Turnovers Doom Par Hills in Championship Game

One of the things that carried the football team to six wins in its final seven regular-season games was limiting its turnovers.

The Vikings were painfully reminded on Saturday of what happens when crucial mistakes happen in state tournament play.

Three interceptions and a lost fumble provided enough scoring opportunities to lift Cranford to a 27-0 triumph in the North Jersey Section 2, Group III state championship on the Kean University turf.

For a full photo gallery of the game, head here.

For video highlights, head here.

It was the third time that the Vikings had reached the title game only to fall short and their first appearance since 2006. It was the first NJSIAA state title for Cranford.

Cranford’s quarterback Reggie Green rushed for 124 yards and scored twice, including a 41-yard TD run that set the tone for the day. He also had the first of three Cougars interceptions.

Parsippany Hills’ pass-oriented offense struggled all morning. Vikings' junior quarterback Tyler Simms completed 12 of 31 passes for 135 yards. Some of his passes were tipped at the line of scrimmage or hurried by Cranford’s defensive line pressure. In the second half, the Vikings proved they could move the ball on the Cougars, but they could not find a way to put the ball in the end zone.

“The difference was turnovers,’’ Parsippany Hills coach Dave Albano said. “We turned the ball over and they didn’t.’’

“Take the turnovers away and who knows, but that’s part of football. That’s the biggest part of football. We didn’t turn the ball over the whole playoff run and we did today.’’

Cranford, a traditionally fast-starting team, took control with a pair of touchdowns in the first five minutes of the contest for a 13-0 first-quarter advantage.

The Parsippany Hills defense was able to slow them down and make adjustments but even Green’s 41-yard TD jaunt just 10:54 into the contest would have held up because of Cranford’s defensive effort.

“I don’t know if they were nervous,’’ Albano said of his team’s early struggles. “It just happens—it's part of football.’’

Parsippany Hills returned the subsequent kickoff but on the very next play, Simms tried to air the ball out with a long pass on the right side of the field. Green intercepted it and returned it to the Vikings 41. Then running back Chris Witwick hit Eric Garguilo with a 39-yard option pass. On the next play, J.P. Christiano plunged in from the 2-yard line to make it a 13-0 game at 10:11 of the first quarter.

The Vikings looked like they were going to rebound and they had a successful drive getting as far as the Cougars 18, but they lost the ball on a bad snap that Simms couldn’t recover.

“We settled into a nice groove after the first interception,’’ Albano said. “Then we had the snap over the head and all those little mistakes, they had them today.’’

The teams exchanged possessions. Cranford was able to make it 20-0 when it mounted an eight-play, 59-yard drive. Adham McGuire took the ball in on a pitch and scored from 16 yards out with 9:52 left in the second quarter.

Parsippany Hills tried to rally behind Simms, but the open passing lanes that the Vikings receivers and their quarterback found in previous games were non-existent on Saturday.

Trailing by several touchdowns, Parsippany Hills were forced to abandon any running game. Senior running back C.J. Joyce—who usually gets more than 70 yards a contest—finished with 20 yards on eight carries.

“Give them a lot of credit,’’ Albano said of Cranford’s defense. “They didn’t really rush. A lot of kids just stood at the line and held their hands up or they dropped some defensive linemen into coverage. They did a lot of different things along those lines to take away the passing lanes.’’

There were some bright spots in the second half but Cranford was ready to minimize them. Parsippany Hills’ dramatic victory state tournament win over West Morris—in which it rallied from a 21-0 second-quarter deficit a few weeks ago—was drilled in the Cougars’ heads. They were determined not to let the Vikings back in the game.

A Parsippany Hills opening drive to start the second half brought the Vikings to the Cougars’ 16-yard line but another interception stopped that drive. Midway through the third quarter, Vikings defensive back Mike Comerford made a brilliant interception of a Green pass at midfield and brought it down the left side of the field to the Cranford 19-yard line. However, that drive ended on downs, too.

Despite their frustrations, the Vikings continued to play hard until the scoreboard ticked away what was left of what was otherwise a successful season.

“I knew our kids weren’t going to give up,’’ Albano said. “They have never given up. That wasn’t ever and issue. We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to. The ball was either a little long or short—for some reason we just didn’t make the plays that we were accustomed to.’’

Parsippany Hills finished with an 8-4 record and have a lot to be happy about even though the season didn’t end like they wished.

“We’re back in our third final since 2005,’’ Albano said. “I’m proud of that. I’m proud of the fact that we went from 2-8 last year to the state final and that’s what I told the kids. They had a great run.’’