“We use this game for confidence and we keep moving forward,” Jake Williams said following the Pascack Valley’s 44-7 blowout win in Demarest.

Coming off of a poor performance in Week 2, the Indians were in desperate need of a win. On Friday night, the Indians’ got just what the doctor ordered: a strong performance in all three phases of the game.

On the offensive side of the ball, Valley ran all over Demarest’s defense. Behind the play of a strong offensive line, junior Jake Williams finished with 193 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while James Allmers and Sean Cuffe also ran for touchdowns of their own.

The key to Valley’s success on the ground? It’s pretty simple if you ask Jake Williams.

“Our line stepped up big time this week,” Williams said. “They opened the holes and I ran through them.”

A week after allowing 48 points in Paramus, the Valley defense returned to form, holding Demarest to just seven points. The Norsemen connected on a 41-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter for their lone score of the game.

“I thought the defense just stepped up,” Cusumano said. “[Defensive Coordinator] Coach Preciado had a great game plan this week, getting kids ready.”

The PV defensive-front did a good job of putting pressure on the Demarest signal caller, recording a season-high three sacks.  The Indians’ also had ten tackles for a loss.

“The kids focused in on their jobs, reading their keys a lot better,” Cusumano said. “I thought our tackling was a lot better and that was a big goal for us this week.”

Even the Indians’ special teams unit made a few standout plays.

Early in the first quarter, senior Stephen Soravilla blocked a punt to set up a short field for the Valley offense.

In the third quarter, a Williams punt pinned the Norsemen inside their own 1 yardline. After the Indians defense forced a three-and-out, Demarest was forced to bring out the punt unit in its own endzone. However, instead of punting the ball away, the Norsemen punter decided to run out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

Next week the Indians (2-1) will look to continue their momentum when they travel to Old Tappan on Friday night to take on the Golden Knights (2-2). Old Tappan will look to get back on track coming off of back-to-back losses to the two best teams in North Jersey, Ramapo and Wayne Hills.

“Every game is big,” Cusumano said. “We know what Old Tappan brings, always well coached, always great players. We gotta get back to work and get ready for them.”