Bergenfield 28 River Dell 26 

September 7, 2023

Bergenfield beat River Dell, 28-26, on a late 15-yard field goal by Josh Hur, his second of the game. The game was delayed ninety minutes by lightning, as I went home and caught much of the second half on the internet. 

I was unable to get all of the third quarter with the picture having problems. River Dell was leading, 19-10, at that point and I picked it up at the beginning of the fourth quarter with the score remaining the same. 

First Quarter: River Dell opened the game with Chris Kelm returning the opening kickoff to the Bergenfield 40. The Hawks made it as far as the 10-yard line, but turned it over on downs. Bergenfield drove to their 40 and punted. River Dell drove down the field and opened the scoring on a touchdown pass from Zion Yoon to RJ Weiss; the extra point failed and it was 6-0, River Dell, with five seconds left in the quarter. Weiss recognized no defender was on him and he signaled Yoon, who immediately threw to the sideline, where Weiss evaded one opponent and carried another into the end zone.  

Second Quarter: Bergenfield drove inside the River Dell 10 on a 26-yard pass from Gabe Perez to Hur down the middle, who slipped past the River Dell secondary. The Bears settled for a field goal attempt, but it bounced off the holder’s fingertips and River Dell took over on the 15. The Hawks punted with Bergenfield on their 29. Perez ran 15 yards to the 44 and he followed it up with a 55-yard run to the 1-yard line. Bergenfield then acted as if they couldn’t stand prosperity. They fumbled and recovered on the 1, bobbled a shotgun snap to the 4, took a penalty to the 9, and ended up kicking a 17-yard field goal by Hur with two minutes remaining. At this point, the game was delayed by lightning for at least 30 minutes. Approximately 10 minutes later, I chose to go home. 

Second Quarter Conclusion: River Dell picked up on their 31 with a first down. On third-and-10, Yoon evaded the pass rush and scrambled to the sideline, where Bergenfield was hit with a personal foul for a first down on the River Dell 48. Yoon deserves credit for evading the rush, getting to the sideline, and drawing the penalty. River Dell got the ball to the 46 and Bergenfield was hit with another 15-yard penalty to put River Dell on the Bergenfield 31. On fourth down, Yoon found Weiss again for a 24-yard touchdown just past the right pylon, as the Hawks extended their lead to 12-3.  

Third Quarter: Bergenfield started with the ball and Perez found Hur for a 70-yard score to make it 12-10. River Dell answered with a 31-yard touchdown by Yoon, keeping it on the RPO and going to the right. 

Fourth Quarter: Bergenfield scored early in the quarter on a 23-yard run by Perez to cut River Dell’s lead to 19-17. On River Dell’s ensuing possession, Bergenfield’s Aaron Cruz intercepted a pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was good and the Bears led, 25-19. River Dell appeared to be back in front on an 80-yard touchdown pass, but the play was called back for an illegal man downfield. River Dell made the break they needed when they recovered a Bergenfield fumble on the Bergenfield 41. The Hawks went in front when Yoon connected with Weiss for 11 yards and a 26-25 lead. Starting on their 23, Perez found AJ Martinez for 19 yards to the 42. Perez then took off for 23 yards to the River Dell 32. The Bears eventually kicked a 25-yard field goal by Hur to take the lead with little time left. 

Comments: It was an exciting game and the 90-minute delay makes this one very memorable. For starters, Perez is an outstanding football player that is not well known, even in Bergen County. Listed at 6-2, 210, he is the real deal at quarterback and inside linebacker. Hur was also a big star tonight with his two field goals and touchdown reception. The Bears were resilient and there were times they looked ready to self-destruct. But Perez was the prime mover who made plays running and passing, leading the team to victory. 

It was a tough loss for River Dell, who is 0-2 and faces a tough Westwood team next week. They seemed ready to take over the game when they went up, 19-10, but they couldn’t put Bergenfield away. The positive of the night was Yoon, a sophomore quarterback, and Weiss, a junior receiver, who connected for three touchdowns. This is a young team that is learning and will improve as the season progresses.