The Old Tappan Golden Knights (11-1) ran past the Pascack Valley Panthers (10-2) 43-14 on a rainy and snowy night at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, New Jersey.
@nvotfootball runs past @PValleyFootball 43-14 @NJSIAA #Group3TournamentSemifinals tonight @PascackValleyHS #Hillsdale #NewJersey @ONNJSports 🏈 pic.twitter.com/JudLkBZypF
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
Old Tappan wasted no time jumping out to a quick lead. A six-play drive included a deep pass completion by quarterback Zach Miceli to wide receiver Leo Etter, which advanced the ball to the Pascack Valley 35-yard line.
On first-and-10 at the Panthers’ 15-yard line, Miceli took the snap in shotgun formation, rolled out to his left, and rumbled to the end zone untouched as the Golden Knights led 7-0 with eight and a half minutes left.
@nvotfootball QB @Zach_Miceli 15 yd. TD run against @PValleyFootball in the first quarter 🏈 pic.twitter.com/WBvZJoejHp
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
Pascack Valley ignited a rebuttal by marching down the field in 12 plays and 65 yards, which chewed up nearly five minutes off the clock. The drive continued with a 19-yard run by quarterback Adam Shaw, which pushed the ball down to the Old Tappan 11-yard line.
The Panthers faced a fourth-and-goal at the three-yard line when Shaw lined up in shotgun formation, took the snap, and ran to his left before cutting back to the middle and barreling across the goal line for the touchdown that tied the game at seven
@PValleyFootball QB #AdamShaw @Adam_Shawdawg 3 yd. TD run against @nvotfootball in the first quarter. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/m4gPhtiBAm
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
The Golden Knights were back in business on the ensuing kickoff, with Christakis Niccolaou catching the ball at the nine-yard line, running straight ahead, sprinting to the right side of the field, and darting down to the Pascack Valley 46-yard line.
Old Tappan needed only five plays to reach the end zone. Miceli took the snap in shotgun formation and, following the offensive line, plowed ahead across the goal line.
@nvotfootball QB @Zach_Miceli 5 yd. TD run against @PValleyFootball in the first quarter. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/db3IzeojEw
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
The Golden Knights elected for the two-point conversion attempt. Miceli took the snap in shotgun formation, then lobbed a pass to Alex Orecchio. Orecchio accelerated to the right side of the field and stretched the ball across the pylon, extending the lead to 15-7 with one minute remaining in the first quarter.
@nvotfootball QB @Zach_Miceli tosses a pass to @alexorecchio on the two-point conversion attempt then Orecchio darts to the right side of field and stretches the ball across the pylon that extends the Golden Knights lead to 15-7 against @PValleyFootball in the first quarter 🏈 pic.twitter.com/qQUdHGCHhI
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
In the second quarter, Old Tappan strung together another impressive 11 play, 79-yard drive that culminated in Orecchio taking a shotgun snap, muscling his way through several players and extending the ball across the goal line as the Golden Knights went up 22-7.
@nvotfootball QB @alexorecchio 5 yd. TD run against @PValleyFootball in the second quarter. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/m2qUAKYqcD
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
Once the third quarter began, Old Tappan’s offense was firing on all cylinders. Miceli completed another deep pass to Orecchio, who moved the ball close to the red zone in Panther territory.
Orecchio scored his second touchdown, taking the snap in shotgun formation and churning his way across the goal line into the end zone for the five-yard touchdown with five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Despite the deficit, Pascack Valley answered back immediately in five plays on their ensuing offensive possession sparked by a 62-yard run from Shaw down to the Golden Knights three-yard line.
On second-and-goal at the one-yard line, the Panthers’ running back Kevin Regula took the handoff from Shaw and drove straightforward into the end zone for the score, and Pascack Valley drew to within 29-14 with three minutes left.
In the fourth quarter, Old Tappan played smash-mouth football by pounding the rock in the running game with a nine-play drive, resulting in running back Nicholas Rossi taking the handoff from quarterback Orecchio. Rossi snaked his way through a maze of players and broke free into the end zone for the 20-yard touchdown with six minutes to go.
The Golden Knights sealed the dominating victory over the Panthers in style with Orecchio taking the snap and bolting through a wide-open lane on his way to a 49-yard score with less than two minutes left.
@nvotfootball QB @alexorecchio notches his third rushing TD of the game, scampering 49 yds. to the end zone against @PValleyFootball in the fourth quarter. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/sgswJQkB44
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) November 23, 2024
Next up for Old Tappan is a match-up vs. Mainland (10-3) in the Group 3 Tournament Final at SHI Stadium/Rutgers University on Sunday, December 1st, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
