Old Tappan 22 Shabazz 8
November 13, 2026
Old Tappan broke open a game tied 8-8 at the half by scoring 15 unanswered points in the second half for a 22-8 win over Shabazz to win the North Jersey Section 1 Group 3 championship. They will meet West Essex next week to determine the North Jersey Group 3 champion.
First Quarter: Shabazz drove over six minutes on eleven plays, gaining 11, 9, 6, 4, 26, 3, and 7 yards to set up a first-and-goal on the 9-yard line. The 26-yard play was a run by quarterback Kariem Coston to the 19. Coston ran 7 yards to the 1 on third down, but the fourth-down play was stopped; Coston, on the RPO, was slowed by a penetrating Rocco Bartolemeo and wrapped up by Vincent Rossi to turn the ball over on downs for a 3-yard loss.
Old Tappan started on their 4, and moved the ball. An 18-yard pass from Zach Miceli to Shane Small gave the Golden Knights a first down on the 27. An 11-yard pass to Nick Blanchard put the ball on the Shabazz 49, but Fahiq Amin’s sack forced a punt.
Second Quarter: A 14-yard pop pass to Nosym Brown brought Shabazz to their 40, and two runs by Coston gave them a first down on OT 35. On third-and-1, Blanchard broke through the line and tackled Amin for a 5-yard loss, and their fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
OT started on their 31, and Miceli completed three passes to Leo Etter for 19, 8, and 9 yards to bring the ball to the 15. Miceli ran 11 yards for a first-and-goal on the 4, and he scored on the next play. The two-point conversion was successful for an 8-0 Old Tappan lead.
Brown fielded the ensuing kickoff on his 26, broke through a group of players and went down the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown. The two-point try succeeded, and it was 8-8 with 3:39 left.
Old Tappan got going, starting with a 19-yard run by Julius Lai to their 49. A 21-yard pass to Shane Small brought the ball to the 14, but they turned it over on downs at the 6-yard line with 33 seconds left.
On a wild play to end the half, Brown took the handoff at the Shabazz 18 and ran through the defense, assisted by two big blocks from Coston running down the field. But Brown tripped over Coston’s foot at the 10-yard line as time expired, ending a 72-yard run. (See the bottom of the article).
Third Quarter: Old Tappan took over at the 34 and struck immediately when Miceli found Small for 33 yards to the Shabazz 33. Miceli ran 18 yards to the 9 and scored on a 6-yard run two plays later, as the Golden Knights went ahead, 15-8.
Shabazz moved quickly on the ensuing drive, picking up first downs on three of the first four plays, but the drive stalled, and Old Tappan took over on their 37.
Fourth Quarter: Shabazz was forced to punt midway through the quarter, when a bad snap forced punter Faheem Ausbon to run, and he was tackled on the Shabazz 36. Three plays later, Miceli broke through the line and scored a 30-yard touchdown to make it 22-7, with 4:54 left.
Four incomplete Shabazz passes on the ensuing possession gave the ball to Old Tappan, who advanced to the 2 before taking a knee.
Comments: Miceli led the way, running for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns and completing 11-of-17 passes for 142 yards. Small had 4 receptions for 83 yards and Etter had 4 for 46. The defense was impressive, limiting the Shabazz offense, with Blanchard making big plays. The lone Shabazz touchdown was a kick return, and the Knights were lucky on the long run before the half.
Shabazz might have done more had they finished some drives. They also had the misfortune of a sure touchdown being stopped by teammates tripping at the 10-yard line. The offense had the ball three times in the first half and were in Old Tappan territory each time. The same thing happened on the opening drive of the second half. The errant punt snap also gave Old Tappan great field position for their final touchdown. They had a good year, but it ended in disappointment.
*The trip at the end of the first half was one of those things. Coston, the quarterback, threw two good blocks running down the field, and was in the midst of a third block when his foot met Brown’s. If it wasn’t for his blocks, the play may not have gone as far.