Pascack Valley 35 River Dell 7

October 19, 2024

Pascack Valley beat River Dell 35-7 in a battle of one-loss teams, led by four touchdown passes and another run by Adam Shaw. 

First Quarter: Pascack Valley took possession on their 48 after a River Dell punt. After picking up a first down, Shaw found Dante DaCosta down the field for a 41-yard touchdown. River Dell returned the ensuing kickoff to the 50, but a sack by Colin McMorrow with pressure from Shane Burke and an incomplete pass made it third-and-16. Under a heavy pass rush, Marc Dellaquila intercepted Zion Yoon’s pass on the 15 and the Indians took over.  Shaw made two runs and brought the ball to the River Dell 49. After a Valley penalty, Shaw found Ashton Kazinci for 22 yards to the River Dell 38. Two plays later, Shaw found DaCosta again down the right sideline for a 38-yard score. 

Second Quarter: The quarter began with a forced fumble by Dante Ricciardi on Yoon and PV recovered on the River Dell 21. On third down, Shaw found Michael Fronzaglia for a 14-yard touchdown. Pascack Valley took over on their 45 after a River Dell punt. Five plays later, Shaw ran for a 35-yard score to make it 28-0 with 4:46 remaining. 

Third Quarter: River Dell drove nearly eight-and-a-half minutes after a Valley punt. They picked up four first downs after not having any in the first half but turned it over on downs at the Valley 37. Two of those first downs were converted in fourth down. 

Fourth Quarter: Shaw connected with Fonzaglia, who ran most of the way for a 40-yard touchdown pass, making it 35-0 with 9:23 left, and the running clock was in place. River Dell drove down the field and scored on a 1-yard run by Mason Nagle. The key play in the drive was a 36-yard pass from Jayden Kim to RJ Weiss that brought the ball to the 2-yard line. 3:28 was remaining and the teams put in the reserves at this point. 

Comments: Pascack Valley was dominant for most of the game. Shaw turned in a terrific performance and the defense was outstanding, winning the battle up front. Numerous defenders were active, including Burke, McMorrow, Ricciardi, Marley Smith, Colin Krause, and Nick Lamparillo. The defense was consistently around the ball and did not allow a first down in the first half. Shaw completed 10 of 12 passes for 178 yards and 4 touchdowns while rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. That was a big part of the Valley offense with five touchdowns on seven drives, including scores on their first four possessions. Things will be tough next week with a showdown against undefeated Old Tappan. 

Little went right River Dell. They were dominated in the first half. I thought of leaving at halftime to go to the Westwood-Ramsey game but decided to stay. I wanted to see how River Dell reacted in the second half and I am happy to say they competed. While it did not produce any points, the long drive in the third quarter showed they were not quitting. They got on the board on their second drive late in the game. That made me glad I stayed the entire game – and I considered leaving at the half. The Golden Hawks have a tough outing next week against Westwood. 

Bonus: Westwood-Ramsey game. I arrived late in the first half in what was turning into a chippy affair. I missed much of the last drive, but there were many penalties. When I called my friend while leaving the Valley parking lot, there were under two minutes remaining and when I took the five-to-ten-minute drive over, the game was still in progress. That includes my parking, walking in, and stopping in the men’s room and concession stand, making it lengthy. The game I saw was not pretty. There was a long touchdown run by Klein and a touchdown with four minutes left. At that point, it was time to go home.