To Pascack Valley coach Craig Nielsen, the 35-14 loss on Friday night to DePaul was not concerning. Valley had to take their game to the air as DePaul had stopped Pascack Valley’s go- to run game.

“They got off the ball better than us,” said Nielsen.

Not being in their comfort zone was not the biggest problem for the Indians, as they squandered opportunities to put points on the board. An interception returned for a touchdown by Mike Pimpinella near the end of the first half that would have cut DePaul’s lead to 14-7 was called back due to a penalty. Valley also was unable to convert off of a fumble recovery inside the DePaul 20 in the first half.

Valley’s trouble on defense was stopping DePaul’s many weapons, including running back Kareem Walker, who had 19 carries for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. Walker, considered by many as the top running back in the Class of 2016 nationally, had two long TD runs in the second half to help squelch PV’s comeback attempts.

Valley’s offense did not come alive until the fourth quarter, when quarterback Colin Dedrick threw both of his touchdowns passes. The first was a 42 yard pass to Greg Collier, the second to Jake Giambona. In total, Collier caught 8 passes for 122 yards and the touchdown.

The two touchdowns proved that Valley was playing a close game with one of the best teams in the state which brought them within 14 points. After the second touchdown, the Indians recovered an onside kick.

The Indians have proved to be one of the best public school teams in North Jersey, beating a really good Montclair team and playing a close game with one of the best teams in the state in DePaul.

Dedrick is ranked sixth in the state in passing yards and fifth in completions through the first two games of the season. Dedrick is also first in both categories in the Big North Independence Division according to MaxPreps.com. Dedrick is 31-for-62 with 451 yards, 5 TDs, and 2 INTs.

Running back Jorge Cortes is ranked second in the Big North Independence Division in rushing yards according to MaxPreps. Though he was limited to 29 yards on Friday night, through two games, Cortes has 196 yards on 41 carries.

Collier is ranked 10th in the state and 1st in the Big North Independence Division in receiving yards. Collier is also tied for the lead in the division in receptions along with Jack Madden. Madden ranks fourth in the division in receiving yards. Collier has 11 receptions for 178 yards and 2 TDs and Madden has 11 receptions for 123 yards, through the first two games of the season

Rocco Swatek ranks 2nd in the Big North Independence and 16th in the state in tackles. Swatek has 26 tackles through the first two games of the season. Greg Collier ranks fourth in the division with 18 tackles.

Oddly, PV slipped one spot to No. 13 in The Star-Ledger’s Top 20 in the state, while Montclair jumped over PV into the No. 12 spot… all this despite the fact that PV beat Montclair 29-14 a week ago.