September 15, 2018
I took in parts of two games tonight: the first half of Paramus-Pascack Valley and most of the last three quarters of Paramus Catholic-Hackensack.
Paramus-Pascack Valley
I expected this to be a close game and I was wrong; it was a 35-7 halftime lead for Paramus, a game they won 48-12. Paramus scored on the first play from scrimmage, followed by a three-and-out from Pascack Valley, and Paramus scored on their first play of the next drive. That made it 14-0 after the game was five plays old. Trevor Bopp found Justin McKeon on a swing pass of 60 yards to open the scoring, followed by Bopp going 67 yards on a keeper through the middle.
Paramus recovered a Valley fumble on the 39-yard line of PV and scored on a 32-yard pass to Kyle Jacobs. This drive was on on fourth-and-three, making it three touchdowns on four plays from scrimmage. Paramus then took over on the Valley 40, with Jacobs going 16 yards to the 22, 8 yards to the 14, and a touchdown on the following play. 28-0, Paramus, with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
Paramus made it 35-0 in the second quarter when Dan Chermark picked up a fumble and went approximately 25 yards for the touchdown. Valley scored on the final play of the half on a 13-yard pass and I decided it was time to check out another game, especially since the game started at 6:00 and others started at 7:00.
Paramus Catholic-Hackensack
I drove down Century Road, making a right on Paramus Road to Paramus Catholic. I arrived when Hackensack tied the score 14-14 in the second quarter. PC went up 21-14 with 47 seconds left in the half on a pass from Dorian Nowell to Jahsim Brooks of 19 yards. Hackensack would have scored on a touchdown pass on the final play, but a penalty brought the ball back and their last play resulted in a sack.
The second half was all offense and no defense.
PC came out and scored on a Tyshawn Brinson run, but the extra point failed. The score was set up on a beautiful pass from Nowell to Andy Ambroise of 30 yards. PC intercepted and went up 33-14 on a touchdown pass. Hackensack came back and scored on a 30-yard pass from Zion Frazier to Jordan Wimberly. Then it was Nahsim Brooks going 59 yards down the left sideline to make it 40-21. Then it was Hackensack on a 12-yard pass to Jordan Wimberly, deflecting off a PC defender in the end zone: 40-28.
At this point, it was hard to keep up with all the scoring. In the end, PC won 54-42. What an exciting game it was and there was a lot of young talent on the field for both teams.
For PC, Nowell is a sophomore who is going to be heard from in the next three years. They also have a good runner in Brinson, plus some talented sophomores in Brooks and safety Christian Abraham. There will be growing pains, but there is talent here.
Hackensack had two parts of their game tonight: the offense and defense. The defense allowed too many big plays and the tackling was poor. The passing of Zion Frazier enabled them to stay in the game when running back Tymere Robinson was kept in check. This is a team that has potential, but they still have many young players and may also have growing pains.
Anyone who came to this game received their money’s worth and I made the right decision to come here after the first half at Paramus.