defensively rigid first half, with his play accounting for nearly 30% of the total all-purpose yards in the first half. 

After two full quarters with no score, Valley’s defensive resistance was finally broken as Ramsey quarterback Danny Veenstra connected with Gemma for a 4th quarter touchdown. 

This concludes the Panthers regular season and the results for who we will play in the playoffs is not available yet. We will be sure to let you know who they will be facing as well as the details. The game will be next friday yet we still will await our opponent. 

“We gotta get back to work next week, and focus on more opponents,” Cusumano said. “We’re excited to be in the playoffs and it will be a great opportunity for all of us.”