Following a difficult shut-out at the hands of the North Valley Old Tappan Knights, the Patriots have re-booted and are ready to face Pascack Valley on Friday, October 6 at home.

Coach Michael Peischl says “the team is going back to the basics, going over what they practiced in the summer, refreshing, and rebooting.” He also adds that he’s already seen improvement in the team since the game ended.

In the North 1, Group 4 State Championship game two years ago at MetLife Stadium, the Wayne Hills Patriots suffered a tough loss of 17-0 to the Knights allowing them to win their first sectional title in 20 years. Knowing that Old Tappan would be one of their toughest competitors, the Patriots went into the game with some nerves and the motivation to win, but it wasn’t enough. On Saturday, the boys traveled all the way to NVOT on a 40-minute bus ride just to come back with a devastating loss of 35-0.

There was much controversy about whether the Knights deserved the State Championship title and rings that they received two years ago, but what went wrong this time?

“We turned the ball over way too many times” says Jason Modak, Offensive and Defensive Lineman.

The Quarterback, Jaaron Hayek, agreed with Modak, adding that the fumbles and interceptions were the main problems during the game.

The football players all agree that what happened at the Old Tappan game can’t happen again. The game forced the boys to realize that they need to work harder for those championship rings and take their practices more seriously. Even though the Patriots took a hard hit at the game against Old Tappan, the boys are motivated and ready as ever to continue their journey to MetLife and the State Championship title for the second year in a row.