Whippany Park was able to continue their undefeated streak with their 28-7 victory over Wallkill Valley on a rare Friday afternoon game. It was a collaborative effort by the Wildcat’s with scores coming from Mike Roma, Luke Papa, Mike Dimeo and Jake Crane in their punishing run-heavy offense.
Both teams brought big fan sections which electrified the crowd. Between Wallkill’s fan section and Whippany Park’s cheer squad it was undecided which side was more enthusiastic. Either way, it made for a great football atmosphere.
Wallkill Valley and Whippany Park both struggled to get points on the board early in this game (photo by Deanna Roma).
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle. Both teams effortlessly drove down the field but struggled to find the end-zone. In the second quarter, Jake Crane eventually broke the ice as he plowed into the end-zone with a 2-yard dive with 1-second to spare on the clock, ending the half with a score of 7-0 for Whippany Park.
Whippany Park’s Mike Dimeo edges past Wallkill Valley defender Evan Faner for a TD (photo by Deanna Roma).
Coming back into the 3rd quarter from a slow first half, the Wildcats took control of the game. Early in the 3rd quarter, the Wildcat’s dynamic quarterback Luke Papa took the ball to the end-zone on a 5-yard touchdown run changing the score 14-0. Later on in that quarter, Whippany Park’s speedy tailback Michael Dimeo found himself in the end-zone on a 20-yard touchdown run making it 21-0 going into the 4th quarter.
Wallkill Valley QB Alex Mastroianni gets sandwiched between Whippany Park defenders Matt Wong (7) and Jake Crane (32) (photo by Deanna Roma).
As the game went on, the Wildcats were able to control the ball keeping Wallkill in check offensively and defensively. Whippany running back Mike Roma pushed through the end-zone to add some insurance points to end the game with a score of 28-7. Next Friday, the Wildcats are away and play Montclair Immaculate as Wallkill Valley travels to Sussex Tech for their big rivalry game.
Wallkill Valley defenders Evan Faner (9) and Ryan Nugent (44) make a stop as the Ranger D did a nice job keeping the Wildcat’s potent running attack in check in the first half (photo by Deanna Roma).
Nick “Snacks” Foglia led the team with a total of 12 tackles yet again. Jimmy Casalino came in after him with a total of 10 tackles. On the offensive side, Luke Papa was 6-10-66-0 passing and 9-66-1 rushing. Matt Wong was 3-25-0 receiving. On the ground, Jake Crane was 8-67-1, Michael Dimeo was 13-49-1, Luke Papa was 9-66-1 and Michael Roma went 6-51-1.
Box Score
Whippany Park 0 7 14 7 28
Wallkill Valley 0 0 0 7 7
