NUTLEY, NJ – The first two games for the Nutley High School varsity football team were pretty rough.
The Raiders were on the road for those games and lost both of them, falling to West Essex and Bloomfield.
But when it comes to playing at Tangorra Field/Park Oval in front of their fans, the Raiders feel right at home.
The Raiders put on an impressive display in beating Pascack Valley, 31-14, in their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Senior Matt Roser scored three touchdown to power the Raiders (1-2).
Roser caught a 69-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Josh O’Neill and senior Hunter Lechthaler kicked the extra point. Lechthaler kicked a 27-yard field goal as the Raiders led 10-0 going into the second quarter.
Roser scored on a 1-yard run to make it 17-0 in the second quarter.
After Pascack Valley’s Matt Urea scored on a five-yard run to cut it to 17-7, junior Nick Mainiero returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a TD to extend it to 24-7 at the half.
Urrea scored on a two-yard run in the third quarter to make it 24-14. But the Raiders iced the game in the fourth quarter on Roser’s 37-yard TD run.
The Raiders were plus-10 yards in penalties. PV was negative-15 with penalties. PV rushed for 121 yards on 43 carries for an average of 2.8 yards per carry. They also passed for a total of 194 yards. In all, PV had 73 total plays on offense for 315 yards for an average of 4.32 yards per play.
NHS game stats
Passing: O’Neill, 12-of-18, 164 yards. Junior Frank DeMaio, 1-of-1, 56 yards.
Rushing: Roser, 16 carries for 74 yards, 2 TDs. Junior Sam Abreu, 1 carry for 1 yard. O’Neill, 4 carries for 14 yards. Mainiero, 1 carry for 2 yards.
Receivnig: Mainiero, 5 catches for 28 yards. Senior RJ Ferrarelli, 2 catches for 86 yards. DeMaio, 2 catches for 38 yards. Roser, 3 catches for 72 yards, 1 TD.
Defense: Senior MLB Sabbino Coppola, 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 tackles for loss. FS Ferrarelli, 11 tackles, 1 pass breakup. SS DeMaio, 10 tackles. LB Abreu, 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 tackles for losses. Senior Steve Clausen, 5 tackles. Sophomore LB Johnny Luberto, 5 tackles, 2 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss. Junior MLB Dillon Muratovic, 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss. 0.5 sack. Senior NG Mark Charles, 3 tackles. Junior DE Ryan O’Mara, 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 1 hurry. DE Lechthaler, 1 tackle. Junior Wayne Wittman, 1 tackle. Mainiero, 1 tackle. Sophomore LB Dom Raffaelli, 1 tackle. Junior FS Nick Saporito, 2 tackles, 1 pass breakup.
Next game: The Raiders will visit Irvington on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. Irvington is 3-0.
Nutley (1-2)
Sept. 9, Loss, at West Essex, 27-7
Sept. 16, Loss, at Bloomfield, 39-17
Sept. 24, Won, Pascack Valley, 31-14
Sept. 30, at Irvington, 7 p.m.
Oct. 8, Paramus, 1 p.m.
Oct. 15, at Orange, 1 p.m.
Oct. 22, Chatham, 2 p.m.
Oct. 29, Parsippany Hills, 1 p.m.
Nov. 4, at Barringer, 7 p.m.
Nutley HS football team enjoys triumphant home opener added by Joe Ragozzino on
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