Passaic Valley football grinds down Montville, advances to first section final since 2009
LITTLE FALLS − Passaic Valley continues to make the most of second-half chances.
For the second week in a row, the Hornets came up big in the final 24 minutes of a playoff game, this time securing a 28-13 win over Montville in the NJSIAA North 2, Group 3 football semifinals on Friday.
Passaic Valley (7-2) advances to its first sectional final since 2009 and will meet the winner of Saturday's semifinal contest between top-seeded Summit and No. 4 seed West Essex.
Quarterback Damian Kribs scored two touchdowns, one in each half, and seniors Eric Allmendinger and Karim Elsaadany added third-quarter scores as the Little Falls school erased a six-point first-half deficit for its fourth straight win.
“Our senior class is so special. Probably the best the school has had in years. I love every single one of them,” Allmendinger said. “I broke my wrist in Week 2 against West Essex and missed a few games. Ever since that loss, we started rolling. We’re looking to keep it going.”
Trailing 13-7 to start the third quarter, Allmendinger returned the opening kick 68 yards down to the Montville 24-yard line. Six plays later, he scored on a six-yard run to give the Hornets their first lead of the game, 14-13 with 8:05 left in the period.
On its next series, Passaic Valley mixed in the run and pass game with Kribs finding Elsaadany on a 58-yard post pattern to extend the lead 21-13 with 30 second left in the third quarter.
“The same exact thing happened last week against Vernon. We were down by a touchdown at the half, but we kept our spirits up. The game plan was to keep doing our thing and we excelled at it,” Kribs said. “I missed the first one to Karim, but when we got it back in the second half I saw him wide open and made it happen. We’ve been doing it all season and it worked out.”
Kribs put the finishing touches with 3:26 left to play when he ran in from the two to cap a seven-play, 62-yard drive.
The Hornets defense was stingy in the second half, limiting the big plays and forcing the Mustangs to turn the ball over on downs on all three of their possessions. Sophomore nose guard Will Capizzi stepped up with three big sacks.
“We made a couple of adjustments. We got a little out of zone and started to bring more pressure and play tighter coverage,” Passaic Valley coach Max Wassel said. “Will [Capizzi] had a great game with those three sacks. It was an all-around great effort.”
SCOREBOARD: High school football scores for second round of playoffs
What it means
Passaic Valley advances to its first sectional final in 14 years. The last time the Hornets played for a sectional title, Wassel was a starter on the team in 2009.
That year, the Hornets lost to West Morris, 28-19 in the North 2, Group 3 title game.
Montville, playing in its first sectional semifinal since 2006, closes out the campaign with a 7-4 record.
By the numbers
Kribs rushed for 52 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.
Allmendinger rushed for 93 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.
Mike Ciullo threw for 105 yards on 12-of-20 and a touchdown for Montville.
Anthony Feaster caught seven passes for 70 yards and a touchdown for Montville.
Sha-Kim Hicks rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown on eight carries for Montville.
They said it
“It’s good to be back. I was there in 2009 as a player, and now as a coach. There’s nothing better than getting back there. These guys worked so hard this year and they deserved it and earned every piece of it. The seniors were freshman my first year as head coach. These guys are real special to me and mean a lot to me. I love every single one of them.” – Wassel
“We have a lot of seniors that didn’t play last year after transferring in from different schools, who came back for their last year. We’ve all been playing together for a long time and once we all came back we knew this was going to be a special year. We’re a second-half team and it has to do with our coaches. The atmosphere is great here and it’s got so much better in the last few years. I don’t know the last time it’s been like this.” —Elsaadany
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic Valley NJ football advances to 1st sectional final since 2009
