Rutherford scored on two of their first four offensive plays and six of their first seven possessions, beating North Arlington, 42-13. Rutherford quarterback Van Weber passed for 175 yards and four touchdowns on 11-of-12 passing (courtesy of Jim McConville of northjerseysports.com) and most of the second half was played on a running clock.
First Quarter: After North Arlington went three-and-out, Rutherford scored on their first offensive play when Cole Goumas went 60 yards for a touchdown. North Arlington made two first downs on their following drive, but were forced to punt, giving Rutherford the ball on their 39. A 31-yard Weber pass to Ryan Ward, a 13-yard run by Goumas set up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Weber to Zach Herninko and a 14-0 lead with 3:30 left in the quarter. North Arlington went into Rutherford territory, courtesy of a 36-yard pass from Devin Rivas to Rob Carselda, but turned the ball over on downs.
Second Quarter: Rutherford drove again, scoring on a 22-yard pass to Herninko. The drive featured two passes from Weber to Chris Gioia of 12 and 15 yards. North Arlington struck when Rivas found Kyle Villani for a 77-yard touchdown to make it 21-6. Once again, Rutherford marched down the field, scoring when Weber found Gioia all alone on a pattern over the middle, turning it up the left sideline for a 28-yard score. Weber found Gioia earlier for 16 yards and Nick Lora had some nice gains running the ball. After Rutherford’s first punt, Rivas ran up the middle and fumbled with Rutherford recovering on the North Arlington 26 with 32 seconds left. Weber immediately found Gioia for 21 yards and then hit Ward on the right end zone sideline for a 5-yard score with 20 seconds left.
Third Quarter: Rutherford came out with the ball and struck quickly on a 33-yard touchdown run by Goumas, putting the game on a running clock.
Fourth Quarter: North Arlington scored on a 65-yard pass from Rivas to Villani.
Comments: Rutherford was the better team. Weber utilized his receivers and spread things around. They also showed the ability to run the ball. I don’t have the official stats for Goumas, but his two touchdown runs totalled 93 yards. Add his 13-yard run on their second drive and he is over 100. They have outscored their six opponents by a score of 247-66 and may not be challenged until the playoffs, which will be a highly competitive Group 2 in North Jersey.
While North Arlington was soundly beaten, they had a few bright spots; most notably Rivas. He is a very good quarterback and prevented the game from being on a running clock the entire second half. He was 12-24 passing for 236 yards and two touchdowns with Villani gaining 142 of those yards on his two touchdown receptions. Carselda also had his moments receiving the ball.