Demarest rolls past Dwight Morrow and into semifinals by Chris Iseman of The Record
DEMAREST — As Austin Albericci and Connor Scaglione were answering questions together during a post-game interview, NV/Demarest head coach Tony Mottola walked toward his players and hugged them.
“They were 0-10 two years ago,” Mottola said of the two seniors. “Unbelievable.”
A lot has changed.
Alberrici threw three touchdown passes and ran for another while the Norsemen’s defense posted a stellar showing as third-seeded NV/Demarest beat No. 6 Dwight Morrow, 35-0, in the first round of the North 1, Group 3 playoffs on Friday night.
“I give these kids just a ton of credit,” Mottola said. “It’s a tough sport, and for them to go through that type of a season and kind of see what the future could be and to stay with it, it’s really a tribute to them and their character. They’re great kids and they deserve everything that they’re getting right now.”
NV/Demarest, which went 5-5 last season, is headed to the sectional semifinals.
Albericci again showed why he’s one of North Jersey’s top quarterbacks as he completed 16 of 21 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran the ball 12 times for 77 yards and one score.
Sophomore tight end Jack Mottola had eight catches for 121 yards with one touchdown. Senior wide receivers Endrit Kaleci and Joe Rotonde also caught scoring passes from Albericci.
MORE: Pompton Lakes rides Negrini past Emerson and into semifinals
MORE: Ground game gets Lakeland into sectional football quarterfinals
MORE: Behind Calvetti, Ridgewood rolls to playoff win over Clifton
MORE: Westwood dominates Ramsey from opening kickoff
Senior running back Henry Lockhart had a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“We know they have athletes all over the field on offense and defense,” Albericci said. “We just wanted to stay away from them, open the field up and do what we can do and take what they give us.”
Big stop: Dwight Morrow’s offense couldn’t get much going all game against the Norsemen’s defense, but it did put together a solid drive late in the first quarter.
The Maroon Raiders wound up with a fourth-and-11 at the NV/Demarest 16 when Scaglione and junior linebacker Thomas Reilly combined for a big stop that forced Dwight Morrow to turn the ball over on downs.
“Our defense has played great all year,” Mottola said. “They’ve really played some phenomenal football all year.”
Turning point: NV/Demarest already had a 14-point lead but took even more control of the game late in the second quarter.
The Norsemen had a first down at Dwight Morrow’s 26 when Albericci hit Kaleci on a screen pass. Kaleci broke a tackle, stayed on his feet and ran into the end zone for a touchdown, which put the Norsemen up 21-0 going into halftime.
What’s next: The Norsemen now advance to play No. 2 River Dell in the semifinals. The Golden Hawks beat No. 7 Paramus, 28-0, on Friday night.
Quotable: “Our kids are part of something special,” Mottola said. “They want to keep it going. We know we’ve got a tough one next week. But at least we have the opportunity next week.”