Cardiac Spartans Pull Out Close Win

Tyler Garguilo was looking for redemption.

The senior wide receiver for the Paramus High School football team, affectionately known as "Hornstein," dropped three passes in last week's .

Against highly regarded Old Tappan, Garguilo played his heart out in memory of his late uncle, who died recently.

"I wasn't going to be stopped," said Garguilo, who made eight catches for 180 yards.  

The cardiac Spartans rallied with a late fourth quarter drive for the second week in a row. Garguilo hauled in a pass for 29 yards down to the Golden Knight nine, which set up the winning touchdown—a pass from Mike Bussanich to wide receiver Chris Sabo in the back of the end zone with 17 ticks left on the clock.

Sabo tiptoed the line, stayed in bounds, and Paramus picked up an impressive 20-16 win.

"I barely got my toes in," Sabo said. "We practice that play a lot on the goal line."

The Paramus defense came up big and forced All-State quarterback Devin Fuller into three turnovers (two fumbles, one interception). Sophomore Jonathan Choi hit a 25-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining to give Old Tappan a 16-14 lead, forcing Paramus to play from behind for the first time this season.

In the second quarter, tied at a touchdown apiece, Old Tappan was driving. Garguilo, at his own four yard line, picked off Fuller's pass, and took it to 40.

The Paramus offense took over and went 60 yards—the drive capped off by a 1-yard score by running back Mike Urban, giving the Spartans a 14-7 lead. Garguilo, who made nine tackles on defense, came through on the special teams end, blocking a field goal with 7:12 remaining in the game, with his team up 14-13.

Old Tappan missed a two-point conversion, after junior John Trainor made a spectacular grab in the back of the end zone late in the third quarter. Paramus (2-0) held possession for 26 minutes.

Head coach Dan Sabella's game plan was to keep Fuller on the sidelines, or lined up as a cornerback defense, as much as possible.

"It was four quarters of non-stop excitement," Sabella said.

Last year, Paramus allowed 113 points to Old Tappan. On Friday night, it was a whole different story.

"That's the real sweet thing," the head coach said about watching his defense hold a potent offense to 16 points. Bussanich (16-28, 238 yards) struggled early on, but a la Mark Sanchez, ran a hurry-up offense with ease.

"Amazing," the senior signal caller said, reflecting on the final drive. "We got payback."

"We're gonna find a way no matter what," he added.