Schools
Football: Aviators Opener Spoiled by Dominating Saddle Brook
Heights defeated by Saddle Brook 37 to 7
It was probably the worst timing for Hasbrouck Heights football team to face the likes of Saddle Brook.
The Aviators showed that they are still in preseason form and the Falcons showed that they are considered the favorites for the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Meadowlands B division and the Group 1 North 1 state championship.
Hasbrouck Heights got behind early on Friday night and the Falcons ran to a 37-7 victory over the Aviators in the 2011 season opener for both teams at Depken Field.
Aviators quarterback Anthony Seidel coughed up the ball in the first drive and Saddle Brook capitalized on it.
Hasbrouck Heights never could get in gear and the Falcons as Seidel was kept at bay in running and all you had to do was look at his numbers for the game with 12 carries for minus-16 yards.
The top offensive producer came from sophomore quarterback Darren Iurato who ran six times for 52 yards with most though coming when many of the Falcons starters were out of the game.
And the Aviators defense could not control running back Steve Longa, who will be playing Rutgers University next fall, as the senior collected four touchdowns, three via the ground and 114 yards.
But thoughts of a Heights upset went out the window as the Aviators handed the ball back too many times to Saddle Brook. "You can't turn over the ball three times and expect to defeat a good team," said Hasbrouck Heights head coach Nick Delcalzo.
The Falcons head coach Leo Ciappina made sure they would not look past the Aviators after the Falcons had defeated Heights in 2010, 21-0, in the opener.
"I kept reminding them that Hasbrouck Heights has a great football program," said Ciappina.
What was even harder to swallow was that Saddle Brook had big plays including three of the five touchdowns with more than 47 yards that the Aviators defense could not stop. "It was a tough loss because they manhandled us," said Delcalzo.
The loss to Saddle Brook makes next week's game at St. Mary (Saturday, 1:30 p.m. at Tamblyn Field in Rutherford) even more important in the division and to collect power points for the state playoffs. The Aviators lost last season to the Gaels, 22-21.
The preview of what was about to take place against Saddle Brook came in the first series of Hasbrouck Heights.
The suffocating Falcons defense just did not let Aviators quarterback Anthony Seidel do his thing on the ground as Saddle Brook would constantly stuff Seidel in the backfield as the first two plays went for negative yards and then a miss snap was recovered by Saddle Brook's Joe Camilleri at Heights 17.
It only took three plays on the Falcons side to score as Longa scored from one-yard out. The extra point was good and Heights was down 7-0 with less than three minutes in the first quarter.
By the time the first quarter was done, Aviators were down 21-0 and their offense was not driving.
As the game went along, Delcalzo tried different sets with different quarterbacks from Seidel to junior Joey Crabbe and Iurato.
Behind Iurato the Aviators did move the ball, but it came in the fourth quarter and the Falcons were already up 37-0 while Saddle Brook had already taken out many of its starters.
It was only his due that Seidel was given the ball for a three-yard touchdown run after running for his life in the backfield for most of the game when he was at quarterback.
Saddle Brook 37 Hasbrouck Heights 7
First quarter
Saddle Brook, Steve Longa 1-yard run (Kevin Bottine point after kick), 7-0
Saddle Brook, Matt Dickman, 48-yard run (Bottine point after kick), 14-0
Saddle Brook, Andrew Caravaglia 47-yard pass to Longa, (Bottine point after kick), 21-0
Second quarter
Saddle Brook, Longa 8-yard run, (Bottine point after missed), 27-0
Saddle Brook, Bottine 20-yard field goal, 30-0
Third quarter
Saddle Brook, Longa 68-yard run, (Bottine point after kick), 37-0
Fourth quarter
Hasbrouck Heights, Anthony Seidel 3-yard run, (Darren Iurato point after kick), 37-7
Remaining Hasbrouck Heights 2011 football schedule
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
Sept. 17 at St. Mary, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 Wood-Ridge
Sept. 30 Wallington
Oct. 7 at Becton
Oct. 15 at Bogota, 1 p.m.
Oct. 21 Lyndhurst
Oct. 28 Secaucus
Nov. 5 at Pompton Lakes, 1 p.m.