The Wayne Hills Patriots football team took on the Passaic Valley Hornets on Saturday in what was expected to be a great matchup.  WHHS came into the game with a 4-2 record, led by senior captains Peter Dellechiaie, Scott Fischgrund,  Jason Modak, Dario Sirni, and Mike Zaccone. They looked to secure a spot in the state playoffs with a win.  This would be no pushover game, however, as Passaic Valley came in with a 5-1 record.  Both teams were coming off of huge wins, WHHS 42-8 at Millburn and PV 56-14 at Indian Hills, so this game was shaping up to be a tough and physical battle.

The opening kickoff was at 1:00 and the Patriots got off to a hot start thanks to an interception from sophomore Justin Vorabouth that set the Patriots up in good field position.  The score was 14-0 Patriots before Passaic Valley responded and scored their first touchdown.  The extra point was then blocked by junior Ben Kurzer and the first quarter ended with the score 14-6 Patriots.

The Patriots continued their high-powered offensive attack on the Hornets with quarterback Jaaron Hayek at the helm.  The Patriots defense also shut down Passaic Valleys offense and went into halftime up 28-6.  This score may seem like WHHS was in for another easy half, but they could not and did not underestimate the power of Passaic Valleys offense.  The second half was the exact opposite of the first, with both defenses shutting out the other’s offense.  As the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, the scoreboard read 28-6, Patriots on top.  The win made WHHS eligible for the state playoffs with two games left in the regular season.

On the defensive side, the Patriots got another huge game from senior, defensive end Jason Modak, who had 2 sacks and 12 tackles.  Mike Zaccone got in on the sack action and had 13 tackles as well.  Justin Vorabouth contributed with an interception and middle linebacker Ben Kurzer had 11 tackles.  It was a great effort from the Patriots on the defensive side of the ball.

With that talk of defense, we cannot forget about the Patriots offense here, that put up the most points Passaic Valley has allowed all season.  Junior quarterback Jaaron Hayek finished the day 9-14 with 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, and that is only his passing stats.  Hayek also had 2 touchdowns and 168 yards on 12 rushes.  Hayek had a great game, accounting for all the Patriots touchdowns, and his 1 interception did not hurt WHHS in the long run.  Senior Nick Alechammas also had a 2-yard touchdown on his only catch of the day and Justin Vorabouth had a 10-yard touchdown reception as well.  Senior wide receiver Nick Casasanta also had 43 yards on one big connection from Jaaron Hayek and junior Adam Abida had 53 yards on 5 carries.  Sophomore running back Michael Joyce also added 50 yards on 15 rushes and 43 reception yards.  

“It was a great performance by the team and it all started with everyone working together on both sides of the ball.  We need to bring this momentum into our next game and the game after that and have everyone giving the same effort we gave on Saturday,” said Michael Joyce.  

The Patriots will look to add another win to their belt when they play rival Wayne Valley Saturday, October 28th.