By Andy Loigu
On a festive occasion, highlighted by pageantry celebrating 100 years of Hackettstown football, the Lenape Valley Patriots were party crashers on Saturday at Morrison Field. The visitors defeated the Tigers 20-13 in an evenly played contest between a pair of programs which have given the fans several classic cliff hangers over the past six seasons.
Prior to the game, there was plenty of excitement. The most memorable part of the day’s ceremonies (which were in the works for two years) was a flag which covered the entire field. The stars and stripes were held by members of the Hackettstown youth sports program, which must have been an amazing thrill for the youngsters. The flag had recently been used at an international soccer game at Met Life Stadium (home of the Giants, Jets, and state championships) and was transported to Hackettstown.
Hackettstown graduates who played all sports at HHS attended in large numbers and were introduced to the appreciative crowd by decade, going all the way back to the 1940s.
Also, a tribute was paid to Bob Sheldon, a long time PBA coach in town who worked for over 50 years as a security and crowd control officer at Tiger home games for all sports. Sheldon is a nice man who always gave me – and many others -a root beer flavored piece of candy whenever he saw me. He always had one ready.
The Tigers had an early setback during the week when they lost their quarterback due to an injury. Nick Gagliardi was unable to start due to an injury, but the Tigers did discover their passing game with Tim Ervey at the helm.
Ervey’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Garret Meyer put the Tigers in front at halftime by a 6-3 score. His 27-yard scoring pass to Zay Willis kept Hackettstown in the game in the fourth period. Ervey was 5-for-7 passing for 91 yards. Meyer had two catches for 44 yards and Willis caught three aerials for 47 yards.
The Tigers have a variety of offensive weapons in their triple-option offense which relies on smart decision making at the line of scrimmage, being prepared to take advantage of whatever the defense leaves open. The key is not any one particular player. Nobody seems to believe that he has to score four touchdowns for the Tigers to prevail. The offense is comfortable with the game’s natural flow, dictated by their tempo, with faith in their aggressive, quick and intense defense which is able to keep the opposing offense on the ropes.
The Patriots indicated that they practiced defending the Hackettstown triple-option for more than just game week. They gave it lots of attention in their pre-season preparation as well, a real sign of respect to the Tigers’ program. Hackettstown won at Lenape Valley last year.
Don’t worry, there will be no quarterback “drama” in Hackettstown, as Gagliardi remains the team’s starting signal caller and Ervey remains the team’s featured tailback who has established himself as a double threat, capable of running and passing. Nobody can call Hackettstown a one-dimensional running team now.
The Tigers (now 1-1) are in the midst of their toughest September schedule since they were in the Skyland Conference a decade ago. Next up is a game at Madison on Saturday afternoon. The Dodgers’ coaching staff, which includes former Philadelphia Eagle Marty Horn, is one of the best around and has won several sectional championships in recent years and has produced undefeated seasons as well.
None of that will matter on Saturday, because the game starts at 0-0, and the winner will be the team that plays the best game that day.
Saturday’s ceremonies, and the fact that Tuesday is September 11, bring back memories of the 2001 game at Morrison Field, in which the Tigers defeated North Warren. Since the game took place just four days after the horrific terror attack on The Twin Towers, the win or loss seemed meaningless to this writer as I arrived at the scene. However, I’m glad to have been there to see one of the most shining moments at HHS, as the students held candles in the evening twilight and stood in silence out of respect for the victims and heroic first responders.
The game went on, and Hackettstown played hard and won because they were the better team. Respect and sportsmanship were the story of the game on the part of everyone who was there, students and adults alike from both schools. At a typical game, it is usually the “adults” I worry about.
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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.
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