Their 20-14 victory Saturday over previously unbeaten St. Mary lifted the Falcons into a three-way tie for first with Wallington, all with 3-1 divisional records.

“It means a lot to the program,” Saddle Brook coach Leo Ciappina said Sunday. “Hopefully, people are going to start believing in the system and the program.”

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By: Greg Mattura

As far as coaching metaphors go, hurdles are as good as anything else. But more important for Saddle Brook girls soccer coach Steve Olshalsky is that his team has bought into the concept.

That’s why it almost sounded as if the Falcons had won a track meet rather than a soccer game Tuesday. Junior forward Melissa Esposito scored one goal and assisted on the other as Saddle Brook defeated Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge, 2-0. The win put the Falcons in good position to capture at least a share of the NJIC Meadowlands Division B title.

“We set goals early in the year. Winning the league was one goal and keep clearing hurdles along the way,” Olshalsky said. “I told them that this was the biggest hurdle we’d have to jump over.”

Saddle Brook would have been in the clear had it not stumbled over the hurdle called Lyndhurst on Friday, unexpectedly dropping a 1-0 decision to the Golden Bears. The Falcons and Aviators had tied in their season-opening match and Tuesday’s winner was guaranteed an inside track to a league crown.

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By: Tim Leonard

Glen Rock/Saddle Brook co-coach Chris Fox still remembers wrestling in the big gym at West Milford High School in the early 1990s. Up until now, that’s all it has been.

That will change tonight when the he returns to West Milford for the first time since graduating in 1994 to face his former coach, Mike Blakely, when the Panthers take on the Highlanders in a battle that could say a lot for both teams.

“I’m real excited about it because Mike Blakely taught me everything I know,” said Fox, who coaches the Panthers along with Wayne Rogers. “I still use things that we did at West Milford in our wrestling room. It’s going to be pretty cool wrestling against him.”

It’s also going to mark a further turnaround for the Glen Rock/Saddle Brook program, which went from forfeiting as many as five bouts a night when the co-op was created five years ago to winning the District 6 championship last spring.

“When we had eight or 10 kids, a match like this wouldn’t have been beneficial for our kids or for West Milford,” Fox said. “Now we want our kids to wrestle better kids so they can get the experience and get their ticket to Atlantic City.”

The Panthers start their dual season after an 11th-place finish in the BCCA George Jockish Holiday Wrestling Tournament, while West Milford is 1-2 after a quad with Kittatinny, Vernon and Wallkill Valley.

Matt Dickman, who is 6-3 with two tough losses to Fair Lawn’s Vince DiMitri, could face off against Evan Poole, who is also 6-3, if West Milford chooses to bump Poole up to 140.

Alex Cimiluca, 5-1 after finishing third at the BCCA at 152, could bump up to 160 to face Dover tournament champ Matt Berry (7-2).

“Where we’re tough, I think they’re tough,” Fox said. “Everybody’s excited to see what happens, It’s a good opportunity to show what we’re made of.

“Coming off [the BCCA], our guys felt that they could wrestle better,” Fox said. “That’s good because it shows they don’t want to settle. Now it’s good for us to get out of the area a bit and seek out some bigger and tougher competition.”

It’s an opportunity Fox wasn’t sure would come as quickly as it did.

“I always felt positive during the entire [rebuilding] process,” Fox said. “We got decent pretty quick, but I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get out and compete against bigger teams and bigger programs at this point.”

And make a homecoming in the process.

“It’s going to be great walking back in there and seeing all my old teachers and old coaches again,” he said.

SADDLE BROOK — It was only one win, but it was probably bigger than any other victory in the long history of the Saddle Brook High School football program.

Well, maybe not as big as a state title, but the win over Sussex Tech on Nov. 14 in the consolation game that ended a 21-game losing streak was huge for the school. The Falcons finished with a 1-9 record for 2009.

The last time that a Falcons team tasted a victory before Nov. 14 was when it defeated Elmwood Park, 18-0, on the road on Oct. 27, 2007.

There were several other times this season that the Falcons could have ended the streak, but the breaks did not go in Saddle Brook’s favor.

In the season opener, Saddle Brook lost, 14-7, to a state playoff-bound Glen Rock team in overtime on Sept. 12 at home. Then, on Sept. 19, the Falcons were leading at Manchester, but dropped a 22-15 decision after starting quarterback Marc Bonaventure missed the second half. On Oct. 24 on a muddy field, Saddle Brook’s defense contained a potent Paterson Catholic before falling 8-6. A week later at home against Garfield, the Falcons dropped a 35-28 decision to the Boilermakers on Halloween.

“We played tough defense. That has been an exceptional part of our team all season long, but best demonstrated in these games,” said Saddle Brook head coach Leo Ciappina about the close losses to Glen Rock and Paterson Catholic. “They are great teams and both made it to states and it goes to show how very close we are to becoming a successful team next year.”

Saddle Brook finally got on the winning side of the ledger against Sussex Tech, 39-7, to end the losing streak.

“Another great game for us was against Sussex Tech when all aspects of our game clicked together and we earned our first win,” said Ciappina.

It was a good feeling for the five seniors on the team that included senior defensive back Carmine Bufi, who was first-team All-Bergen Passaic Scholastic League. (BPSL) The other seniors were wide receiver/defensive back Anthony Traverso, Bonaventure, offensive lineman/defensive lineman Jose Mejia and offensive lineman/defensive lineman Brett Palanker.

The Falcons had four members of the second-team All-BPSL in sophomore linebacker Steve Longa, sophomore offensive guard Joe Camilleri, sophomore defensive back Matt Dickman and junior running back Alex Cimiluca. A pair of juniors was named to the honorable mention All-BPSL in Steve Attanasio and Larry Ratajczak.

“I believe with next year’s group as long as everyone stays healthy we should have a successful season,” said Ciappina. “We look to take this end of the season win with us into next season and hope to build a winning streak.”

Regulation wasn’t enough and neither was the first overtime. So when Becton sophomore Marilio Neto stepped up for a free kick from the 25-yard line with less than four minutes to go in the second OT, it seemed like just another play in the inevitable march toward a shootout.

But Neto had other plans.

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