In our first year of covering high school sports in the Passaic and Morris County area, our reporters and cameramen attended more than 300 games.  Here is a countdown of the Top 20 games that we saw this year:

20.  Whippany Park-Mountain Lakes boys' basketball--Down by two points with just seconds to play, the Wildcats were in deep trouble, especially since the Lakers were about to bring the ball in.  But the inbounds pass went awry and Evan Ganley scored on a layup to force overtime.  Whippany Park then pulled it out in a wild OT session, blocking a shot at the buzzer to win 63-62.

19.  Mountain Lakes-West Essex girls' lacrosse--The Lakers had already defied expectations by winning the Group I state title.  They weren't supposed to defeat a red-hot Knights team in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.  But Mountain Lakes had other ideas, with scoring runs of six and seven goals en route to a thoroughly impressive 18-9 rout, the final win in its greatest girls' lax season ever.

18.  Pompton Lakes-Elmwood Park football--Trailing in the second half, the Cardinals were stopped once at the one-yard line, then had a touchdown wiped out by a penalty.  But with four minutes left, Pompton Lakes started a drive that culminated in Sean Carey's touchdown pass to Scott Matthews that gave the Cardinals a thrilling 21-20 win.  The victory helped propel Pompton Lakes into the state playoffs.

17.  Kinnelon-Mountain Lakes boys' soccer--With the league title on the line, Kinnelon scored just seconds into the game, but couldn't convert on numerous other chances, and the Lakers rallied to tie the game and force overtime.  But the Colts' Ben Tabor converted the golden goal to clinch the league crown;  Kinnelon also went on to win a sectional title.

16.  Wayne Valley-West Orange football--The Indians won several close games en route to their fourth straight league title.  In this one, which clinched the crown, Wayne Valley rallied from behind twice, with Ryan Durr's touchdown run putting them ahead.  The Mountaineers' last chance was stopped on an interception in the end zone by Pat LaNeve as the Indians pulled out a 27-23 victory.

15.  Pompton Lakes-Glen Rock wrestling--An exciting match that came down to the final bout, made far more memorable because of two milestones.  The 36-31 victory was the 200th for coach Scott Mahoney, and the match-clinching win by Evan Lodder was also the 100th victory of his career.

14.  Montville-Madison hockey--Montville had never won a post-season title of any kind since starting its hockey program, and was the underdog in the Haas Cup final.  Down 2-0, the Mustangs scored twice in under a minute to tie the game, saw the Dodgers re-take the lead in the third period, then fired in three quick goals to snag a 5-3 win and hoist the Cup.

13.  West Milford-Sparta boys' basketball--After a remarkable win in their first state game (see below), the Highlanders played another thriller in the sectional semifinals.  Top seed Sparta built a nine-point halftime lead, but West Milford responded with an absurd 23-2 run.  After the Spartans closed to within two, the Highlanders scored the next nine points, then cruised to a 75-64 win.

12.  DePaul-Wayne Valley football--This matchup of cross-town rivals brought out a huge crowd, and the game did not disappoint.  DePaul built a 20-0 lead only to see Wayne Valley score the next 21 points.  The contest then went back and forth, with both teams making huge plays, until a James Jurewicz touchdown run in the final seconds gave the Spartans a pulsating 42-35 triumph.

11.  Pequannock-Indian Hills softball--The Panthers came into this sectional final on a mind-boggling hitting surge.  But against imposing pitcher Katie Enright, they got only one hit, a double by Kayla Lombardo.  A suicide squeeze bunt by Noelle Ramirez converted that hit into a run, and pitcher Megan Brain held off the Braves for a 1-0 win, clearly the stiffest challenge Pequannock faced en route to winning a Group II state title.

10.  Kinnelon-Chatham boys' lacrosse--After elimimating Mountain Lakes in the Group I semifinals, the Colts could have suffered a letdown in the final.  And they did find themselves trailing 9-6 entering the final quarter.  But Kinnelon charged back, scoring five consecutive goals and earning an 11-9 win for the first lacrosse state title in school history.

9.  Lakeland-Roxbury girls' soccer--This wild sectional semifinal game went back and forth, the Lancers taking a 1-0 lead only to see Roxbury score late in the second half to tie the game.  The next few minutes saw each team have great chances to win the game before Emily Viola finally scored the golden goal for the Lancers in overtime.

