Sports

Spartans Earn First Gridiron Win of the Season

Each week, Patch will look back at how the Spartans and Paladins performed on the field

After dropping their first two games of the season, the Paramus Spartans took to the gridiron against the Northern Highlands Highlanders and in the final nine minutes of play topped their division rivals 26-21 in their first victory of the season.  The Spartans started early when Darius House returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and blocked a late field goal in the final quarter to secure the win. Matt Tozzi ran in two touchdowns and quarterback Tyler Smith scooted in one as well.

The Paramus Catholic Paladins remained undefeated in their 54-7 cruise over Demarest as quarterback Steve Shanley threw four times into the endzone. His strong arm connected with Keyon Washington, Dejon Harrison, Jabrill Peppers and Anthony Nesmith.

On the volleyball court the Lady Paladins downed Wood-Ridge (25-7, 25-17) this week but faltered against both Demarest (23-25, 19-25) and Pascack Valley (20-25, 22-25). Georgette Smith recorded 30 kills and 23 digs, Caitlin Hall had 37 assists and Jessica Breen finished with seven digs.

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Paramus beat out a tough Holy Angels squad (25-20, 25-22) in nailbiting fashion but later fell to Old Tappan (12-25, 20-25) as the team struggled to keep up with the Golden Knights high energy pace. Maria Bellinger had nine kills, Nikki Molfetas six kills, Stephanie Garino 32 assists, and Jessica Chakonis 44 digs.

Down on the soccer pitch, Lady Paladins scoring duo Delaney Suarez and Kimmie Mignone booted in three goals each this week as Paramus Catholic shut out Fair Lawn 4-0, fell in single overtime to Demarest 1-0 and then faltered in double overtime 3-2 to Pascack Valley.

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Sarah Cortes and her teammates downed both Holy Angels (2-0) and Old Tappan (3-0) this week. Cortes and Noel Hodgins netted two goals and Kelsey Settecasi scored one.

Paramus Catholic boys fell to Demarest 2-1 with Frank Cianci giving the Paladins a 1-0 halftime lead but the squad was unable to hold off a surging Norsemen offense in the second half. A few days later, PC tied Pascack Valley 2-2 as Jose Meza netted one goal per period to keep the Paladins in the mix.

Paramus boys fell to Bergen Catholic 3-2 on Monday afternoon behind early goals by Benji Audi and Lucas Tasci. The Spartans then rebounded to top Old Tappan 3-1 behind Max Brodarzon’s deuce and Tasci’s solo goal.

It's been a rough week for the Paramus Catholic tennis team who fell 5-0 to Demarest and then eked out a 3-2 over Pascack Valley as singles Natalie Cioffari and Kayla Kroning won their matches placing pressure on second doubles Brindsi Liberty/Samantha Contreras to go three matches for the win.

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