NUTLEY —The Nutley High School football team showed that it wants to start another long winning streak.
The Raiders, who had their 10-game winning streak end the previous week, defeated a good River Dell team in dramatic fashion on Oct. 9 at Tangorra Field/Park Oval.
After River Dell scored on a 45-yard TD pass to take a 28-22 lead, Brandon Lucia returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards into the end zone. Lucia then kicked the extra point to lift the Raiders to a 29-28 victory.
The victory improved the Raiders’ record to 5-1 on the season. River Dell moved to 4-2.
River Dell opened the scoring on a 7-yard TD run in the first quarter before the Raiders tied it on Paul Scutti’s 4-yard TD run and Lucia’s extra-point kick later in the quarter.
River Dell took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter on a 51-yard TD pass. But the Raiders answered on Mitchell Mainiero’s 7-yard TD run and Lucia’s two-point conversion pass to Scutti to take a 15-14 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, quarterback Matthew Harbison scored on a 7-yard run, followed by Lucia’s point-after kick, for a 22-14 lead.
River Dell responded with two straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter to retake the lead, 28-22, before Lucia’s game-winning kickoff return.
The Raiders lost to Demarest, 27-0, on Oct. 1 in Demarest. Nutley finished a perfect 6-0 in 2000 and started this season at 4-0.
The Raiders will visit Barringer on Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. at Schools Stadium in Newark.
Nutley (5-1)
Sept. 3: Win, vs. Bloomfield, 18-13
Sept. 10: Win, at Belleville, 29-28
Sept. 18: Win, Orange, 34-6
Sept. 24: Win, Millburn, 41-0
Oct. 1: Loss, at Demarest, 27-0
Oct. 9: Win, vs. River Dell, 29-28
Oct. 16: at Barringer, 1 p.m.
Oct. 23: vs. Bergenfield, 1 p.m.
Oct. 29: at West Essex, 7 p.m.
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