8.  Montville-Paramus wrestling--This sectional final featured a raucous packed house and an inspired effort by a Mustangs team that knew it had a chance to make history.  Montville never really let Paramus into the match, winning the toss-ups and clinching the bout early to secure the first section title in the school's history.

7.  Pequannock-West Essex baseball--A classic pitchers' duel in the state Group II semifinals.  Jordan Tabakman of the Panthers, despite a hamstring injury, worked out of several jams with the help of his defense and a key umpire's call.  The game remained a scoreless tie until George Chrencik's solo blast in the 6th.  Tabakman closed the door, and Pequannock went on to win the state title later that week.

6.  West Milford-Wayne Hills boys' basketball--A frenzied atmosphere in the packed gym at Wayne Hills in this sectional quarterfinal game between two quality teams.  The Highlanders led for most of the game before the Patriots rallied to take a late edge.  But Rob Nylund's huge three-pointer put West Milford back on top, and the Highlanders survived several attempts in the final seconds to win 62-60.

5.  Kinnelon-Mountain Lakes boys' lacrosse--You could put either of the Colts' historic wins over the Lakers on this list, but we're going with their state playoff triumph in the Group I semifinals.  Defying the experts, Kinnelon seized control of the game in the second quarter and held on after the half to post an 8-6 win.  It ended Lakes' two-year run as the #1 team in the state and led to Kinnelon's first ever state title.

4.  Pequannock-Morris Knolls softball--The Morris County final was already a crazy game heading into the sixth inning, with the score tied at 7-7.  Then the Panthers came up with an inning they'll never forget.  Pequannock pushed an incredible 13 runs across the plate, breaking all kinds of records and winning 20-8.  Not only did the game give the Panthers the county championship, but it ended a trend of losing big games and helped propel them to win the state Group II title as well.

3.  Mountain Lakes-Cedar Grove football--Simply a tremendous high school football game between two unbeaten teams that proved key in the Herd's championship season.  Down nine points in the fourth quarter, Mountain Lakes was backed up to its own end zone but rallied, hitting a long touchdown pass from Jake Tripucka to Austin DiMarco to make the game close.  After a defensive stop, the Herd converted a huge fourth down, then another long pass, and finally went ahead on a Greg DeLuca run.  Cedar Grove's last gasp drive went nowhere, and Mountain Lakes added a last-minute touchdown to ice an amazing 32-21 comeback win.

2.  Lakeland-DePaul football--The Lancers had several exciting games in their run to a league title and a sectional final.  This was the best, a game which strongly tilted in DePaul's favor in the first half, but a Lakeland goal-line stand as the clock ran out kept it just 7-0 at the break.  The second half became the Dan Deighan show; the Lancer quarterback had two lengthy touchdown runs to put his team ahead.  DePaul tied the game with about three minutes left, but that just set the stage for more Deighan heroics: a long kickoff return, then another big run to set up the winning touchdown in a 21-14 victory that clinched the league crown for Lakeland.

1.  Mountain Lakes-Glen Rock football--The Herd finished off a perfect season with a stirring win on the state's biggest stage:  Giants Stadium.  Mountain Lakes moved the ball well on offense, but had a hard time with elusive Panthers quarterback Chuck Stewart.  The Herd took the lead for the first time in the third quarter, then after a huge defensive stop deep in their own territory, Nick LoBiondo ran 84 yards for the game's key score.  Mountain Lakes went on to post a 35-21 victory to complete the perfect year.

We considered the importance of the game and the pure excitement level in creating this list.  Other games considered included:  Lakeland-Delbarton and Pequannock-Butler football, Lakeland-DePaul girls' soccer, Pompton Lakes-Montclair Kimberley field hockey, Teaneck-West Milford boys' basketball, Wayne Hills-Lakeland girls' basketball, Mountain Lakes-West Essex hockey, Pompton Lakes-Eastern Christian baseball, West Milford-Mount St. Dominic and Wayne Hills-Pompton Lakes softball, Wayne Valley-Montville and Delbarton-Mountain Lakes boys' lacrosse, and Kinnelon-Morris Catholic girls' lacrosse.  -- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now