Photo Credits: Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com
NORTH CALDWELL − On Old Tappan's first play from scrimmage, Zach Miceli served up a taste of what's to come this season.
The junior quarterback threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to send the defending Group 3 state champions off to a season-opening 34-14 win over West Essex on Aug. 29.
“With this guy, it’s always in the arsenal,” Old Tappan coach Brian Dunn said of Miceli. “If they give us the right look, he’s always ready to do it.”
Miceli's TD pass went to junior receiver Leo Etter, and the right-hander completed 16 of 20 passes for 204 yards and two scores before taking a seat late in the third quarter.
Miceli also threw a 4-yard score to senior receiver Joey Crescitelli late in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.
“It starts up front in the trenches,” said Miceli, whose last season threw for 2,269 yards and 19 scores. “We have a lot of guys coming back with experience, and guys who are filling in did a great job. Obviously mistakes everywhere, and we’re going to clean those up. But it started in the trenches, and then our guys outside just made plays like they always do.”
Senior running back Damian Du Toit scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to extend the lead to 21-0. Senior running back Devyn Radoian scored on a 20-yard run in the second quarter for a 28-0 lead, and he scored on a 7-yard run in the third to give the Golden Knights a 34-7 lead.
West Essex scored late in each half. Senior quarterback Jake Long threw a 13-yard TD pass to senior receiver Justin Perini in the second quarter, and junior running back Michael Lozito scored on a 4-yard run in the fourth.
What it means
Old Tappan looked like a team ranked No. 1 in the North Jersey Public Top 20 and No. 10 in the New Jersey Super 25. The Golden Knights were solid in all areas and contributed to North Jersey making a strong showing in season openers.
“I think we performed OK,” Radoian said. “We’re coming off a Group 3 state championship and we have a lot of work to put in, but we’re going to get there, we’re going to get there fast, and we’re going to keep coming out exploding. Our offense is a very explosive type of offense. We like to run, we like to pass, we do it all. And we’ve got a couple of young kids on defense, and we’re just going to keep shining out there.”
Big-play start
Miceli’s TD pass Etter came on a deep post up the left side, and Old Tappan had its first score of the season just 12 seconds into the game. Miceli hit Etter in perfect stride.
“We ran through that play a lot in practice,” Etter said. “We knew the post would be open, and we knew we were going to hit it early. We didn’t know what play it was going to be, but we knew we were going to hit it early. Me and Zach were ready for it, and coach [Dunn] called a great play.”
“Honestly, I never decide what we’re running until we get on the field for the first play, unless there's something special that we have to do,” Dunn said. "It just looked like something that we could get right off the bat, and the kids executed and Zach threw a great ball.”
By the numbers
Old Tappan amassed 363 total yards, including 159 rushing.
The Golden Knights spread the ball around to the running backs, with Radoian and Du Toit handling a majority of the carries.
“They’re good, and they all give us a different look,” Dunn said of the running backs. “They’re all getting a crack at it for the first time.”
West Essex had 201 total yards, including 138 rushing. The Knights were at their best with Long running up the middle and mixing in an occasional pass.
