Valley vs Cranford Semifinal North 2 Group 3 Preview

The Pascack Valley Panthers will play the undefeated Cranford Cougars in the semifinals of the North 2, Group 3 New Jersey State Tournament. No.4 Valley comes into the game with a 7-3 record while No.1 Cranford is undefeated with a 9-0 record. 

The Panthers have won 4 of their last 5 games including a 34-17 win against No.5 Montville on Friday night in the quarterfinal round of their state tournament. Quarterback Ethan Silcher finished the game with 230 total yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Dylan Hutchinson, Nick Savariego, and Conor Higgins were among the receivers who contributed to the team’s offensive success. 

The defense also played astoundingly, holding Montville to just 9 points through 3 quarters, and allowing a passing touchdown in garbage time of the 4th quarter. Defensive and offensive lineman, Delaware commit, and senior captain Steven Dembowski led the team in tackles (14) and sacks (3). Savariego also had a big impact on the defensive end, tallying 4 tackles, an interception, and 1 forced fumble. Montville’s dual-threat quarterback, Triston Perez finished the game with 160 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns along with 189 passing yards.

Valley has outscored their opponents 133-71 in the past 5 games, beating Wayne Hills, Demarest, Paramus, and Montville, respectively. They suffered a tough 21-7 loss to an undefeated Ramsey team in the regular-season finale. 

Running back and linebacker, Nick Messina has made a big contribution in their recent success both offensively and defensively. So far on offense this season, Messina has 1331 yards with 14 touchdowns on just over 200 carries. Hutchinson has been the team’s leading target totaling 798 yards on 51 receptions with 11 touchdowns. Savariego has been utilized on both the rushing and passing aspects of Valley’s offense. On the rushing end, he has 336 yards with 4 touchdowns on 44 carries. On the receiving end, he has 180 yards with 2 touchdowns on 10 receptions. 

“I think our O-line can block their D-line 1v1. I am going to have to step up and protect [as well],”Nick Messina said referring to preparing for the Cranford game. “You always have to have confidence going in. [If] we put up a lot of points against [Cranford] I think we have a really good shot at winning.”

Defensively, Messina is tied for most tackles on the team with 84, has 2 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble. Along with Messina and Dembowski, Justin Amato, Matt Bell, and Nick Bruzzi have had respectable performances this season. 

“[We’ve been able to play] a swarming style of defense. Our defensive line and our linebackers have all been pretty stout, and our secondary has really stepped up significantly. Every week I’ve noticed improvement,” coach Cusumano said.

Meanwhile, Cranford is coming off a 56-26 win against No.8 Demarest on Friday night in the quarterfinal round. Cranford started the game off slow, with the game being 7-6 Cranford early in the first quarter. However from then on, Cranford put the pedal to the metal and never stopped. Ranked No.18 in the state, Cranford had an astounding 49 points before halftime. Cranford is led by their Senior running back Colin Murray, who has 1,503 yards on the season and 27 touchdowns, in which 5 of them came against Demarest.

Valley has won 5 of their 6 home games compared to only winning half (2 out of 4) of their away games this season, but Cusumano doesn’t think being on the road will provide any setbacks this time.

“We really don’t think about that stuff. We’ll play with anybody, anytime, anywhere. We got to stay focused through the entire practice week, and carry that into the game,” Cusumano said.