Weehawken had not faced neighboring rival Secaucus in football in four years.
It used to be a Thanksgiving tradition, the two teams facing each other on the night before Turkey Day.
But when the two schools were separated by divisions in the newly formed North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, the rivalry simply went away.
However, the schedule from the NJIC forged a crossover contest this season, pitting the two teams against each other for the first time since Zach Naszimento became the football coach and athletic director at Weehawken.
It was a tough night for Naszimento, considering he grew up in Secaucus, still resides there. He played football at Secaucus, first became a coach there. His father, Bruce, a Hudson County Sports Hall of Famer for his playing days at Emerson and Jersey City State, was an assistant there with current Secaucus coach Charlie Voorhees for 12 years.
There was a strong emotional bond between the Naszimentos, father and son, who are now part of the coaching team at Weehawken, and the people, the coaches at Secaucus.
“It was awkward to play someone who we had a strong relationship with,” said the younger Naszimento. “We still have family members in Secaucus. It was a personal thing for us and I have to be honest. It was tough.”
It was also tough because the Indians had not defeated Secaucus since 2003. There was a time when the schedule makers would allow Secaucus to just pencil in that victory on Thanksgiving eve, making it an annual pre-Turkey Day celebration for the entire town.
“We put a lot of preparation into the game,” Naszimento said. “The kids were very excited and they worked hard. We had an excellent week of practice.”
The Indians should have been a little motivated, despite their sluggish 1-4 start. They were coming off a solid 40-18 win over Wallington, a game that gave Naszimento and his Indians a chance to realize how good they could be if they played up to their potential.
“After that win, I had confidence that we could move the ball,” Naszimento said. “We also could play defense in a pinch. Things were starting to snowball.”
But when a team is 1-4, there is realistically no hope of qualifying for the NJSIAA state playoffs. If there is a chance, it’s simply a pipe dream. Teams don’t recover from 1-4 records and make it back to make it to the postseason. It just doesn’t happen.
So the Indians were basically playing for local pride – or so it seemed.
Naszimento had to put together a game plan that would give the Indians the best chance to defeat the Patriots, as both teams were facing do-or-die situations for the state playoffs. And Naszimento’s game plan centered around senior quarterback Oliver Molano.
“To be honest, we just tried to put the ball in Oliver’s hands and let him make plays,” Naszimento said. “We were going to live or die with him. We had to ride our best player. We felt he was the best player on the field. Not taking anything away from Secaucus. They have a lot of tough kids. But we felt Oliver was the best player and he was going to lead us.”
Naszimento’s plan was to use the quarterback in a variety of offensive sets, mainly because featured back Isaiah Abreu was unable to play after being ejected from the Wallington game the week before.
So Molano was going to get the ball as many times as possible. Javier Lopez was also going to get his fair share of carries.
“We knew that the run was going to be our bread and butter,” Naszimento said. “We figured that they had to try to stop our running game. Simple enough, we just had to run the ball.”
So that’s what the Indians did, with their standout quarterback leading the way.
Molano carried the ball 24 times for 247 yards and scored five touchdowns of 12, 4, 63, 16 and 16 yards respectively.
“We just gave him the ball and let him go,” Naszimento said.
Molano tied the school record for touchdowns in a game, as the Indians managed to shake the doldrums of the past and defeated the Patriots, 42-34, in a barnburner last Friday night. It was the first time Weehawken had defeated Secaucus in over a decade.
Molano also had a great game defensively, collecting nine tackles, including a sack and a fumble recovery.
Molano wasn’t the only Indian rusher to have a great game, as Lopez stepped up and collected 201 yards on 24 carries and a 48-yard touchdown.
Even with the talented backs Weehawken has produced in recent years, including former Hudson Reporter Male Athletes of the Year Damian Corredor (now playing football at Kean) and Jason Pineda (now playing football at Springfield College), there hasn’t been a game where two Weehawken rushers eclipsed 200-plus yards in a single game.
“They played really well,” Naszimento said. “The offensive line really got off the ball well. We were getting six, eight yards at a clip.”
All totaled, the Indians amassed 524 yards on the ground, a totally astounding number, especially against a defensive-minded program that Voorhees has produced over the years at Secaucus.
“We felt that if we were going to be effective, it was going to be running the ball,” Naszimento said. “I think we threw just one pass.”
That’s correct. Molano was perfect, one-for-one for 13 yards. There was no need to pass when the Indians were marching up and down the field via the run.
The Indians managed to make just enough defensive plays to earn the victory. Linebacker D’Anthony Flores (eight tackles) and defensive end Joan Andujar (eight tackles) were solid when the Patriots had the ball, although last week’s Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week Evander Pons had 161 yards and three long touchdown runs.
But the Naszimentos, father and son, had their emotional victory.
Better yet, someway, somehow, the Indians have managed to crawl back into playoff contention. It may take an act of miraculous proportions, but the Indians are now currently ninth in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I power point standings, just three points behind New Providence for that eighth and final spot.
Okay, the two teams directly ahead of the Indians, namely New Providence and Shabazz, have a game in hand over Weehawken, which has only one game left against 1-6 Wood-Ridge this weekend to add to the power point qualifications.
So the Indians would need a win this weekend and would need both New Providence and Shabazz to lose twice in the coming weeks.
“If we win Saturday and get to 4-4, maybe we have a shot,” Naszimento said. “We know we need help from others. But we still have a lot to play for. We’re excited that we turned the season around.”
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.