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Dating back to last season, Wayne Valley has found itself in numerous football games decided in the final moments. This trend continued in the Indians' key matchup with Paramus, with the contest not decided until the last offensive play for the Spartans. After failing on the 2 point conversion, Paramus fell to Wayne Valley 22-21, giving the Indians a crucial victory and allowing them to rebound from their tough loss to Wayne Hills the week before. |
After a punt down to the 1 yard line, Wayne Valley and their strong defense forced the first points of the game as Paramus fumbled its own punt attempt and was tackled in the end zone to concede a safety.
Shortly after, the defense once again pulled through and stopped Paramus on a big fourth down play within their own 20 yard line. The Indians then carried that momentum over to the offensive side as the first play was a long 54 yard run by Mike Castles down the right sideline. On the same drive, QB Pete Savastano converted a big 4th and ten pass to Anthony Verrilli to keep the scoring drive alive. The long possession was finished off by a 15 yard TD run by Castles and the missed extra point gave Valley an 8-0 lead.
After a Paramus TD and a successful 2 point conversion tied the football game, Savastano took over with a 3 yard TD run in the third quarter shortly followed by a 5 yard scoring pass to Greg LaNeve. The quarterback then topped it off with a successful 2 pt conversion pass to Verrilli. The Indians led 22-8 midway through the fourth quarter and appeared on their way to victory.
But Paramus started its sports comeback attempt with a 75 yard touchdown pass from John Robertson to Kevin Grady on its ensuing possession. After getting the ball back late in the 4th quarter, Robertson engineered an impressive final drive which was topped off by a 10 yard scoring pass to Anthony Mordaga. Down just one and an extra point away from the tie, Paramus instead chose to go for two and the win. Robertson quickly looked to the right but Mike Pascrell batted down the ball and sealed the victory for the Indians with a final score of 22-21.
Coach Brian O’Connor was once again pleased with the effort his defense put forth, especially on their final stop. Wayne Valley takes on rival Passaic Valley (3-0) next week in their first away game since the opener. -- Anthony Mulvihill for Jersey Sports Now
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