Another week, another big win for Old Tappan by Darren Cooper of The Record

ALLENDALE – It’s big news that NV/Old Tappan surrendered a first quarter field goal to Northern Highlands.

It’s old news what followed.

The top-ranked Golden Knights got three touchdowns from senior running back Marquez Antinori and 260 yards through the air from quarterback Nick McNerney in downing the Highlanders 49-10 Friday night.

“They definitely have some big kids on their team, and you have to respect that,” said NV/Old Tappan senior Mike Mancuso. “But we were never fazed by it. We do drills in practice to face adversity and our defense just responded. We have to improve in some areas – you can always get better – so we will just take it from there.”

The Golden Knights are 7-0. They have beaten three teams in the top 15 of the NorthJersey.com public school Top 20 (going into Friday, Northern Highlands was 11, Ridgewood was 6 and Wayne Hills was 8 8th). They possess North Jersey’s sixth-ranked scoring offense and second ranked scoring defense. Their closest victory of the year was by 28 points.

Is there anyone in North Jersey who can slow down the Golden Knights?

“We are going to get challenged,” said McNerney. “The next two games we play two good teams. We just have to play our game.”

The Golden Knights opened the game with a seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, with Antinori breaking his way in on a four-yard run. The next time they had the ball, however, McNerney fumbled and the Highlanders (5-2) recovered.

That energized Northern Highlands who marched down to the NV/Old Tappan eight. From there, they had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Cooper Richards.

On its next possession, NV/Old Tappan looked at third and 24 from its own 13. McNerney dropped back to pass, looked left, pumped right and then found Bryan Baker on the deep post. Baker raced 87 yards for a score.

“I have to thank my offensive linemen for that,” said McNerney. “Without them I would have been sacked in two seconds, but I had time and I saw Bryan down the field. I threw a good ball. He caught a good ball and it was a touchdown.”

NV/Old Tappan continued to score seemingly at will, leading 35-3 at halftime. The 10 points it allowed is the most it has given up all season, but the 49 points is also a season high.

Mancuso every week is a challenge, and there’s no way his team is looking ahead, although a Week 9 showdown with Ramapo now looms as maybe the biggest game left in North Jersey’s regular season.

“No, absolutely not,” said Mancuso. “It’s a day-to-day process, literally hour by hour. We will enjoy this tonight, but come back together and its back to the playbook and film.”

UPSET: Ramapo, AJ Wingfield hold on late to 23-20 win over River Dell

MAROONS: Running game powers Ridgewood to rout of Kennedy

OT: Paramus Catholic outlasts Don Bosco in overtime thriller

What It Means: The win solidifies NV/Old Tappan’s resume as North Jersey’s best public school team and keeps them in the driver’s seat for the top seed in North 1, Group 4. Northern Highlands playoff hopes take a hit, but the Highlanders should still have enough to get in.

What’s Next: NV/Old Tappan meets Indian Hills and a win over the Braves would give them the NJSFC Freedom Blue title outright. Northern Highlands is at River Dell.

The Scene: Northern Highlands had a fire truck stationed outside the gates with the ladder extended and a large American flag hanging down. The school invited cheerleaders from its sending districts to cheer with the Highlander cheerleaders. NV/Old Tappan junior Chris D’Amico may have the most disfigured helmet in North Jersey, most of the gold paint has chipped off the front. Northern Highlands running back Mario Agyen had a 32-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Strange Series: This was the 31st time these two schools had met. NV/Old Tappan has now won the last eight meetings and hasn’t lost to Northern Highlands since 1999. This has been a series of long runs by both teams. NV/Old Tappan won the first  two meetings (1966 and 1967), then Northern Highlands reeled off 17 wins in a row from 1970 to 1995.

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