Sports

Self-Inflicted Wounds Cost Spartans a Championship

Pascack Valley played well, but it was mistakes on the part of the Spartans that resulted in the loss. Paramus H.S. football had a great season and advanced further than any team in school history.

Pascack Valley beat Paramus 32-8 to win a 2013 NJSIAA State Championship at MetLife Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Paramus turned the ball over twice in the first quarter and both resulted in good field position for Valley. The two turnovers left the Spartans trailing by 14-0 at the end of the opening quarter. It may have been nerves because Paramus seemed much looser in the second quarter on both sides of the ball.

The Spartans offense started moving the ball late in the first half, but a failed conversion on a fourth down inside the red-zone left Paramus scoreless at the half. 

Find out what's happening in Paramuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pascack Valley came out of the half and scored on their first possession thanks to a 42-yard touchdown run by Steve Farrell.

Tyler Smith and his receivers were just a step out of sync on a number of deep pass attempts that would have put Paramus right back in the game. Smith was under pressure for much of the game and didn’t have time to go through his reads.

Find out what's happening in Paramuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Smith did put together a very nice drive on which he hooked up with Michael Mimmo for a few first downs before hitting Mimmo for Paramus’ only touchdown of the game.

Simply put, if Paramus came out and played a mistake-free brand of Spartans football, things would have been very different.  

The Spartans have made the state semifinals four of the last five years and made it to the championship game in this year. Despite coming up short, it’s clear that head coach Dan Sabella has the Spartans football program moving in the right direction. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here